How much did things cost in 1984?
These are prices of some sample items in 1984.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1984? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1984 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1984 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of petrol | £1.87 | £9.20 |
| Bottle of whisky (Johnnie Walker Red Label) (Spar) | £7.35 | £36 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Spar) | £3.35 | £16 |
| Cinzano Bianco (Spar) | £2.49 | £12 |
| Kestral lager 4 cans (Spar) | £1.45 | £7.10 |
| Pint of beer | 72p | £3.50 |
| 20 cigarettes - John Player King Size, Extra Mild | £1.07 | £5.20 |
| Pint of milk | 22p | £1.10 |
| 22" Saisho colour TV (Dixons) | £269.95 | £1,300 |
| Sharp 6220 microwave oven (Currys) | £209.99 | £1,000 |
| Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K and games | £129.95 | £640 |
| Timex calculator watch | £15.95 | £78 |
| Daily Mirror newspaper | 16-17p | 78-83p |
| Average house price | £39,000 | £190,000 |
| 100g Nescafé coffee (International) | £1.08 | £5.30 |
| Ford Sierra 2.0GL | £7,734 | £38,000 |
| Lec fridge-freezer (Currys) | £179.99 | £880 |
| Hotpoint Automatic washing machine (Currys) | £249.99 | £1,200 |
| Golden Wonder crisps 10 pack (Presto) | 89p | £4.40 |
| Half dozen size 4 brown eggs (Sainsbury's) | 39p | £1.90 |
| Anchor pre-packed cheese (1lb) (Liptons) | £1.09 | £5.30 |
| Stork SB magarine 500g (Spar) | 42p | £2.10 |
The income adjusted prices are based on the Bank of England's Three Centuries Macroeconomic Dataset Version 2.3 - 30 June 2016. I have updated the income figures based on the ONS: Series code KAB9, adjusted to bring the figures inline with the Bank of England's.
For a comparison of prices in 1984 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1984
By Steven Braggs, February 2021, updated May 2022
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