Average grocery prices change all the time, but we’ve decided to specifically look back on the cost of food throughout the 1960s. As a point of reference, between 1967 and 2021, food and beverages experienced an average inflation rate of 3.86% per year. The median household income in 1960 was $5,315, which grew to $8,540 in 1969. Minimum wage was $1.15 in 1964.
Some events of note: In 1960, Royal Crown (RC) Cola was the number one seller of soft drinks, but Coca-Cola® was only shortly behind. 1961 saw a growth in French and international cooking with the release of volume 1 of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and fondue was in high demand. Although this allowed a step away from some of the more processed food that was popular in the 1950s, those products were still being made, most notably SpaghettiOs® and Cool Whip®, both created in 1965.
Here’s a breakdown of what various food cost each year (and don’t forget to visit our articles on food prices in the 1950s and in the 1970s!)
1960:
- Bananas: 19 cents for 2 pounds
- Corn: 25 cents for 6
- 1 can of Del Monte® peaches: 29 cents
- Flour: 49 cents per 5 pounds
- 1 dozen fresh eggs: 49 cents
- Hickory smoked ham: 49 cents per pound
- 4 packs of Jell-O®: 35 cents
- Kraft® Miracle Whip: 51 cents
- Land O Lakes® Butter: 67 cents per pound
- Calf liver: 79 cents per pound
- Oven ready turkey: 39 cents per pound
- Pack of chewing gum: 5 cents
- Pork chop: 59 cents per pound
- Sirloin steak: 89 cents per pound
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 27 cents
- 1 oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 5 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco ® Oreo Cookies: 45 cents
- Oranges: 89 cents for 2 dozen
- 1 gallon of milk: 95 cents
- Heinz® Ketchup: 22 cents
- 6 pack of Pepsi®: 59 cents
- 1 loaf of bread: 20 cents
- Fast food hamburger: 20 cents
- Frozen French-fried potatoes: 10 cents for 8 oz
1961:
- Cheerios™: 25 cents per pack
- Swanson Chicken TV Dinner: 49 cents
- Watermelon: 2.5 cents per pound
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 23 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco ® Oreo Cookies: 45 cents
1962:
- Fast food hamburger: 20 cents
- 18 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 27 cents
- 1 can of Campbell’s® Tomato Soup: 10 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 49 cents
1963:
- Apples: 49 cents for 3 pounds
- Asparagus: 19 cents per pound
- Bananas: 10 cents per pound
- Banquet® Frozen Dinner: 39 cents
- Beef chuck roast: 49 cents per pound
- Chicken: 29 cents per pound (today, $1.54 per pound)
- Colby cheese: 39 cents per pound
- Frozen cod fillets: 33 cents per pound
- Green peppers: 5 cents each
- Ground beef: 45 cents per pound (today, $4.13 per pound)
- Ham: 39 cents per pound
- Kielbasa: 59 cents per pound
- Kraft® Deluxe Dinner: 39 cents
- Lamb chops: 89 cents per pound
- Large eggs: 45 cents per dozen
- Kraft® Macaroni and Cheese: 39 cents
- Mazola® Vegetable Oil: 69 cents
- Kraft® Miracle Whip: 49 cents
- North State Frozen Dinner: 39 cents
- Onions: 29 cents for 2 pounds
- Oranges: 89 cents for 2 dozen
- Potatoes: 39 cents for 10 pounds
- Sliced bacon: 29 cents per pound
- Sugared donuts: 49 cents per dozen
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 23 cents
- 1 can of Campbell’s® Tomato Soup: 10 cents
- 7/8 oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 5 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco ® Oreo Cookies: 45 cents
1964:
- Half gallon of ice cream: 79 cents
- Tide® detergent: 19 cents
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 29 cents
- 3 “tall” cans of Campbell’s® Tomato Soup: 20 cents
- 2.5 oz can of Coca-Cola®: 27 cents
- McDonald’s regular hamburger: 15 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 39 cents
1965:
(Inflation rate: $1 then is closer to $8.07 today)
- Broiler chickens: 29 cents per pound
- California grapes: 14 cents per pound
- Campbell’s® Soup: 89 cents for 6 cans
- Carrots: 29 cents for 4 pounds
- Eggnog: 69 cents per quart
- Fresh carrots: 9 cents per bunch
- Frozen French-fried potatoes: 10 cents for 8 oz
- Heinz® Catsup: 28 cents
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 25 cents
- 10.5 oz can of Campbell’s® Tomato Soup: 11 cents
- 1 oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 5 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 43 cents
- Gallon of milk: 95 cents
- 1 dozen eggs: 53 cents
- Pillsbury cake mix: 25 cents
- 1 pound of pork chops: $1.03
- 6 pack of Pepsi®: 59 cents
- 6 pack of beer: 99 cents
1966:
- Bacon: 79 cents per pound
- Carrots: 15 cents per pound
- Pack of Cheerios™: 28 cents
- 1 dozen eggs: 55 cents
- Frozen chicken pies: 29 cents
- Birds Eye® French fries: 89 cents for 9 oz
- Gerber® baby food: 25 cents for 3
- Heinz® Ketchup: 22 cents
- Kraft® processed cheese: 39 cents for 8 oz
- Iceberg lettuce: 25 cents per head
- Margarine: 31 cents per pound
- Porterhouse steak: $1.19 per pound
- Sweet corn: 5 cents each
- Sweet potatoes: 29 cents for 3 pounds
- Tide® laundry soap: 59 cents
- Crest® toothpaste: 50 cents
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 25 cents
- 7/8 oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 5 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 43 cents
1967:
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 29 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 49 cents
1968:
- 18 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 39 cents
- 10.5 oz can of Campbell’s® Tomato Soup: 11 cents
- 6 pack of 10-oz bottles of Pepsi®: 59 cents
- ¾ oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 5 cents
- McDonald’s regular hamburger: 18 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 45 cents
- Bacon: 99 cents for 2 pounds
- Chuck roast: 37 cents per pound
1969:
- 12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 29 cents
- 10.5 oz can of Campbell’s® Tomato Soup: 8 cents
- 1.5 oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 10 cents
- 1 pound of Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 51 cents
Sources:
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60sfood.html
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/this-is-what-groceries-cost-the-year-you-were-born/
https://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq5.html