RPI inflation, 1966 to July 2026
£1.00 in 1966 is £27.21 today
That £1.00 bought 5.3 dozen eggs in 1966. Today it buys 0.42.
Prices up 2,621%5.6% a year on averageMultiply by 27.21
What £1.00 buys
Official average shop prices, not a basket. Things marked as outrunning inflation got dearer faster than everything else; things that lagged got relatively cheaper.
| Item | 1966 | Today |
|---|---|---|
| dozen eggslagged inflation19p then, about £2.38 today | 5.3 | 0.42 |
| pints of milklagged inflation4p then, about 70p today | 25 | 1.4 |
| Same money, adjusted for inflation | £1.00 | £27.21 |
The ONS stopped publishing these average prices in January 2025. Today's figures are that last reading moved on with inflation, so treat them as close rather than exact.
Houses and wages
Inflation is one story. What people earned, and what a home cost, are the other two.
Average house
£3,542 → £278,784
Up 78.7×, against 27.2× for prices generally
Average pay
£702 → £39,260
A year's average earnings, up 55.9×
Years of pay for a house
5.0 → 7.1
Average house price divided by average annual pay
If it had tracked wages
£55.93
What £1.00 in 1966 would be today if it had grown with pay rather than prices