RPI inflation, 1975 to July 2026
£1.00 in 1975 is £12.27 today
That £1.00 bought 2.9 kg of bananas in 1975. Today it buys 0.92.
Prices up 1,127%5.0% a year on averageMultiply by 12.27
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 | 1975 | Today |
|---|---|---|
| kg of bananaslagged inflation34p then, about £1.09 today | 2.9 | 0.92 |
| kg of roasting chickenlagged inflation76p then, about £4.04 today | 1.3 | 0.25 |
| first-class stampsoutran inflation7p then, £1.80 today | 14 | 0.56 |
| dozen eggslagged inflation36p then, about £2.38 today | 2.8 | 0.42 |
| kg of rump steaklagged inflation£2.46 then, about £20.21 today | 0.41 | 0.05 |
| sliced white loaveslagged inflation16p then, about £1.50 today | 6.3 | 0.67 |
| pints of milklagged inflation7p then, about 70p today | 15 | 1.4 |
| Same money, adjusted for inflation | £1.00 | £12.27 |
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
£10,846 → £278,784
Up 25.7×, against 12.3× for prices generally
Average pay
£2,122 → £39,260
A year's average earnings, up 18.5×
Years of pay for a house
5.1 → 7.1
Average house price divided by average annual pay
If it had tracked wages
£18.50
What £1.00 in 1975 would be today if it had grown with pay rather than prices