CPI inflation, 2021 to August 2026
£1,000 in 2021 is £1,287 today
That £1,000 bought 1,176 first-class stamps in 2021. Today it buys 556.
Prices up 29%4.6% a year on averageMultiply by 1.29
What £1,000 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 | 2021 | Today |
|---|---|---|
| first-class stampsoutran inflation85p then, £1.80 today | 1,176 | 556 |
| pints of milkoutran inflation43p then, about 70p today | 2,331 | 1,429 |
| packs of 20 cigarettesoutran inflation£11.52 then, about £17.87 today | 87 | 56 |
| kg of roasting chickenoutran inflation£2.71 then, about £4.07 today | 369 | 246 |
| litres of unleaded£1.31 then, about £1.48 today | 763 | 678 |
| boxes of tea bags£2.00 then, about £2.84 today | 500 | 352 |
| sliced white loaves£1.07 then, about £1.51 today | 935 | 664 |
| dozen eggs£1.74 then, about £2.39 today | 575 | 419 |
| kg of bananas80p then, about £1.10 today | 1,250 | 911 |
| kg of rump steak£15.70 then, about £20.33 today | 64 | 49 |
| Same money, adjusted for inflation | £1,000 | £1,287 |
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
£243,750 → £278,784
Up 1.1×, against 1.3× for prices generally
Average pay
£30,160 → £39,312
A year's average earnings, up 1.3×
Years of pay for a house
8.1 → 7.1
Average house price divided by average annual pay
If it had tracked wages
£1,303
What £1,000 in 2021 would be today if it had grown with pay rather than prices