Postage Stamp 1 first-class letter (1 oz)
1967
5¢
$0.50 in 2026 dollars
2026
78¢
16× nominal
Real change
+57%
vs CPI since 1967
Yearly growth
+4.8%
CPI +4.0% / yr
High confidence: official survey series (BLS, USPS, NATO or Census) for most years.
Open in the explorer · See it in hours of work
Year by year
| Year | Price | In 2026 $ | Min-wage minutes | CPI-U |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | $0.05 | $0.50 | 2 min | 33.4 |
| 1968 | $0.06 | $0.57 | 2 min | 34.8 |
| 1969 | $0.06 | $0.54 | 2 min | 36.7 |
| 1970 | $0.06 | $0.51 | 2 min | 38.8 |
| 1971 | $0.08 | $0.65 | 3 min | 40.5 |
| 1972 | $0.08 | $0.63 | 3 min | 41.8 |
| 1973 | $0.08 | $0.60 | 3 min | 44.4 |
| 1974 | $0.10 | $0.67 | 3 min | 49.3 |
| 1975 | $0.10 | $0.62 | 3 min | 53.8 |
| 1976 | $0.13 | $0.76 | 3 min | 56.9 |
| 1977 | $0.13 | $0.71 | 3 min | 60.6 |
| 1978 | $0.15 | $0.76 | 3 min | 65.2 |
| 1979 | $0.15 | $0.68 | 3 min | 72.6 |
| 1980 | $0.15 | $0.60 | 3 min | 82.4 |
| 1981 | $0.18 | $0.66 | 3 min | 90.9 |
| 1982 | $0.20 | $0.69 | 4 min | 96.5 |
| 1983 | $0.20 | $0.67 | 4 min | 99.6 |
| 1984 | $0.20 | $0.64 | 4 min | 103.9 |
| 1985 | $0.22 | $0.68 | 4 min | 107.6 |
| 1986 | $0.22 | $0.66 | 4 min | 109.6 |
| 1987 | $0.22 | $0.64 | 4 min | 113.6 |
| 1988 | $0.25 | $0.70 | 4 min | 118.3 |
| 1989 | $0.25 | $0.67 | 4 min | 124.0 |
| 1990 | $0.25 | $0.63 | 4 min | 130.7 |
| 1991 | $0.29 | $0.71 | 4 min | 136.2 |
| 1992 | $0.29 | $0.68 | 4 min | 140.3 |
| 1993 | $0.29 | $0.66 | 4 min | 144.5 |
| 1994 | $0.29 | $0.65 | 4 min | 148.2 |
| 1995 | $0.32 | $0.70 | 5 min | 152.4 |
| 1996 | $0.32 | $0.68 | 5 min | 156.8 |
| 1997 | $0.32 | $0.66 | 4 min | 160.5 |
| 1998 | $0.32 | $0.65 | 4 min | 163.0 |
| 1999 | $0.33 | $0.66 | 4 min | 166.6 |
| 2000 | $0.33 | $0.63 | 4 min | 172.2 |
| 2001 | $0.34 | $0.64 | 4 min | 177.1 |
| 2002 | $0.37 | $0.68 | 4 min | 179.9 |
| 2003 | $0.37 | $0.67 | 4 min | 184.0 |
| 2004 | $0.37 | $0.65 | 4 min | 188.9 |
| 2005 | $0.37 | $0.63 | 4 min | 195.3 |
| 2006 | $0.39 | $0.64 | 5 min | 201.6 |
| 2007 | $0.41 | $0.65 | 5 min | 207.3 |
| 2008 | $0.42 | $0.65 | 4 min | 215.3 |
| 2009 | $0.44 | $0.68 | 4 min | 214.5 |
| 2010 | $0.44 | $0.67 | 4 min | 218.1 |
| 2011 | $0.44 | $0.65 | 4 min | 224.9 |
| 2012 | $0.45 | $0.65 | 4 min | 229.6 |
| 2013 | $0.46 | $0.65 | 4 min | 233.0 |
| 2014 | $0.49 | $0.69 | 4 min | 236.7 |
| 2015 | $0.49 | $0.68 | 4 min | 237.0 |
| 2016 | $0.47 | $0.65 | 4 min | 240.0 |
| 2017 | $0.49 | $0.66 | 4 min | 245.1 |
| 2018 | $0.50 | $0.66 | 4 min | 251.1 |
| 2019 | $0.55 | $0.71 | 5 min | 255.7 |
| 2020 | $0.55 | $0.70 | 5 min | 258.8 |
| 2021 | $0.55 | $0.67 | 5 min | 271.0 |
| 2022 | $0.58 | $0.66 | 5 min | 292.7 |
| 2023 | $0.66 | $0.72 | 5 min | 304.7 |
| 2024 | $0.68 | $0.72 | 6 min | 313.7 |
| 2025 | $0.73 | $0.75 | 6 min | 321.9 |
| 2026 | $0.78 | $0.78 | 6 min | 331.2 |
Sources
Rate in effect for the majority of days in each year (a rate that changed in July, as in 2022-2025, shows up the following year). Forever stamps, introduced in 2007, are valued at the current rate.