How much did a first-class postage stamp cost?
A first-class postage stamp cost $0.06 in 1969 and $0.82 in 2026: about 14 times as much.
Over the same years, prices in general (US inflation, measured by the consumer price index, CPI) rose about 8.8 times (inflation figures run to 2025, the latest full year published). That makes $0.06 in 1969 worth about $0.53 in 2025 money. So it got more expensive even after inflation: about 56% more, in real terms, than in 1969.
The biggest change between two listed years came between 2010 and 2026, when it went up 86%, from $0.44 to $0.82.
Postage stamp: price by year
| Year | Price | In 2025 dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | $0.06 | $0.53 |
| 1972 | $0.08 | $0.62 |
| 1976 | $0.13 | $0.74 |
| 1980 | $0.15 | $0.59 |
| 1983 | $0.20 | $0.65 |
| 1986 | $0.22 | $0.65 |
| 1990 | $0.25 | $0.62 |
| 1993 | $0.29 | $0.65 |
| 1997 | $0.32 | $0.64 |
| 2004 | $0.37 | $0.63 |
| 2010 | $0.44 | $0.65 |
| 2026 | $0.82 | – |
"In 2025 dollars" adjusts each amount for inflation with the CPI, so the years can be compared fairly. How this works.
Where the numbers come from
The US Postal Service rate in force all year. Years in which the rate changed part-way through are left out, so every year shown had a single price.
Source: USPS, Rates for Domestic Letters Since 1863. View the source.
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