Prices and Wages by Decade: 2000-2009

To get average prices of common items purchased by consumers including various meats, breads, dairy products, gasoline, electricity per KwH, etc., find “Average Price Data” > Select how you want to display your search options (One Screen recommended) > Follow the instructions on the screen. Dates in this set can vary, but can go back as far 1947.

Prices for meats, fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs, milk and more foods, as well as gasoline, electricity, natural gas and other residential energy. To view data back to 1980, click the green "Historical Data" icon in the rows, then use drop-down boxes near the top of the page to set start and end years.

• Midwest U.S. food and fuel prices
• Northeast U.S. food and fuel prices
• South U.S. food and fuel prices
• West U.S. food and fuel prices

Gross rent is defined as "the monthly amount of rent plus the estimated average monthly cost of utilities (electricity, gas, water and sewer) and fuels (oil, coal, kerosene, wood, etc.). This source shows data by state and for the U.S. as a whole. Source: U.S. Census of Housing, choose unadjusted figures. Table displays best in Chrome.

Median home values for states and for the U.S. as a whole. Source: U.S. Census of Housing, choose unadjusted figures. The table displays best in Chrome.

For those who want a simple figure which does not take into account number of rooms, square footage or home location, this U.S. Census Bureau chart shows the average and median selling price of only NEW homes (not older homes), reported monthly back to January 1963. For greater detail on sales of newly built homes up through 1985, see the Census Bureau's Construction Reports series "Sales of New One Family Homes"

Shows average value per acre (statewide) for farm real estate including both land and buildings. Table shows price per acre for each year from 1912 to 2018. Compares the figures to the average for all other states.

Manufacturer suggested retail prices (MSRP) for cars and trucks are available through the NADA website. Choose a make, year, and body type. Select a car then enter any zip code (it makes no difference). Click "Get Base Values" to see the original suggested retail price.

Indicates how much people were paying on average for their new cars. Downloadable data from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Shows gasoline retail price data by state, region, or for the whole U.S. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Data collected by a U.S. senator and reported in a congressional hearing titled Gasoline Prices.

Source: the Historian of the U.S. Postal Service.

Students spent an average of $898 per year on textbooks in 2003-2004. See page 4 of the report Ripoff 101: How the Current Practices of the Textbook Industry Drives up the Cost of Textbooks. This report was quoted in the 2004 congressional hearing Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly? In contrast, college students spent around $30 annually for textbooks in 1932 (source).