Breakfast is truly a national treasure, but the meal beloved by many Americans has changed a lot over the years in terms of cost. From chowing down on a plate of bacon and eggs to devouring a New York-style bagel, breakfast 50 years ago may look similar, but it cost a lot less.
While the 1970s brought some change, including a lot of new fashion trends and the world’s first flavored instant oatmeal, a traditional breakfast for the family rang up to $4.46 in 1970. That price takes into account the cost of the most iconic breakfast foods like bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, coffee and orange juice. This includes numbers from our guide to the price of eggs the year you were born as well as prices listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
In 1970, a pound of bacon cost 95 cents, a dozen eggs cost 60 cents, bread was priced at 24 cents, 10 pounds of potatoes was 90 cents, coffee was 91 cents and a gallon of orange juice cost 86 cents.
And while breakfast in 1970 may have cost you $4.46, lunch for one cost only a buck. You could buy an entire bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich for just $1. 1970 was also the year that Kellogg’s — creator of many iconic food mascots — introduced Frosted Mini-Wheats nationally. And while there are plenty of breakfast cereals we wish would make a comeback, Mini-Wheats remains on shelves to this day.
Breakfast tables across America may have gotten some new items over the years, but you still can’t beat a simple plate of bacon and eggs. To see how much the average breakfast for you and your family would’ve cost throughout the years, check out our guide for how much breakfast cost the year you were born, dating back to 1937.
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