With President Herbert Hoover in office in 1932, all 48 states were in the throes of The Great Depression. Following the Wall St. stock market crash on Oct. 28, 1929, economic times went from bad to worse after the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 13 percent on that day.
Had the prices for food, clothing, housing, motor vehicles and entertainment been the prices that they are today, more than likely it would have spelled the end of the USA.
Before President Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated President Hoover in his reelection bid in Nov. of 1932, the Miss America Pageant was not held and the U.S. car sales had fallen 20 percent from their 1929 levels. With the price of a dozen eggs ranging from $4.00 upward today, the cost of a dozen eggs in 1932 was only 16 cents per dozen. With the price of a pound of bacon today ranging from $6.00 upward, the price in 1932 for a pound of bacon was only 25 cents. Today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a pound of hamburger ranges from $4.50 upward compared to $10 cents per pound in 1932.
As for the average price of a loaf of bread today being $2.50, in 1932 a fresh baked loaf of bread cost seven cents. The average price of a pound of coffee today is $1.75 compared to a pound of ground coffee in 1932 being only 35 cents.
The average cost of ten pounds of granulated sugar in 1932 was 59 cents compared to today’s average cost of $2.00. Milk sold for 43 cents per gallon in 1932 compared to the average price of $4.23 per gallon today. The cost of movie tickets today ranges from $10.00 for children to $18.00 for adults, but in 1932, moviegoers could purchase a ticket to escape their economic misery by paying only 25 cents to see the likes of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in “Red Dust.” Gasoline at the pump was only 10 cents per gallon, and a first class postage stamp could be purchased for three cents in 1932.
A new car could be purchased back then for $610, and a house could be built for less than $7,000. The average rent during 1932 was only $18.00 per month However, the average income was only $1,652.00 per year. The average cost of a new automobile today is $49,000, but the average wage earned has risen to $54,000 per year.
The median cost to build a home in Va. today is $307,000. The cost of tuition to attend Harvard University was only $400 in 1932 compared to $52,629 today. Bob Dylan recorded his hit, “The Times They Are a- Changin’”45 years ago, and inflation has proven the title to be prophetic.
Today, inflation has outpaced wage hikes, and the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Va. is $3.21 per gallon, $3.11 more than Virginians paid in 1932.
