Consumer prices rose 1.0% in 1962, matching 1961’s pace as inflation stayed remarkably low and unemployment slowly declined from its recession-era highs. That January, Kennedy’s Council of Economic Advisers introduced “wage-price guideposts,” non-binding targets meant to keep pay and price increases in line with productivity growth without formal controls. The space race delivered a milestone that February, when John Glenn’s Friendship 7 capsule circled Earth three times, making him the first American to orbit the planet. Markets got a scare that spring: a dispute over U.S. Steel’s April price increase, which Kennedy publicly pressured the company into rolling back, rattled investors, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 5.7% on May 28, its steepest one-day drop since the 1929 crash. The year’s gravest moment came that October, when American reconnaissance photographed Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, setting off a 13-day standoff that brought the two superpowers closer to nuclear war than at any other point in the Cold War before the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade the island. Consumer prices finished 1962 205.1% above their 1913 level. First-class postage held at 4 cents, and the minimum wage stayed at $1.15 an hour.
Year in review
Inflation in 1962
The U.S. inflation rate in 1962 was 1.0% (CPI: 30.2). Convert 1962 dollars to today →
1.0% 1962 inflation rate
2.4% 1960s average
1.3% peak month (Apr)
0.7% lowest month (Jan)
What things cost in 1962
| First-class stamp | $0.04 |
|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $1.15 |
What $100 from 1962 was worth later
| In 1970 | $128 |
|---|---|
| In 1980 | $273 |
| In 1990 | $433 |
| In 2000 | $570 |
| In 2010 | $722 |
| In 2020 | $857 |
| In 2026 | $1,098 |
Inflation in 1962, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 30 | 0.7% |
| February | 30.1 | 1.0% |
| March | 30.1 | 1.0% |
| April | 30.2 | 1.3% |
| May | 30.2 | 1.3% |
| June | 30.2 | 1.3% |
| July | 30.3 | 1.0% |
| August | 30.3 | 1.3% |
| September | 30.4 | 1.3% |
| October | 30.4 | 1.3% |
| November | 30.4 | 1.3% |
| December | 30.4 | 1.3% |
Economic events of 1962
- Consumer prices rise 1.0% for a second straight year Inflation stayed remarkably low as unemployment slowly declined from its recession-era highs. That January, Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisers introduced "wage-price guideposts," non-binding targets meant to keep pay and price increases in line with productivity growth.
- John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth Glenn's Friendship 7 capsule circled the planet three times on February 20, a milestone in the space race that boosted national confidence after the Soviet Union's early lead.
- The stock market suffers its "Kennedy Slide" A dispute over U.S. Steel's April price increase, which Kennedy publicly pressured the company into rolling back, unsettled investors, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 5.7% on May 28, its steepest one-day drop since 1929.
- The Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink of war A 13-day standoff that began October 16, after American reconnaissance photographed Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, ended when the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade the island.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; Council of Economic Advisers, Economic Report of the President, 1962; NASA History Office (John Glenn's orbital flight); Federal Reserve History (1962 stock market decline); John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (Cuban Missile Crisis).
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.