Consumer prices rose 1.3% in 1964, matching 1963’s pace even as a large federal tax cut took effect that year. The Revenue Act of 1964, signed February 26, lowered individual and corporate tax rates significantly, the cut Kennedy had proposed the year before his death and Johnson pushed through Congress as a Keynesian bet that lower taxes would spur enough growth without stoking prices. Congress reshaped civil rights law that July 2, when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin in employment and public accommodations, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. Vietnam policy shifted that August, when Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution after reported attacks on U.S. Navy destroyers, authorizing Johnson to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war. American pop culture changed that February too: the Beatles landed at New York’s Kennedy Airport and played the Ed Sullivan Show two days later for an estimated 73 million viewers, igniting the “British Invasion.” Consumer prices finished 1964 213.1% above their 1913 level. First-class postage held at 5 cents, and the minimum wage stayed at $1.25 an hour.
Year in review
Inflation in 1964
The U.S. inflation rate in 1964 was 1.3% (CPI: 31). Convert 1964 dollars to today →
1.3% 1964 inflation rate
2.4% 1960s average
1.6% peak month (Jan)
1.0% lowest month (Dec)
What things cost in 1964
| First-class stamp | $0.05 |
|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $1.25 |
What $100 from 1964 was worth later
| In 1970 | $125 |
|---|---|
| In 1980 | $266 |
| In 1990 | $422 |
| In 2000 | $555 |
| In 2010 | $703 |
| In 2020 | $835 |
| In 2026 | $1,070 |
Inflation in 1964, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 30.9 | 1.6% |
| February | 30.9 | 1.6% |
| March | 30.9 | 1.3% |
| April | 30.9 | 1.3% |
| May | 30.9 | 1.3% |
| June | 31 | 1.3% |
| July | 31.1 | 1.3% |
| August | 31 | 1.0% |
| September | 31.1 | 1.3% |
| October | 31.1 | 1.0% |
| November | 31.2 | 1.3% |
| December | 31.2 | 1.0% |
Economic events of 1964
- Consumer prices rise 1.3%, matching the year before Inflation held steady even as a large federal tax cut took effect, a Keynesian bet that lower taxes would spur enough growth to avoid stoking prices.
- Congress enacts the Kennedy-Johnson tax cut The Revenue Act of 1964, signed February 26, lowered individual and corporate tax rates significantly, the tax cut Kennedy had proposed the year before his death and Johnson pushed through Congress.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 becomes law Signed July 2, the law outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin in employment and public accommodations, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
- Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Signed August 7 after reported attacks on U.S. Navy destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, the resolution authorized President Johnson to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.
- The Beatles arrive in America The band landed at New York's Kennedy Airport on February 7 and played the Ed Sullivan Show two days later for an estimated 73 million viewers, igniting the "British Invasion" of American pop culture.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; Internal Revenue Service, history of federal income tax rates (Revenue Act of 1964); National Archives (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Gulf of Tonkin Resolution); Library of Congress (the Beatles' first U.S. visit).
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.