Consumer prices rose 3.1% in 1967, up from 1966’s 2.9% as Vietnam War spending kept climbing alongside expanding Great Society programs, a combination of rising military and domestic outlays that economists later blamed for entrenching inflation through the rest of the decade. The minimum wage rose that February 1, to $1.40 an hour, the first step of a phased increase Congress had set the year before. Urban unrest reached a peak that July, when days of rioting left 26 dead in Newark and 43 dead in Detroit, the deadliest of that summer’s roughly 160 disturbances; Johnson responded by forming the Kerner Commission to study the causes of the unrest. The Supreme Court gained its first Black justice that year too: the Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall on August 30, and he was sworn in that October after serving as U.S. Solicitor General and, before that, as the lead attorney in Brown v. Board of Education. Consumer prices finished 1967 237.4% above their 1913 level. First-class postage held at 5 cents.
Year in review
Inflation in 1967
The U.S. inflation rate in 1967 was 3.1% (CPI: 33.4). Convert 1967 dollars to today →
3.1% 1967 inflation rate
2.4% 1960s average
3.5% peak month (Jan)
2.4% lowest month (Oct)
What things cost in 1967
| First-class stamp | $0.05 |
|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $1.40 |
What $100 from 1967 was worth later
| In 1970 | $116 |
|---|---|
| In 1980 | $247 |
| In 1990 | $391 |
| In 2000 | $516 |
| In 2010 | $653 |
| In 2020 | $775 |
| In 2026 | $993 |
Inflation in 1967, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 32.9 | 3.5% |
| February | 32.9 | 2.8% |
| March | 33 | 2.8% |
| April | 33.1 | 2.5% |
| May | 33.2 | 2.8% |
| June | 33.3 | 2.8% |
| July | 33.4 | 2.8% |
| August | 33.5 | 2.4% |
| September | 33.6 | 2.8% |
| October | 33.7 | 2.4% |
| November | 33.8 | 2.7% |
| December | 33.9 | 3.0% |
Economic events of 1967
- Consumer prices rise 3.1% as Vietnam spending keeps climbing Federal war outlays kept growing even as Great Society programs expanded too, a combination of rising military and domestic spending that economists later blamed for entrenching inflation through the rest of the decade.
- The minimum wage rises to $1.40 an hour The increase took effect February 1, the first step of the phased schedule set by the 1966 amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Riots devastate Newark and Detroit Days of rioting that July left 26 dead in Newark and 43 dead in Detroit, the deadliest of that summer's roughly 160 urban disturbances. Johnson responded by forming the Kerner Commission to study the causes of urban unrest.
- Thurgood Marshall becomes the first Black Supreme Court justice The Senate confirmed Marshall on August 30, and he was sworn in October 2 after serving as U.S. Solicitor General and, before that, as the lead attorney in Brown v. Board of Education.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; U.S. Department of Labor, history of the federal minimum wage; National Archives (the Kerner Commission); Supreme Court Historical Society (Thurgood Marshall's confirmation).
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.