New Car Prices Price History
1950–2025 · Bureau of Economic Analysis / Kelley Blue Book
The average transaction price of a new light vehicle (cars and light trucks combined) sold in the United States, tracked from 1950 to 2025. A new car used to cost about the same as a year of college tuition. Today it rivals a down payment on a house. This dataset captures the steady climb — and occasional leaps — in what Americans pay to drive off the lot, reflecting everything from safety mandates and emission standards to the SUV boom and pandemic-era chip shortages.
Price in 1950
$2,200.00
Price in 2025
$49,500.00
Total Change
+2150.0%
Years Tracked
75
New Car Prices Over Time
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- The average new vehicle cost roughly $2,200 in 1950 — about $28,000 in today's dollars. By 2025, the average transaction price sits above $49,500, meaning vehicles have gotten substantially more expensive even after adjusting for inflation.
- New vehicle prices jumped roughly 30% between 2020 and 2023 as semiconductor shortages strangled production and dealers charged well above sticker for the first time in a generation.
- The shift from sedans to SUVs and trucks over the past two decades has been a major driver of rising average prices, since these larger vehicles carry higher margins and MSRPs.
- In real terms, the cheapest decade to buy a new car was the 1990s, when intense competition from Japanese automakers kept a lid on prices even as quality improved.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | $2,200.00 | — |
| 1951 | $2,320.00 | +5.5% |
| 1952 | $2,380.00 | +2.6% |
| 1953 | $2,430.00 | +2.1% |
| 1954 | $2,470.00 | +1.6% |
| 1955 | $2,550.00 | +3.2% |
| 1956 | $2,650.00 | +3.9% |
| 1957 | $2,750.00 | +3.8% |
| 1958 | $2,800.00 | +1.8% |
| 1959 | $2,850.00 | +1.8% |
| 1960 | $2,600.00 | -8.8% |
| 1961 | $2,650.00 | +1.9% |
| 1962 | $2,700.00 | +1.9% |
| 1963 | $2,750.00 | +1.9% |
| 1964 | $2,800.00 | +1.8% |
| 1965 | $2,900.00 | +3.6% |
| 1966 | $3,000.00 | +3.4% |
| 1967 | $3,100.00 | +3.3% |
| 1968 | $3,250.00 | +4.8% |
| 1969 | $3,400.00 | +4.6% |
| 1970 | $3,542.00 | +4.2% |
| 1971 | $3,742.00 | +5.6% |
| 1972 | $3,879.00 | +3.7% |
| 1973 | $4,052.00 | +4.5% |
| 1974 | $4,440.00 | +9.6% |
| 1975 | $4,950.00 | +11.5% |
| 1976 | $5,418.00 | +9.5% |
| 1977 | $5,814.00 | +7.3% |
| 1978 | $6,379.00 | +9.7% |
| 1979 | $6,847.00 | +7.3% |
| 1980 | $7,609.00 | +11.1% |
| 1981 | $8,910.00 | +17.1% |
| 1982 | $9,865.00 | +10.7% |
| 1983 | $10,516.00 | +6.6% |
| 1984 | $11,079.00 | +5.4% |
| 1985 | $11,589.00 | +4.6% |
| 1986 | $12,319.00 | +6.3% |
| 1987 | $12,922.00 | +4.9% |
| 1988 | $13,534.00 | +4.7% |
| 1989 | $14,371.00 | +6.2% |
| 1990 | $14,489.00 | +0.8% |
| 1991 | $15,475.00 | +6.8% |
| 1992 | $16,336.00 | +5.6% |
| 1993 | $16,871.00 | +3.3% |
| 1994 | $17,903.00 | +6.1% |
| 1995 | $18,309.00 | +2.3% |
| 1996 | $18,777.00 | +2.6% |
| 1997 | $19,267.00 | +2.6% |
| 1998 | $20,276.00 | +5.2% |
| 1999 | $20,686.00 | +2.0% |
| 2000 | $21,850.00 | +5.6% |
| 2001 | $22,410.00 | +2.6% |
| 2002 | $22,735.00 | +1.5% |
| 2003 | $22,666.00 | -0.3% |
| 2004 | $23,296.00 | +2.8% |
| 2005 | $23,485.00 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | $23,636.00 | +0.6% |
| 2007 | $24,174.00 | +2.3% |
| 2008 | $24,550.00 | +1.6% |
| 2009 | $24,650.00 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | $25,770.00 | +4.5% |
| 2011 | $27,600.00 | +7.1% |
| 2012 | $28,780.00 | +4.3% |
| 2013 | $29,650.00 | +3.0% |
| 2014 | $31,252.00 | +5.4% |
| 2015 | $33,340.00 | +6.7% |
| 2016 | $34,072.00 | +2.2% |
| 2017 | $35,285.00 | +3.6% |
| 2018 | $36,270.00 | +2.8% |
| 2019 | $36,718.00 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | $38,723.00 | +5.5% |
| 2021 | $42,258.00 | +9.1% |
| 2022 | $48,094.00 | +13.8% |
| 2023 | $47,936.00 | -0.3% |
| 2024 | $48,759.00 | +1.7% |
| 2025 | $49,500.00 | +1.5% |
Sources & Methodology
Average transaction price for new light vehicles (cars and light trucks) sold in the United States. Data from 1950 through the 1960s is estimated from BEA personal consumption expenditure tables and industry records. From the 1970s onward, figures incorporate NADA and Kelley Blue Book transaction data. Prices represent what buyers actually paid, not MSRP. Pre-1970 estimates carry wider margins of error (±10–15%) and should be treated as approximations.
Primary source: Bureau of Economic Analysis / Kelley Blue Book
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.