Inflation

Fun(ny) Facts

The tuition and fees for Jesuit in 1963 was $610 per year. This year 2013 - 2014 it is $15,385 for seniors (tuition for all classes is $14,900; fees for seniors are more – retreat and graduation).

According to the calculator on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’s web page, $610 in 1963 would have bought $4,650 worth of goods and services today. So the cost of sending a boy to Jesuit has tripled in 50 years. Has the quality of education there increased commensurately? Certainly the facilities are vastly more elaborate.

The price inflation might be somewhat misleading. The FRB calculates an average of consumer goods and services. The cost of many items has decreased. Quite a few items we take for granted today were not available at any cost. Example: a color television set with a 21" screen sold for around $500 in 1963. Food costs have generally decreased over the years.

Average prices for 1963: Car: $2,300, House: $19,300, Gas: $0.30, Loaf of Bread: $0.21, Gallon of Milk: $1.04, First Class Postage Stamp: 4 cents.