50 years ago

Shoe prices in 1976

What happened to U.S. shoe prices in 1976, how that year ranks, and what 1976 prices come to in September 2026 money.

$100 of shoes in 1976

$213.55

at September 2026 shoe prices (all footwear). Overall inflation would make it $592.08.

1976 vs 1975

+4.0%

Ranks 21st of 78 years since 1948, largest rise first. All items: +5.7%.

Real change in 1976

−1.7%

Shoes measured against everything else. Shoes got relatively cheaper.

Have a price from 1976? Open 1976 in the calculator →

Each shoe group in 1976

All footwear +4.0% Average index 72.3 · $100 then = $213.55 now · 21st of 78 years

BLS began separate men’s, women’s, and boys’ and girls’ footwear indexes in December 1977, so 1976 has the all-footwear index only.

1976 in context

All footwear rose 4.0% in 1976, while the consumer price index for all items rose 5.7% and clothing rose 3.7%. That left shoes 1.7% cheaper relative to everything else people bought.

Before the store: the producer price index for footwear made in the United States rose 7.5%. Factory to store →

Ranked by yearly change, 1976 sits between 1989 (+4.0%) and 2021 (+3.7%).

Month by month in 1976 (January = 100)

All footwear

Not seasonally adjusted BLS CPI indexes.

Neighboring years

1970+5.2%1971+3.3%1972+2.8%1973+4.2%1974+6.1%1975+4.5%1977+4.6%1978+4.4%1979+7.9%

← 1975 · 1977 →

Yearly figures are averages of the twelve monthly BLS CPI-U values; 2026 uses the months published so far. How we calculate