Price check on gallon of milk in 1990’s vs now
Posted by Tahoefive@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 42 comments
Trying to comprehend what happened to milk pricing.
Yes, I understand inflation trends as well as government support for the dairy industry which is a matter of national security.
Please state general area and price. Bonus for fat level.
Was: Southeastern US, $1.89 in the 1990’s, store brand. In my family it was skim.
Now: Northwestern US, $3.62, Darigold brand. I only buy whole but skim is similar. (However, I don’t buy this brand. I choose a more expensive brand for no very good reason.)
Feels like not enough inflation, am I right? Am I wrong?
Kade7596@reddit
the rivers of wasted milk during covid literally blew my mind.
they literally wasted it to make sure the price didn't go down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypJux8J90A0
milk is so abundant, it could be our currency 🌭
Mail_Order_Lutefisk@reddit
Milk is one of the most government manipulated markets out there where government creates a glut because a shortage is so bad. So it’s a bad example. And skim milk is waste product that is basically priced at the cost of logistics because the companies who skim off all the fat for other dairy based products aren’t allowed to just dump the milk so they essentially give it away because it’s legit trash.
DiceyScientist@reddit
It is sensational to say skim milk is a waste product. Or, at least, you have to say nearly all milk in the USA is a waste product to varying degrees. Milk comes out of the cow (American Holstein) at 3.5-5% depending on the lactation cycle. It’s homogenized to the bulk tank at 3.5-3.7%. Then, skimmed to “whole milk” at 3.25% with extra fats/cream going to higher fat products (cream, cheese, etc).
So that makes any milk sold in the USA a waste product? Are creamers an enhanced product? It’s an odd phrasing.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Everything you’ve just said is objectively true from federal records, even if the average consumer would be put off by your wording. You are full-ass correct. Can we move past that?
My question is specifically about pricing. Let’s go ahead and presume your statements are all correct. How much was milk where you were in the 1990’s, and how much is it today where you are today?
Mail_Order_Lutefisk@reddit
I worked at a grocery store in the 90’s and it was $2.99 a gallon for whole in the mid 90’s, $1.99 for skim. It’s still under $4 now for for whole from major dairies (not higher end brands) and maybe $3 for skim. Production, cold storage and logistics have gone through a quantum leap that has kept milk stable and government intervention makes it completely outside the realm of inflation. Mass market unbranded cheese is similar, it has gone up a bit, but waaay under the rate of inflation. It’s still under $2 for an 8 ounce block locally.
So you are correct, it has in general not gone up much. But anywhere near cities where logistics costs are higher it is much more expensive now than in the 90’s. Inflation adjusted its price has gone way down over the past few decades.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
I think this comment sums it all up in a nutshell. Because a shortage of fresh fluid cow’s milk would be so bad for our society, our government has paid for milk to be a thing that we can have. Thus milk has been one of our most inflation-resistant goods, and mass market non-value-added cheese has followed a similar trend.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m wiser now.
Sensitive_Pianist777@reddit
I worked at a grocer in late 90s. Before GMO feedstock, remember how flimsy the egg shells were? They would crack and break so easily, leak everywhere. It was a disgusting part of the job to clean up the cartons (where I was at, we had to try to move good eggs to another carton and make a new carton. Many cartons were too soiled as well)..
Now, it's like trying to crack a nut at how much harder and thicker the shells are.
Mail_Order_Lutefisk@reddit
The “shrink” in the egg section was massive. You are correct. Eggs were a lot cheaper back then, always safely under a buck for a dozen.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
I hadn’t thought about that but you’re right. I always open my eggs to check but I haven’t had a broken one in over ten years.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
The dairy industry has historically been heavily subsidized in the US.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Wishing you the greatest reserves of patience.
mcfetrja@reddit
Worked in a grocery store from 94-96. Huntsville, AL. $1.89/gal for store brand/private label (skim/2%/whole). $2.19/gal for branded dairy Chocolate Whole. $2.09/gal for branded dairy skim/2%/whole.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Hell yes. So ATL and Huntsville were in deadlock in those years. Valuable data. High salaries at NASA in Huntsville and high comp for service workers in ATL. Thank you.
mcfetrja@reddit
Yep. Part of the reason we loved going to Nashville, Memphis, and Atlanta was cost parity. You got all the bigger city experience without big city cost inflation. Milk prices in Knoxville,TN area were like $0.10 cheaper from 96-00 but that was also the era of WalMart SuperCenter expansion in E TN.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
The feeling is mutual. I had just turned 21 when I first made it to Knoxville. I was on a group trip that involved some ATL beer lovers hosted by some Knoxville locals. We had a really lovely few days tasting the good Knoxville craft brews and enjoying the warm hospitality, the beautiful sunshine, and the local vibes.
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
I asked. $2/gal in the mid - late 90s, $5/gal now.
I live in the same state I grew up in.
My mom would get mad if we didn't drink it. She typically bought whole.
I don't drink milk now, but people I live with do. They only get half gallons.
Milk is one of the weirdest markets, we make too much of it, consumption of it is down, and other countries don't want our milk.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Thank you! Pennsylvania, right? A very strong state for the dairy lobby. Also a very strong state for the “legalize cheesesteaks, ignore big dairy” lobby.
I agree it’s absurdly important to us. Decades of White House-led campaigns have told us that milk is life.
What’s actually life in the US is meat and milk and cheese. We need edible beef, cheap cheese, and milk that won’t kill us. That’s how the US food supply works.
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
Yes I'm in PA. I often say milk is the most local food product one can buy. Not much comes from within 40 miles of my house lol
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Truth. A gallon of milk (or water) weighs eight pounds. You want to transport milk in bulk only as needed and put it in gallon jugs as close to its consumers as you can.
Worth_Specific3764@reddit
milk is SUPER heavily subsidized by the dairy lobby, and that's pretty much the only lobby I'm fine with because I love milk. It doesn't however extend to cheese, which makes me sad.
Geochic03@reddit
Big Cheese needs to get their shit together.
Salty-Tea6815@reddit
I think most of us here would have been children still in the 1990s or most of the 90s at least, so I doubt many are going to know or remember what milk cost at that time since we probably weren’t the ones doing the grocery shopping.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
No way bro. Are you one of us? Our moms took us to the store in the evening and we wanted gushers and fruit roll-ups and lunchables and then she pointed out the cost of one lunchable versus one gallon of milk and we pokemon dodged (though not pokemon because we were 24 months too early) with:
1: Olestra Ruffles poooooooot (iykyk) 2: uh…. Mario….. cereal? Zelda cereal? 3: Vienetta 4: Fruit leather 5: Reese’s Puffs
Salty-Tea6815@reddit
Mine pulled out the coupon pouch and we got to choose one from the top three coupons. Meanwhile we are scanning the boxes to find out which of those three cereals had the best toy in the box whether we actually liked that kind or not!!
Notredamus1@reddit
My guess is supply and demand. People drink much less milk than in the past. Its not as much of a staple in people's daily diet. Plus, people have more options like soy and almond milk.
jtho78@reddit
If you count inflation, we were paying more in the 90s.
https://www.inflationtool.com/adjusted-prices/us-milk
We can be better than the "Back in my day" generations.
Sensitive_Pianist777@reddit
Per capita consumption has also dropped alot. Maybe even offsetting population growth. We used to chug loads of that stuff because it was considered the miracle food.
jtho78@reddit
You're right we are drinking less liquid milk but that hasn't stopped other high protein dairy foods like yogurt, cheese, and protein powder. I think we export a lot of dairy products too
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/agricultural-production-and-prices
broke_fit_dad@reddit
Milk is highly subsidized as are feed grains which helps lower prices below the inflation rate. Also compared to the 90s milk has become more streamlined. Before it was small to midsized family farms (upto 150 cows) producing a large portion of the milk now its 200+ cow farms producing a majority of it. Also those farmers were selling to local or regional bottlers, now its Super Regional ( our local was a Tristate area, now it covers 2/3 of the east coast)
bloomsday289@reddit
Things don't have to evenly inflate. "inflation" as a number is the average of all goods and services from x to y. But somethings go up a lot, some even go down. Houses right now are crazy expensive vs the traditional price when compared to the average paycheck. tvs are way cheaper, and way better as a product.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
I agree. Now tell me what your mom paid for a gallon of milk in the 1990’s!
bloomsday289@reddit
$1.89 sounds right. I know I dined on a lot of .99 cent Whoopers that were delicious
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Hell yeah. Party on, Wayne.
VaticRogue@reddit
I worked in a grocery store from 96-99 and a gallon was usually 1.89-2.39 depending on brand
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Hell yeah thank you my brotha. What area was that, if you don’t mind my asking?
VaticRogue@reddit
New england
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Right on, thank you!
The_Dutchess-D@reddit
Maybe you want to ask this in a forum more geared towards economics?
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
I can do the calculations on my own. But in that forum they won’t remember what milk cost locally to them in the 1990’s.
I’m dissatisfied with the official statistics because I think they ignore the effects of population concentration over the past three decades.
The_Dutchess-D@reddit
There's good discussion and data of this topic at the below link. In short:
"The main reason is greater efficiency at the farm level, experts said. According to the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, U.S. dairy cattle produced four times as much milk per cow in 2021 as in 1945, and twice as much as in 1970. This increase stems from improvements in genetic selection and herd management, the council found.
Because the average cow produces much more milk in 2026, Bjerga said, the average farmer has much more milk to sell, and with greater supply comes lower prices."
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2026/mar/31/blake-gendebien/milk-prices-consumers-inflation-gallon-1980s/
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
Wow! Take my poor person award.
Tahoefive@reddit (OP)
P.s. If milk was sold in different units where you were, just let me know the unit size you used. You don’t need to convert to gallons.