What America was like in 1951
You were born in…
1951
This is where your story begins.
You’ve been here for
75
years
That’s about 27,400 days of history.
A first-class stamp in 1951 cost
3¢
Today the same stamp costs 82¢.
A dollar from 1951 would be worth
$12.98
today
Measured by the government’s Consumer Price Index.
The federal minimum wage in 1951 was
75¢
an hour
Today it’s $7.25.
The president in 1951
Harry S. Truman
Since then you’ve lived under 14 presidents.
The 1950 census counted
151 million
Americans
By 2020 there were 331 million of us.
You’ve been around for
60
Super Bowls
Every single one of them. From Super Bowl I in 1967 to Super Bowl LX in 2026.
You’re older than…
- Swanson sold its first TV dinner1953. You were 2.
- Disneyland opened in California1955. You were 4.
- Congress created the Interstate Highway System1956. You were 5.
- NASA was founded1958. You were 7.
- Barbie went on sale1959. You were 8.
- The first Walmart opened in Rogers, Arkansas1962. You were 11.
…and 20 more on our list.
So yes,
you’ve seen the worldchange a lot.
And you remember it.
Your 1951 story
That was 1951.
Share it with someone who remembers it too.
A little 1951 in your inbox
Our free daily email: one story, one quiz and something you'll remember. Unsubscribe anytime.
Make one for someone you love
Where these numbers come from
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100
- U.S. Postal Service, Rates for Domestic Letters Since 1863
- U.S. Department of Labor, history of federal minimum wage rates
- U.S. Census Bureau, decennial census resident population
- Presidents and milestones: widely documented public records.