What America was like in 1963
You were born in…
1963
This is where your story begins.
You’ve been here for
63
years
That’s about 23,000 days of history.
A first-class stamp in 1963 cost
5¢
Today the same stamp costs 82¢.
A dollar from 1963 would be worth
$11.00
today
Measured by the government’s Consumer Price Index.
The federal minimum wage in 1963 was
$1.15
an hour
Today it’s $7.25.
The presidents in 1963
John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Since then you’ve lived under 12 presidents.
The 1960 census counted
179 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…
- The Ford Mustang went on sale1964. You were 1.
- Medicare became law1965. You were 2.
- The first Super Bowl was played1967. You were 4.
- The first 911 call was made1968. You were 5.
- Astronauts walked on the Moon1969. You were 6.
- Walt Disney World opened in Florida1971. You were 8.
…and 13 more on our list.
So yes,
you’ve seen the worldchange a lot.
And you remember it.
Your 1963 story
That was 1963.
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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.