This Is How Much A 6-Pack Of Beer Cost In The 1970s

If you're looking to enjoy a few cold ones on a hot day, the price can vary considerably depending on where you buy them and which brand you choose. A 6-pack of Keystone Light beer is just under $7 at Walmart. A 15-pack of the same brand is under $9. That's about 60 cents per beer, which seems like a great deal. On the other end of the spectrum, a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager is about $11. The Council for Community and Economic Research says the national average for beer is $10.71. But those are 2026 prices, and they just can't compete with the beer of yesteryear. In 1970, you could get a 6-pack of Miller High Life for just 99 cents. That's not even 17 cents per beer for what some bartenders still consider the best cheap beer out there.

According to 24/7 Wall Street, the average price of a 6-pack in 1970 was $1.98, meaning Miller High Life for 99 cents was even a bargain back then. The price of beer went up considerably in the 1980s. High Life wasn't the only discount beer, however. Koehler's advertised 6 packs at less than 99 cents, though it never specified how much less in the ad. As late as 1975, a 6-pack of Schaefer beer would cost you less than $1. How much less? Again, that was a mystery, but it seemed to be a common way to advertise beer prices. 

Though unconfirmed, some posters on Reddit shared memories of 6-packs that cost as little as 89 cents. Cheap didn't mean popular, of course, and the poster added the caveat, "the beer people actually drank was between $1.19 to $1.89."

While 99 cents sounds like a great price for beer, when you adjust for inflation you get a different picture. In 2026 dollars, 99 cents from 1970 is worth $8.50. You can get a 6-pack of Miller High Life at Target for $6.99. That means it's actually a more affordable beer in 2026, relatively speaking. At an average price of $1.98 for a 6-pack in 1970, that would be the equivalent of $16.99 today. While not unheard of, that price would generally be associated with a premium or craft beer. 

Things get a little different if we look at that 6-pack of Schaefer beer from 1975. It was listed at under a dollar, so if you assume 99 cents and adjust for inflation, that works out to $6.13 for a 6-pack. By today's standards, that's a very good deal. That said, there are still a few places where you can get a 6-pack of beer like Pabst for $5.63 today. Even if you don't like to drink it, Pabst is great for fried fish batter. The Schaefer beer is a good deal, but it's still not beating all modern prices. 

Something to remember when looking at nostalgic pictures of how things were back in the day is that inflation is not always working against you. Many things are far more expensive than they used to be, but there are still a few kinds of beer that are affordable even by 1970s standards. They may not be your favorite kind of beer, but they're out there.