US Postage Stamp Price History, 1863 to Today
A first-class stamp costs $0.82 today, effective 2026-07-12. Below is every rate since 1863, with the date each one took effect, taken from the USPS Historian’s own table.
Three things this data shows
- The price has gone down only 2 times since the modern per-ounce series began in 1885. Once in 1919, and once on 2016-04-10, when the stamp fell from 49¢ to 47¢ after an exigent surcharge expired. That 2016 cut is the only decrease in living memory.
- Rate changes have accelerated sharply. There have been 8 changes so far in the 2020s, against 3 in the whole of the 1990s.
- Increases now land in July. The last 3 increases have all taken effect in July, which is why a postage table written in spring is usually wrong by August.
Every rate since 1863
| Effective date | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-12 | 82¢ |
| 2025-07-13 | 78¢ |
| 2024-07-14 | 73¢ |
| 2024-01-21 | 68¢ |
| 2023-07-09 | 66¢ |
| 2023-01-22 | 63¢ |
| 2022-07-10 | 60¢ |
| 2021-08-29 | 58¢ |
| 2019-01-27 | 55¢ |
| 2018-01-21 | 50¢ |
| 2017-01-22 | 49¢ |
| 2016-04-10 | 47¢ |
| 2014-01-26 | 49¢ |
| 2013-01-27 | 46¢ |
| 2012-01-22 | 45¢ |
| 2009-05-11 | 44¢ |
| 2008-05-12 | 42¢ |
| 2007-05-14 | 41¢ |
| 2006-01-08 | 39¢ |
| 2002-06-30 | 37¢ |
| 2001-01-07 | 34¢ |
| 1999-01-10 | 33¢ |
| 1995-01-01 | 32¢ |
| 1991-02-03 | 29¢ |
| 1988-04-03 | 25¢ |
| 1985-02-17 | 22¢ |
| 1981-11-01 | 20¢ |
| 1981-03-22 | 18¢ |
| 1978-05-29 | 15¢ |
| 1975-12-31 | 13¢ |
| 1974-03-02 | 10¢ |
| 1971-05-16 | 8¢ |
| 1968-01-07 | 6¢ |
| 1963-01-07 | 5¢ |
| 1958-08-01 | 4¢ |
| 1932-07-06 | 3¢ |
| 1919-07-01 | 2¢ |
| 1917-11-02 | 3¢ |
| 1885-07-01 | 2¢ |
| 1883-10-01 | 2¢ per ½ oz |
| 1863-07-01 | 3¢ per ½ oz |
Rates from 1863-07-01 to 2021-08-29 are transcribed from the USPS Historian’s “Rates for Domestic Letters Since 1863”. Later rates come from USPS price-change announcements. The two pre-1885 rows were priced per half ounce; every row after is per ounce.
Working out what you owe today
The stamp calculator handles the current arithmetic — size, weight, and envelope shape — and if you publish a rate table of your own, the embeddable version updates itself the next time USPS moves.