Books--Average Retail Prices statistics

[In dollars. Covers listings in Bowker's American Book Publishing Record in year shown, plus titles issued in that year which were listed in following 6 months. Comprises new books (published for first time) and new editions (with changes in text or format)]


SUBJECT	1980	1985	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998


Hardcover ¹	24.64	31.46	42.12	44.17	45.05	34.98	44.65	47.15	50.00	50.22	49.60
Agriculture	27.55	36.77	54.24	57.73	53.76	41.84	58.10	49.00	45.00	47.54	43.60
Art	27.70	35.15	42.18	44.99	44.59	39.99	39.97	41.23	53.40	46.00	43.22
Biography	19.77	22.20	29.58	27.52	30.41	28.37	30.43	30.01	31.67	33.50	33.15
Business	22.45	28.84	45.48	43.38	43.91	37.95	42.72	46.90	52.62	52.89	54.77
Education	17.01	27.28	38.72	41.26	48.77	38.60	47.98	43.00	47.09	45.57	49.49
Fiction	12.46	15.29	19.83	21.30	20.39	19.50	20.95	21.47	22.89	21.41	22.25
General works	29.84	37.91	54.77	51.74	56.29	45.41	60.41	54.11	68.36	59.39	59.65
History	22.78	27.02	36.43	39.87	39.19	40.78	40.20	42.19	45.62	43.51	43.39
Home economics	13.31	17.50	23.80	24.23	24.88	20.55	20.49	22.53	23.39	23.32	24.04
Juvenile	8.16	9.95	13.01	16.64	14.46	13.87	14.59	14.55	15.97	15.64	16.12
Language	22.16	28.68	42.98	51.71	49.68	34.02	52.09	54.89	58.81	57.59	58.52
Law	33.25	41.70	60.78	64.89	76.21	53.94	72.32	73.09	88.51	89.15	79.32
Literature	18.70	24.53	35.80	36.76	39.23	35.30	37.77	38.49	43.28	44.89	45.05
Medicine	34.28	44.36	72.24	71.44	75.22	49.78	76.30	75.80	81.48	85.92	81.77
Music	21.79	28.79	41.86	41.04	47.37	41.44	39.27	43.27	39.21	43.58	47.25
Philosophy, psychology	21.70	28.11	40.58	42.74	46.85	39.44	44.71	45.26	48.40	48.06	50.40
Poetry and drama	17.85	22.14	32.19	33.29	36.76	31.06	31.56	34.96	34.15	36.76	36.02
Religion	17.61	19.13	31.31	32.33	35.31	29.16	30.73	34.27	36.62	40.52	35.08
Science	37.45	51.19	74.39	80.14	81.95	52.71	90.12	93.52	90.63	78.14	72.39
Sociology, economics	31.76	33.33	42.10	48.43	45.53	41.32	50.24	55.51	53.82	55.05	58.36
Sports, recreation	15.92	23.43	30.52	30.68	34.62	32.28	33.39	32.14	34.71	32.35	37.21
Technology	33.64	50.37	76.80	76.40	82.18	56.31	81.03	88.28	91.59	89.96	85.47
Travel	16.80	24.66	30.41	32.43	33.28	26.22	32.13	38.30	33.91	30.58	36.59

Paperbacks:
Mass market ²	(NA)	3.63	4.57	5.08	5.22	5.82	5.70	6.53	6.57	9.31	9.31
Trade	8.60	13.98	17.45	18.40	18.81	20.56	20.56	21.71	21.41	22.67	22.86

NA Not available. 1 Excludes publications of the United States and other governmental units, books sold only by subscription, and dissertations.
2 "Pocket-sized" books sold primarily through magazine and news outlets, supermarkets, variety stores, etc.

Source: R. R. Bowker Co., New Providence, NJ, The Bowker Annual: Library and Book Trade Almanac. (Copyright by R.R. Bowker, A Division of Elsevier, Inc.)

http://www.bowker.com/

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/929_books_average_retail_prices.html

These tables are based on figures supplied by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and are subject to revision by the Census Bureau.

Copyright © 2006 Photius Coutsoukis and Information Technology Associates, all rights reserved.