Birth year

Born in 1982? Here's your year in charts

In 1982, the top baby names were Jennifer and Michael, a dozen eggs cost $0.87, unemployment averaged 9.7%, a newborn could expect to live 74.5 years, and the world had 4.6 billion people.

Top baby names of 1982

Girls

  1. 1. Jennifer 57,120 babies, 3.4% of girls
  2. 2. Jessica 45,453 babies, 2.7% of girls
  3. 3. Amanda 34,214 babies, 2.0% of girls
  4. 4. Sarah 28,483 babies, 1.7% of girls
  5. 5. Melissa 25,864 babies, 1.5% of girls

Boys

  1. 1. Michael 68,216 babies, 3.8% of boys
  2. 2. Christopher 59,223 babies, 3.3% of boys
  3. 3. Matthew 46,045 babies, 2.5% of boys
  4. 4. Jason 40,628 babies, 2.2% of boys
  5. 5. David 40,453 babies, 2.2% of boys

From Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S.; names given to fewer than 5 babies are left out. Pick a name to see how many babies got it every year since 1880.

1982 then vs. now

  • A dozen eggs

    See the chart

    $0.87 in 1982, compared with $2.27 in September 2026

    Average price of grade A large eggs in U.S. cities.

  • Unemployment rate

    See the chart

    9.7% in 1982, compared with 4.2% in September 2026

    Share of the labor force out of work, the year's average.

  • Life expectancy at birth

    See the chart

    74.5 years in 1982, compared with 78.7 years in 2018

    How long a baby born that year could expect to live, at that year's death rates.

  • People in the world

    See the chart

    4.6 billion in 1982, compared with 8.22 billion in 2025

    World population at mid-year.

Prices are in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation. A figure is left out when its chart doesn't cover 1982.

$100 in 1982 buys about as much as $349.16 in September 2026. Try the inflation calculator

Share this year

Try another year

← 1981 1983 →

Sources and dates