V-Day ’24: One Dozen Roses Today Versus 10, 20 and 40 Years Ago

Today, I bought my wife one dozen roses delivered to her work place and maybe I'm an idiot, but I thought despite our world of inflation, the price has been pretty steady over the last decade. Is my memory correct? I decided to dig back through the Valentine's Day holidays of yesteryear to compare prices.

I purchased one dozen roses and Olney's Flowers in Rome, to be delivered to the Utica area before today's close of business. The total cost, including tax, was $72. I feel like that's similar to what I paid last year, and the year before.

In 1980, the cost of a dozen roses delivered ranged from $35 to $45 with big city prices topping out at $65. 

What I'm going to reveal next, is actually going to shock you.

In 1990, the average cost of one-dozen long-stemmed roses delivered would have cost you between $70 and $80. That's more than I paid today.

In 1999, it cost between $80 and $90 for a dozen roses delivered, again - more than today. In 2015, the cost of Valentine's roses averaged around $72, at the price we're at today.

In regards to the national services, at 1-800-FLOWERS a dozen roses was $104 including the vase, but if you ordered them to be delivered tomorrow the price went down to $64.

In New York City, a dozen roses runs $97 on Valentine's Day with a $15 delivery fee.

Looking to save money locally? Go to Walmart where a dozen roses is $9.94, but you'll have to deliver them yourself. At the grocery store, a rose bouquet at Hannaford is $24.95. Both are a pretty good deal considering a nice thoughtful card at either location will set you back by about $5.95.