Overall grocery prices increased by 0.2% in August after they increased by 0.3% July, according to data published Sept. 13 by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, they advanced 3.0% from a year earlier, which is down from 3.6%. As recently as August 2022, the year-over-year level at 13.5% was the highest inflation rate for groceries since March 1979.
The BLS surveys food prices as part of its Consumer Price Index (view CPI data), which measures U.S. inflation at the consumer level. Food inflation is based on prices for "food at home" items (supermarket or grocery store prices) and "food away from home" items (foodservice or restaurant purchases). Recently, food inflation increased by 4.3% year-over-year, compared to a previous increase of 4.9%.
The information on the rest of this page focuses on the grocery component of food inflation.
Chart: Annual Change in Grocery Prices (Grocery Prices Inflation)
The following chart shows the change in grocery prices by calendar year since 2000. For 2023, it displays the change in grocery prices from August 2022 to August 2023.
Chart: Grocery Prices by Month and Year
The following chart shows the changes in prices for select grocery store foods from January 2015 through August 2023. Simply hover over the chart to view the data, or select a food’s legend key located at the right of the chart to visually highlight the selected food’s line in the chart and easily track its pricing over the years.
Table: Inflation Rates for Groceries (Percent Change in Grocery Prices 1948-2023)
The following table displays "food at home" inflation on an annual basis, listed by month and calendar year. In clearer terms, it shows the percent increase or decrease in grocery prices over the listed periods. As the figures are based on 12-month periods, please refer to the December column to find the overall change in food prices for each calendar year. The last column, labeled "Ave," shows the average inflation rate for groceries for each year.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Ave |
| 1948 | 13.9 | 12.3 | 6.3 | 10.8 | 12.4 | 12.2 | 12.0 | 10.3 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 2.2 | -1.1 | 8.5 |
| 1949 | -2.2 | -2.6 | 0.0 | -2.5 | -3.9 | -4.6 | -6.9 | -6.6 | -5.2 | -5.3 | -3.3 | -3.7 | -3.9 |
| 1950 | -4.4 | -2.3 | -2.6 | -2.6 | -1.5 | -0.7 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 9.5 | 1.5 |
| 1951 | 13.4 | 15.8 | 14.9 | 14.4 | 13.9 | 11.9 | 9.4 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 7.6 | 11.0 |
| 1952 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.6 | -1.3 | 1.7 |
| 1953 | -1.9 | -1.3 | -1.3 | -2.6 | -2.3 | -0.6 | -2.2 | -2.2 | -1.6 | -1.6 | -3.2 | -1.6 | -1.6 |
| 1954 | -0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.0 | -0.3 | 0.3 | -0.7 | -2.0 | -2.0 | -1.3 | -2.3 | -0.7 |
| 1955 | -3.0 | -2.0 | -1.7 | -1.7 | -2.6 | -2.6 | -2.6 | -3.0 | -1.0 | -1.7 | -1.7 | -1.0 | -2.0 |
| 1956 | -1.7 | -2.4 | -2.0 | -1.7 | -0.3 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 0.3 |
| 1957 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
| 1958 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.6 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 4.6 |
| 1959 | 0.3 | -0.6 | -3.4 | -4.3 | -4.3 | -3.1 | -2.8 | -2.8 | -2.2 | -1.9 | -2.2 | -1.3 | -2.5 |
| 1960 | -1.9 | -1.6 | -0.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 1.0 |
| 1961 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | -0.3 | -1.6 | -1.6 | 1.0 |
| 1962 | -0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.6 |
| 1963 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| 1964 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| 1965 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| 1966 | 4.9 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 5.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 5.1 |
| 1967 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -0.9 | -1.7 | -0.9 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.6 | -1.1 | -1.1 | -0.6 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| 1968 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.4 |
| 1969 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 7.1 | 4.7 |
| 1970 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 5.0 |
| 1971 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 2.5 |
| 1972 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 4.4 |
| 1973 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 11.1 | 13.2 | 14.5 | 15.5 | 15.1 | 23.4 | 21.6 | 21.1 | 21.4 | 22.0 | 16.4 |
| 1974 | 21.3 | 22.3 | 19.7 | 16.9 | 16.6 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 7.7 | 10.9 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.4 | 14.9 |
| 1975 | 11.1 | 8.1 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 8.7 | 12.1 | 9.8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 8.2 |
| 1976 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.2 | -0.6 | -0.8 | 2.1 |
| 1977 | 0.3 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 5.9 |
| 1978 | 8.6 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 10.5 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 11.0 | 11.4 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 10.5 |
| 1979 | 13.3 | 13.9 | 13.6 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 9.6 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.7 | 10.8 |
| 1980 | 7.8 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 9.5 | 10.4 | 10.4 | 11.1 | 10.5 | 8.1 |
| 1981 | 10.4 | 10.7 | 10.3 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 7.2 |
| 1982 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.5 |
| 1983 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.0 |
| 1984 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| 1985 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| 1986 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 2.9 |
| 1987 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 4.3 |
| 1988 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 4.2 |
| 1989 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.5 |
| 1990 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 6.2 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 6.5 |
| 1991 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
| 1992 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.3 | -0.5 | -0.9 | -0.2 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.7 |
| 1993 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.4 |
| 1994 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2.9 |
| 1995 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
| 1996 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 3.7 |
| 1997 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.5 |
| 1998 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| 1999 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| 2000 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
| 2001 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
| 2002 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | -0.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 |
| 2003 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 2.2 |
| 2004 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 3.8 |
| 2005 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| 2006 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| 2007 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 4.2 |
| 2008 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.4 |
| 2009 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 | -0.9 | -1.6 | -2.5 | -2.8 | -2.9 | -2.4 | 0.5 |
| 2010 | -2.0 | -1.5 | -0.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| 2011 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 4.8 |
| 2012 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| 2013 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
| 2014 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 2.4 |
| 2015 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | -0.4 | 1.2 |
| 2016 | -0.5 | -0.3 | -0.5 | -0.3 | -0.7 | -1.3 | -1.6 | -1.9 | -2.2 | -2.3 | -2.2 | -2.0 | -1.3 |
| 2017 | -1.9 | -1.7 | -0.9 | -0.8 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.9 | -0.2 |
| 2018 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| 2019 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| 2020 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.5 |
| 2021 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| 2022 | 7.4 | 8.6 | 10.0 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 13.1 | 13.5 | 13.0 | 12.4 | 12.0 | 11.8 | |
| 2023 | 11.3 | 10.2 | 8.4 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.0 | Avail. Oct. 12 |
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Food at home in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted. Base Period: 1982-84=100.