Overall grocery prices were unchanged in August after declining 0.1% in July, according to figures published September 11 by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the 12 months ending in August, grocery prices rose 2.2%, down from a 2.7% increase for the 12 months ending in July.
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 reflects prices for both "food at home" items (supermarket or grocery store prices) and "food away from home" items (restaurant and other foodservice purchases). In August, overall food prices were 2.7% higher than a year earlier, easing from a 3.0% annual increase in July.
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 2026, it displays the change in grocery prices from August 2025 to August 2026.
Chart: Grocery Prices by Month and Year
The following chart shows the changes in prices for select grocery store foods from January 2018 through August 2026. 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.
October 2025 data was unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.
Table: Inflation Rates for Groceries (Percent Change in Grocery Prices 1948-2026)
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 | 11.4 |
| 2023 | 11.3 | 10.2 | 8.4 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 5.0 |
| 2024 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
| 2025 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.7 | – (*) | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.2 |
| 2026 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.2 | Avail. Oct. 14 |
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. *October 2025 data was unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.