US average prices of eggs, milk, bread, beef and gas since 1980
What does a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas cost in the US, and what did it cost in 1980, 2008 or 2020? Pick one of 12 everyday items and any two months since January 1980 to see the official average price, how much it changed and its record high, or pick a month to see what everything cost then. Data run to September 2026.
Updated 4 November 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI average price data. Price changes for 37 spending categories: price changes by category. Overall inflation each month: US inflation tracker. What a past dollar is worth today: US inflation calculator.
In September 2026, a dozen grade A large eggs cost an average of $2.27 in US cities, up 55.5% (+$0.81) from $1.46 in January 2020. The record is $6.23 in March 2025.
What everything cost in any month
Average US prices in September 2025: eggs $3.49 a dozen ($2.27 in September 2026); milk $4.13 a gallon ($4.11 in September 2026); bread $1.87 a pound ($1.83 in September 2026); ground beef $6.32 a pound ($6.79 in September 2026); chicken $2.06 a pound ($2.06 in September 2026); bacon $7.29 a pound ($6.76 in September 2026); bananas $0.67 a pound ($0.66 in September 2026); tomatoes $1.91 a pound ($1.99 in September 2026); coffee $9.14 a pound ($9.33 in September 2026); sugar $1.04 a pound ($1.02 in September 2026); gasoline $3.34 a gallon ($4.48 in September 2026); electricity $0.188 a kWh ($0.196 in September 2026).
Key figures
- In September 2026, US city average prices were $2.27 for a dozen grade A large eggs, $4.11 for a gallon of whole milk, $6.79 for a pound of ground beef and $4.48 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. #
- In the 12 months to September 2026, the biggest average price rises among the 12 items were for gasoline (+34.2%), ground beef (+7.4%) and tomatoes (+4.3%); the lowest changes were for eggs (−34.9%), bacon (−7.3%) and sugar (−2.2%). #
- Since January 2020, the biggest average price rises were for coffee (+123.6%), ground beef (+74.8%) and gasoline (+74.6%); the smallest changes were for tomatoes (−10.3%), bananas (+15.1%) and bacon (+22.7%). #
- A dozen grade A large eggs cost an average of $2.27 in September 2026, 63.5% below the record of $6.23 in March 2025. #
- A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline cost an average of $4.48 in September 2026, 11.4% below the record of $5.06 in June 2022. #
- None of the 12 items was at a record-high average price in September 2026. The closest was electricity, 1.0% below its record of $0.198 in June 2026. #
Average prices of 12 items
The latest US city average price of each item, its change over 12 months and since January 2020, the first price BLS published in this series and the record high. Each row has its own link, for example #item-eggs or #item-gasoline.
| Item | Unit | Latest month | Average price | 12 months | Since Jan 2020 | First price | Record high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A large | dozen | September 2026 | $2.27 | −34.9% | +55.5% | $0.88 (January 1980) | $6.23 (March 2025) |
| Whole milk | gallon | September 2026 | $4.11 | −0.6% | +26.2% | $2.48 (July 1995) | $4.32 (June 2026) |
| White bread | pound | September 2026 | $1.83 | −2.0% | +35.5% | $0.50 (January 1980) | $2.03 (January 2024) |
| Ground beef (100% beef) | pound | September 2026 | $6.79 | +7.4% | +74.8% | $1.29 (January 1984) | $6.92 (August 2026) |
| Whole chicken | pound | September 2026 | $2.06 | +0.1% | +46.5% | $0.70 (January 1980) | $2.09 (June 2025) |
| Sliced bacon | pound | September 2026 | $6.76 | −7.3% | +22.7% | $1.45 (January 1980) | $7.61 (October 2022) |
| Bananas | pound | September 2026 | $0.66 | −2.1% | +15.1% | $0.32 (January 1980) | $0.67 (September 2025) |
| Tomatoes (field grown) | pound | September 2026 | $1.99 | +4.3% | −10.3% | $0.70 (January 1980) | $2.69 (April 2026) |
| Ground coffee (100%) | pound | September 2026 | $9.33 | +2.1% | +123.6% | $3.21 (January 1980) | $9.72 (April 2026) |
| White sugar | pound | September 2026 | $1.02 | −2.2% | +69.0% | $0.27 (January 1980) | $1.05 (May 2025) |
| Regular unleaded gasoline | gallon | September 2026 | $4.48 | +34.2% | +74.6% | $1.13 (January 1980) | $5.06 (June 2022) |
| Electricity | kWh | September 2026 | $0.196 | +4.3% | +46.3% | $0.053 (January 1980) | $0.198 (June 2026) |
Worked example
Gas prices swing more than almost anything else people buy. Here is the change from January 2020 to the latest month: In September 2026, a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline cost an average of $4.48 in US cities, up 74.6% (+$1.91) from $2.57 in January 2020. The record is $5.06 in June 2022.
Download the data
- Monthly US average prices for all 12 items since January 1980 (CSV): one column per item in dollars, blank where BLS published no value.
- Summary by item (CSV): the table above with BLS series IDs, latest prices, 12-month and since-2020 changes, first prices and record highs.
BLS data are in the public domain; the files are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to ClarionBrief and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, linking to this page.
Cite or link to this tool
Journalists, teachers, students and researchers are welcome to use and link to these figures. Each key figure and table row has its own link, such as #eggs-record or #item-milk.
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How the figures are calculated
Each price is the BLS average price for the US city average, collected for the consumer price index and published to a tenth of a cent. Prices are shown to the cent (electricity to a tenth of a cent); percentage changes use the published prices and are rounded to one decimal place. Average prices are not adjusted for inflation or for changes in quality or package size, so they are best used to see what shoppers actually paid. Some series start later than 1980: ground beef in 1984 and whole milk in 1995.
BLS did not collect prices for October 2025 during the federal government shutdown, so only gasoline has a value for that month, and a few items have other months with no published price. Figures are updated daily and change when BLS publishes a new month or revises a recent one. Calculations are by ClarionBrief and can differ from other sources by a rounding difference.