Grocery prices
What 15 everyday staples cost on average in US cities in September 2026, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the month before and a year earlier.
BLS released the September 2026 figures on Oct 14, 2026 with the Consumer Price Index. The next release is scheduled for Nov 10, 2026 (BLS's schedule). Retrieved Oct 30, 2026, 6:30 PM ET.
All 15 staples
| Item | Sep 26 | vs last month | vs a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs, grade A, large per dozen | $2.27 | no change | ▼ 34.9% ($3.49) |
| Milk, whole per gallon | $4.11 | ▼ 2.9% | ▼ 0.6% ($4.13) |
| White bread per lb | $1.83 | ▲ 0.4% | ▼ 2.0% ($1.87) |
| Ground beef, 100% beef per lb | $6.79 | ▼ 1.9% | ▲ 7.4% ($6.32) |
| Chicken, whole per lb | $2.06 | ▲ 2.6% | ▲ 0.1% ($2.06) |
| Butter, stick per lb | $3.96 | ▼ 1.5% | ▼ 17.3% ($4.79) |
| Cheddar cheese per lb | $6.13 | ▲ 2.5% | ▲ 1.4% ($6.05) |
| Rice, white, long grain, uncooked per lb | $1.12 | ▲ 0.6% | ▲ 5.5% ($1.06) |
| Dried beans per lb | $1.67 | ▲ 2.4% | ▲ 2.5% ($1.63) |
| Spaghetti and macaroni per lb | $1.38 | ▲ 0.1% | ▲ 14.1% ($1.21) |
| Flour, white, all purpose per lb | $0.55 | ▼ 0.5% | ▼ 3.2% ($0.56) |
| Sugar, white per lb | $1.02 | ▼ 0.5% | ▼ 2.2% ($1.04) |
| Potatoes, white per lb | $0.99 | ▲ 1.3% | ▼ 2.5% ($1.01) |
| Bananas per lb | $0.66 | ▲ 0.6% | ▼ 2.1% ($0.67) |
| Coffee, 100%, ground roast per lb | $9.33 | ▲ 0.4% | ▲ 2.1% ($9.14) |
No figures for October 2025 (BLS: "Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations"). The line has a gap there; we don't fill it in.
A year, month by month
| Month | Eggs | Milk | White bread | Ground beef |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | $2.27 | $4.11 | $1.83 | $6.79 |
| August 2026 | $2.27 | $4.23 | $1.82 | $6.92 |
| July 2026 | $2.19 | $4.31 | $1.82 | $6.88 |
| June 2026 | $2.14 | $4.32 | $1.81 | $6.83 |
| May 2026 | $2.19 | $4.22 | $1.83 | $6.75 |
| April 2026 | $2.25 | $4.14 | $1.87 | $6.90 |
| March 2026 | $2.35 | $4.07 | $1.81 | $6.70 |
| February 2026 | $2.50 | $4.03 | $1.85 | $6.74 |
| January 2026 | $2.58 | $4.10 | $1.84 | $6.75 |
| December 2025 | $2.71 | $4.05 | $1.83 | $6.69 |
| November 2025 | $2.86 | $4.00 | $1.79 | $6.54 |
| October 2025 | – | – | – | – |
| September 2025 | $3.49 | $4.13 | $1.87 | $6.32 |
What these figures don't cover
- Your store, brand or state. They're BLS's U.S. city average. BLS publishes regional averages (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) for many items; this page shows the national figure only.
- Sales tax. BLS publishes food average prices without it.
- Exact price levels. BLS says its sample is designed to measure price change for the CPI, not to calculate average prices, and some averages rest on a small number of prices.
- The season. The figures are not seasonally adjusted, so they move with harvests, holidays and seasonal sales.
- What comes next. These are past months only; we don't forecast prices.
Building a pantry
Ready.gov's emergency kit list starts with at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food. Emergency food storage · Non-perishable food list · Long-term food storage · Food storage calculator · Food storage containers · Bulk food storage
Questions
How much is a dozen eggs right now?
$2.27 for a dozen grade A large eggs, the US city average for September 2026 (BLS, released Oct 14, 2026), against $3.49 a year earlier.
How much is a gallon of milk?
$4.11 for a gallon of whole milk, the US city average for September 2026 (BLS).
How often are these prices updated?
Once a month. BLS publishes average prices with the Consumer Price Index, in the following month. The September 2026 figures came out on Oct 14, 2026, and BLS has scheduled the next release for Nov 10, 2026.
Why is my store's price different?
These are national averages across US cities, so any one store, brand or state can be higher or lower. BLS also notes that its sample is designed to measure price change for the CPI, not to set exact price levels, and that food average prices are published without sales tax.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), average retail food prices, U.S. city average (Consumer Price Index), average prices not seasonally adjusted, retrieved from the BLS public API Oct 30, 2026, 6:30 PM ET. BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.