U.S. food-at-home prices increased 2.3 percent in 2025, compared with 2024

Average annual food-at-home prices were 2.3 percent higher in 2025 than in 2024, less than the 20-year historical rate of 2.6 percent per year. However, rates of food price change varied widely across different categories of food at home. An ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that began in 2022 caused egg prices to rise in early 2025. Retail egg prices fell steadily from April through December 2025 but, on average, were still 21.9 percent higher in 2025 than in 2024. The second largest food price increase in 2025 was in beef and veal (11.6 percent), followed by sugar and sweets (5.1 percent), and nonalcoholic beverages (3.8 percent). Prices for eight other food-at-home categories increased in 2025 but at slower rates than their historical averages. Prices for dairy products increased by 0.8 percent in 2025 compared with a 2.1-percent annual average rate of growth from 2006 through 2025. Prices for cereal and bakery products increased by 1.0 percent in 2025, compared with a 2.8-percent annual average rate of growth over the past 20 years. Prices for fats and oils (-0.8 percent) and fresh vegetables (-0.4 percent) declined in 2025.