Grocery Prices +31.9% Since Jan 2020 — BLS CPI Food at Home (2026)
Food-at-home prices are 31.9% above January 2020. A separate BLS all-food series, which includes food at home and food away from home, supplies the year-over-year rate and wage comparison below. Both series are updated monthly and are labeled separately throughout.
How Much Have Grocery Prices Increased Since 2020?
U.S. grocery prices are up 31.9% since January 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Food-at-Home Consumer Price Index (series CUSR0000SAF11). The raw seasonally adjusted index was 243.511 in January 2020, and the cumulative series reads +31.9% through July 2026. Separately, the broader all-food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1, food at home and away from home) was up 2.9% year over year in July 2026, compared with its 2018–2019 average of approximately 1.6%. Since January 2019, the Food-at-Home cumulative increase is +33.0% (from an index of 241.581).
Here's what gets missed in the "inflation is cooling" narrative. This was not a transient shock that reversed. The cumulative increase reached +11.4% by January 2022 and +23.9% by January 2023, then added 6.6 percentage points after January 2024. Positive monthly changes add to the existing level; slower inflation does not itself reverse earlier increases. These aggregate price indexes provide household-budget context, but they do not show which households cut spending, used savings, missed a payment, or sought help.
BLS CPI Food-at-Home Index Values (CUSR0000SAF11)
The raw index values researchers look for, directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Series CUSR0000SAF11 (seasonally adjusted). The index uses a 1982–84 = 100 reference base. Current-period percentage changes on this page read from the committed cumulative series. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index.
Key Statistics at a Glance
The American Distress Index currently reads 43.8 (Typical). On average, its inputs sit higher than in 44% of their own quarterly histories. Food-price inflation is context for the index rather than a direct input. The wage comparison on this page uses aggregate average hourly earnings and the all-food CPI; it does not measure any individual household's budget or use of savings. The national personal saving rate is a separate aggregate flow used in the ADI's Safety Net & Buffer domain. For a broader cost view — including auto insurance, healthcare, and shelter inflation — see the cost-of-living roundup.
How Much Have Groceries Gone Up Since 2020?
The chart below shows the cumulative percentage change in food-at-home prices since January 2020. Cumulative change — not year-over-year — is the metric that matches household experience. When the YoY rate falls from 11.4% to 2.9%, headlines report "cooling inflation." But the family buying groceries is paying 31.9% more than they did in January 2020. The cumulative view shows the total burden.
January 2019: -0.8% (below 2020 baseline) | January 2021: +3.7% | January 2022: +11.4% | January 2023: +23.9% | January 2024: +25.3% | January 2025: +27.6% | July 2026: +31.9% | Since January 2019: +33.0%
Cumulative Food-at-Home Price Increase Since Jan 2020 (%)
Source: BLS seasonally adjusted Food-at-Home CPI (CUSR0000SAF11), computed cumulative change from Jan 2020 base.
Full data: Grocery cumulative price indicator page
What Is the Current All-Food Inflation Rate?
The all-food CPI year-over-year rate in this series peaked at 11.4% in Aug 2022 and was 2.9% in July 2026. Because CUSR0000SAF1 includes food at home and food away from home, this rate is not a grocery-only measure and should not be used as the current rate for CUSR0000SAF11.
The same all-food series averaged roughly 1.6% during 2018–2019. The chart supports comparison of rates over time; it does not by itself identify why the index changed or how much of the change came from food purchased for home preparation.
All-Food CPI Year-Over-Year — Food at Home and Away (%)
Source: BLS seasonally adjusted all-food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1), including food at home and away from home. Year-over-year percent change, monthly.
Full data: Food CPI indicator page
Which Food Categories Have Gone Up the Most?
The sub-index snapshots show that cumulative changes differ across food categories. They do not, on their own, identify the causes of those differences. Category rows are fixed to January 2026, while the Food-at-Home composite row remains current through July 2026; the different observation dates are shown rather than blended.
| Food Category | BLS Series | Cumulative Since Jan 2020 | Series note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef and veal | CUSR0000SEFC01 | +57.6% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Sugar and sweets | CUSR0000SEFR | +40.2% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | CUSR0000SAF112 | +36.8% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Eggs | CUSR0000SEFH | +35.5% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Nonalcoholic beverages | CUSR0000SEFE | +35.5% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Fruits and vegetables | CUSR0000SEFV | +35.0% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Cereals and bakery products | CUSR0000SEFD | +26.3% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Dairy and related products | CUSR0000SEFJ | +21.6% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| Fats and oils | CUSR0000SEFK | +18.0% | Fixed January 2026 BLS sub-index snapshot |
| All food at home | CUSR0000SAF11 | +31.9% | Current BLS Food-at-Home composite |
Category rows: BLS Consumer Price Index, seasonally adjusted, January 2020 to January 2026. The all-food-at-home composite row is current through July 2026. Sub-category increases do not average to the composite; each category uses a different expenditure weight in the BLS calculation. Ground beef specifically: +73.8% (BLS average price series APU0000703112, from $3.93/lb to $6.83/lb).
How Does Wage Growth Compare With All-Food Inflation?
The chart subtracts all-food CPI growth from average hourly earnings growth. A positive value means the aggregate earnings series grew faster than the all-food price index over the same year; a negative value means it grew more slowly. This is not a household purchasing-power measure: households have different earnings, food baskets, hours, and exposure to food away from home.
During the 2022 shock, the gap reached roughly -6 percentage points. The latest observation is +0.2 percentage points. Those values describe the difference between two national growth rates, not a sequence of household actions.
The spread can be read alongside, but not as a cause of, separate saving-rate or delinquency series. It does not establish that the same people used savings, missed payments, or experienced a particular lag.
Wage-All-Food Price Spread (AHE YoY minus All-Food CPI YoY, percentage points)
Source: BLS Average Hourly Earnings (CES0500000003) data retrieved via FRED and BLS Food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1). Computed spread.
Full data: Wage and all-food CPI spread indicator page
Why Grocery Prices Haven't Come Down
If inflation has "cooled," why are groceries still expensive? Because the inflation rate and the price level are different things. A 2.9% rate means prices are rising 2.9% per year on top of the prior 31.9% cumulative increase. Slowing inflation does not lower prices. For that, grocery costs would need to deflate significantly for multiple consecutive years — which has not happened.
Price Levels vs. Inflation Rates
The same arithmetic applies to every grocery item in the basket. A slower inflation rate is not a price cut: returning to January 2020 shelf prices would require outright grocery deflation from the current price level, which has not occurred in any major food category.
This is why "disinflation" (slowing price increases) does not feel like relief to households. The cumulative Food-at-Home price level remains above its January 2020 baseline. The index does not show how any particular household adjusted its budget.
Read: How American Default compares aggregate indicators →How Grocery Prices Connect to Household Financial Distress
Food costs, earnings, saving, unsecured-debt performance, and mortgage performance describe different parts of household finances. They are separate aggregate measures, often drawn from different populations and periods:
- Food prices: BLS indexes measure changes in a national market basket, not a household's spending decision.
- Earnings: average hourly earnings cover payroll employees and do not describe every household's income.
- Saving: the personal saving rate is an aggregate flow, not the share of households with emergency savings.
- Food assistance: SNAP participation also reflects eligibility, policy, access, and take-up.
- Delinquency: credit, auto, and mortgage series have different units, populations, and reporting rules.
These series may move together, but this page does not establish a fixed payment order, a lead time, or that the same households move from one measure to the next. Food inflation, the saving rate, and credit card and auto loan delinquency are separate aggregate series and do not identify the same households over time.
The wage-all-food CPI spread is currently +0.2 percentage points. It is a comparison of two national growth rates, not a real-time signal that a household-distress mechanism is active.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are grocery prices going down in 2026?
The seasonally adjusted Food-at-Home index remains 31.9% above January 2020 through July 2026. The separate all-food index was up 2.9% year over year in July 2026. That positive all-food annual rate does not establish the latest month-to-month direction of grocery-only prices.
What food prices have gone up the most since 2020?
Among the category rows shown above, beef and veal has the largest January 2020 to January 2026 increase. Category rows are fixed to January 2026 so they are not mixed with the current Food-at-Home composite. The sub-index changes rank price movements but do not, by themselves, prove why those movements occurred.
How does all-food inflation compare with wage growth?
The difference between average hourly earnings growth and all-food CPI growth is currently +0.2 percentage points. The food series here is CUSR0000SAF1, which includes food at home and away from home. This aggregate comparison does not describe every household's wage growth or grocery purchasing power.
How much have grocery prices gone up since 2019?
Since January 2019, grocery prices have risen +33.0%. The BLS Food-at-Home CPI index (seasonally adjusted series CUSR0000SAF11) was 241.581 in January 2019 and 243.511 in January 2020. The additional 0.8% from 2019 to the 2020 baseline is included before the current +31.9% January 2020-to-July 2026 cumulative reading.
What is the BLS CPI Food-at-Home index value for January 2020?
The BLS CPI Food-at-Home index (series CUSR0000SAF11, seasonally adjusted) was 243.511 in January 2020. This is the baseline used to calculate the +31.9% cumulative increase. The index uses a 1982–84 = 100 reference base.
Where does this grocery price data come from?
The cumulative price-level data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index for Food at Home (seasonally adjusted series CUSR0000SAF11), computed relative to January 2020. The year-over-year rate uses the broader BLS all-food CPI (seasonally adjusted series CUSR0000SAF1), which includes food at home and food away from home. The two scopes are not interchangeable.
Data Sources and Methodology
CPI measurement basis: Every CPI reading and historical comparison on this page uses its source-owned basis unless explicitly identified otherwise: Cumulative percent change since January 2020 computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Food-at-Home CPI (CUSR0000SAF11); seasonally adjusted values may be revised; Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1); seasonally adjusted values may be revised.
BLS Food-at-Home CPI (CUSR0000SAF11)
The primary series measuring prices for food purchased to prepare at home. Part of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Monthly, seasonally adjusted. Used for the cumulative calculations on this page.
BLS Food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1)
The seasonally adjusted all-food series, covering food at home and food away from home, used for the year-over-year rate and wage comparison shown on this page. It is not a grocery-only series.
BLS Average Hourly Earnings (CES0500000003)
Average hourly earnings for private-sector employees. Used to compute the difference between aggregate earnings growth and all-food CPI growth. The result is not a household-level measure and does not cover people outside that payroll population.
Cumulative Change Methodology
Cumulative change is computed as (current_index / jan_2020_index − 1) × 100. This gives the total percentage increase in prices since the January 2020 base period, compounding each month's increase. The raw index data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Food-at-Home CPI series.