Current:Home > NewsFood inflation: As grocery prices continue to soar, see which states, cities have it worse -InvestTomorrow
Food inflation: As grocery prices continue to soar, see which states, cities have it worse
View
Date:2025-04-13 22:03:45
Rising food prices have slowed down compared to the previous few years, but Americans are still feeling the pain of high prices.
Between July 2023 and July 2024, food prices rose 2.2% - down from 4.9% the previous 12-month period, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But even with cooling food inflation, grocery prices are up about 25% compared to 2019, according to the bureau.
Heightened prices are eroding consumers' living standards, Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, told USA TODAY in June.
“A lot of consumers, they'll tell us that things are painful specifically because of continued high prices,” Hsu said. “I think that is understandable. There are a lot of things that remain quite expensive for consumers and are a higher proportion of their monthly budgets than they were before.”
Changing prices of common grocery store items provides insight into how food inflation has changed in different states and metro areas. Here's where prices have risen the most:
Protect your assets: Best high-yield savings accounts of 2023
Where are Americans experiencing rising food inflation?
Datasembly, a website that provides up-to-date data on different brands, tracked how grocery prices have changed across the U.S. in the previous 12 months. Datasembly's Grocery Price Index measures weekly changes in grocery prices using data from over 150,000 stores and over 200 retail banners.
The company tracked price changes for the following food categories: snacks, baked goods, beverages, baby food, baby formula, cereal, cookies, crackers, meal solutions, grains/beans/pasta, baking, seasonings, sauces, candy, fruits, vegetables, condiments, dressings and pet food.
Vermont experienced the largest increase in grocery prices, followed by Hawaii and Oklahoma, according to the Grocery Price Index.
Population density can influence pricing strategy. Prices are likely to differ in urban areas compared with rural areas due to issues related to the supply chain and levels of demand, Consumer Affairs reported. Nationwide, average grocery prices in these categories increased less than 2% year-over-year.
States with the largest grocery price increases
In the past 12 months, grocery prices have increased the most for the following states:
- Vermont: 3.1% increase year-over-year
- Hawaii: 2.6% increase year-over-year
- Oklahoma: 2.1% year-over-year
- New Mexico: 2.1% year-over-year
- Alabama: 2.1% year-over-year
- North Dakota: 2% year-over-year
- Pennsylvania: 2% year-over-year
- Maine: 1.9% year-over-year
- New Hampshire: 1.9% year-over-year
- Delaware: 1.9% year-over-year
Which cities experienced the largest grocery price increases?
The following metro areas experienced the largest increases in grocery prices over the past 12 months:
- Oahu, Hawaii: 2.7% increase year-over-year
- San Antonio, Texas: 2.2% increase year-over-year
- West Texas: 2.1% year-over-year
- Oklahoma City: 2.1% year-over-year
- Greenville, South Carolina: 2.1% year-over-year
- New Orleans, Louisiana: 2.1% year-over-year
- Birmingham, Alabama: 2.1% year-over-year
- Syracuse, New York: 2% year-over-year
- Miami, Florida: 1.9% year-over-year
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 1.9% year-over-year
Contributing: Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY
veryGood! (822)
Related
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Tyler Perry sparks backlash for calling critics 'highbrow' with dated racial term
- Missouri judges have overturned 2 murder convictions in recent weeks. Why did the AG fight freedom?
- Nebraska Legislature convenes for a special session to ease property taxes, but with no solid plan
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Nashville grapples with lingering neo-Nazi presence in tourist-friendly city
- Fewer Americans file for jobless claims as applications remain at elevated, but not troubling levels
- A man got third-degree burns walking on blazing hot sand dunes in Death Valley, rangers say
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Workers at GM seat supplier in Missouri each tentative agreement, end strike
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Alabama taps state and federal agencies to address crime in Montgomery
- Missouri Supreme Court halts release of man from prison after overturned conviction
- It’s a college football player’s paradise, where dreams and reality meet in new EA Sports video game
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Recalled Diamond Shruumz edibles now linked to two possible deaths and cases in 28 states
- Rural Nevada judge suspended with pay after indictment on federal fraud charges
- Uvalde school police officer pleads not guilty to charges stemming from actions during 2022 shooting
Recommendation
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
Kamala Harris: A Baptist with a Jewish husband and a faith that traces back to MLK and Gandhi
Aunt of 'Claim to Fame' 'maniacal mastermind' Miguel is a real scream
Kamala Harris: A Baptist with a Jewish husband and a faith that traces back to MLK and Gandhi
Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
S&P and Nasdaq close at multiweek lows as Tesla, Alphabet weigh heavily
'It's just a miracle': Man found alive after 14 days in the Kentucky wilderness
Missouri Supreme Court halts release of man from prison after overturned conviction