What a pound costs · then-dollars
Retail price per pound at U.S. grocery stores.
Sirloin steakGround beefWhole chicken
Data · 1990 through September 2026
The Beef Index
What a pound of beef has cost the American household since 1990, measured in dollars, in minutes of work, and against chicken. Drag the year to travel back.
2026Jan–Sep average · YTD
So far in 2026 a pound of ground beef costs $6.81, a record. It takes 12.7 minutes of work to pay for it, and one pound of beef costs as much as 3.3 pounds of chicken.
Last big moment · 2025 · Smallest herd since 1951
Years of drought and sell-offs leave about 86 million head. Ground beef sets a new record nearly every month.
Sources: USDA NASS Cattle report, Jan 31, 2025 · BLS ground beef price (FRED)
Ground beef, per lb
$6.81
Highest yearly average on record
Sirloin steak, per lb
$14.30
USDA Choice, boneless
Beef ÷ chicken
3.35×
Ground beef vs. whole chicken
Minutes of work, 1 lb beef
12.7 min
at $32.29/hr avg wage
Cookout for four
$34.01
2 lb ground, 1 lb sirloin, 3 lb chicken
Cattle herd, Jan 1
86.2M
Smallest since 1990
1990 to now
Shaded bands are recessions. Hover for values; click any chart to jump to that year.Beef ÷ chicken
How many pounds of chicken one pound of beef buys. Higher means beef is pricier relative to chicken.
Sirloin ÷ chickenGround beef ÷ chicken
Minutes of work
How long the average hourly worker works to pay for it, before taxes.
1 lb ground beef1 Big Mac
Big Mac series begins in 2000.
Big Mac vs. the Costco hot dog · then-dollars
One burger price that moves, and one that never has.
Big MacCostco hot dog + soda
The national herd
All U.S. cattle and calves on January 1, millions of head. Fewer cattle, pricier beef.
Unemployment rate
Share of the labor force looking for work.
Consumer sentiment
University of Michigan index. Lower means households feel worse about money.
The cookout for four · then-dollars
2 lb ground beef, 1 lb sirloin and a 3 lb whole chicken.
All the numbers, year by year
| Year | Ground beef | Sirloin | Chicken | Beef ÷ chicken | Big Mac | Avg wage | Min / lb beef | Cookout | Herd (M) | Unemp. % | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $1.59 | $4.13 | $0.90 | 1.76 | – | $10.20 | 9.3 | $10.00 | 95.82 | 5.6 | 81.6 |
| 1991 | $1.60 | $4.29 | $0.88 | 1.81 | – | $10.51 | 9.1 | $10.12 | 96.39 | 6.8 | 77.5 |
| 1992 | $1.54 | $4.22 | $0.87 | 1.77 | – | $10.77 | 8.6 | $9.91 | 97.56 | 7.5 | 77.3 |
| 1993 | $1.57 | $4.41 | $0.89 | 1.76 | – | $11.05 | 8.5 | $10.22 | 99.18 | 6.9 | 82.8 |
| 1994 | $1.48 | $4.25 | $0.90 | 1.64 | – | $11.33 | 7.8 | $9.91 | 100.97 | 6.1 | 92.3 |
| 1995 | $1.37 | $4.23 | $0.92 | 1.49 | – | $11.65 | 7.0 | $9.71 | 102.79 | 5.6 | 92.2 |
| 1996 | $1.37 | $4.21 | $0.97 | 1.41 | – | $12.04 | 6.8 | $9.86 | 103.55 | 5.4 | 93.6 |
| 1997 | $1.40 | $4.21 | $1.00 | 1.39 | – | $12.50 | 6.7 | $10.01 | 101.66 | 4.9 | 103.2 |
| 1998 | $1.41 | $4.19 | $1.04 | 1.35 | – | $13.01 | 6.5 | $10.14 | 99.74 | 4.5 | 104.6 |
| 1999 | $1.45 | $4.37 | $1.06 | 1.38 | – | $13.49 | 6.5 | $10.44 | 99.12 | 4.2 | 105.8 |
| 2000 | $1.57 | $4.73 | $1.07 | 1.47 | $2.24 | $14.01 | 6.7 | $11.08 | 98.20 | 4.0 | 107.6 |
| 2001 | $1.71 | $5.27 | $1.11 | 1.55 | $2.24 | $14.54 | 7.1 | $12.02 | 97.30 | 4.7 | 89.2 |
| 2002 | $1.71 | $5.30 | $1.07 | 1.59 | $2.35 | $14.96 | 6.9 | $11.95 | 96.72 | 5.8 | 89.6 |
| 2003 | $1.95 | $5.94 | $1.03 | 1.89 | $2.46 | $15.36 | 7.6 | $12.95 | 96.10 | 6.0 | 87.6 |
| 2004 | $2.16 | $6.62 | $1.07 | 2.02 | $2.47 | $15.68 | 8.3 | $14.15 | 94.40 | 5.5 | 95.2 |
| 2005 | $2.30 | $6.11 | $1.06 | 2.17 | $2.58 | $16.11 | 8.6 | $13.87 | 95.02 | 5.1 | 88.5 |
| 2006 | $2.22 | $5.98 | $1.05 | 2.12 | $2.73 | $16.74 | 8.0 | $13.57 | 96.34 | 4.6 | 87.3 |
| 2007 | $2.30 | $5.97 | $1.12 | 2.06 | $2.94 | $17.41 | 7.9 | $13.92 | 96.57 | 4.6 | 85.6 |
| 2008 | $2.34 | $5.99 | $1.21 | 1.94 | $3.21 | $18.07 | 7.8 | $14.30 | 96.03 | 5.8 | 63.8 |
| 2009 | $2.22 | $5.83 | $1.28 | 1.74 | $3.43 | $18.61 | 7.2 | $14.11 | 94.72 | 9.3 | 66.3 |
| 2010 | $2.37 | $5.83 | $1.26 | 1.87 | $3.48 | $19.05 | 7.5 | $14.35 | 94.08 | 9.6 | 71.8 |
| 2011 | $2.77 | $6.23 | $1.29 | 2.15 | $3.64 | $19.44 | 8.6 | $15.65 | 92.89 | 8.9 | 67.3 |
| 2012 | $3.03 | $6.65 | $1.42 | 2.13 | $3.88 | $19.72 | 9.2 | $16.98 | 91.16 | 8.1 | 76.5 |
| 2013 | $3.40 | $6.83 | $1.50 | 2.27 | $4.11 | $20.13 | 10.1 | $18.12 | 90.10 | 7.4 | 79.2 |
| 2014 | $3.90 | $7.69 | $1.53 | 2.54 | $4.26 | $20.60 | 11.3 | $20.09 | 88.24 | 6.2 | 84.1 |
| 2015 | $4.17 | $8.57 | $1.49 | 2.80 | $4.29 | $21.03 | 11.9 | $21.37 | 89.17 | 5.3 | 92.9 |
| 2016 | $3.75 | $8.39 | $1.46 | 2.56 | $4.39 | $21.54 | 10.4 | $20.28 | 91.89 | 4.9 | 91.8 |
| 2017 | $3.64 | $8.05 | $1.47 | 2.48 | $4.50 | $22.04 | 9.9 | $19.75 | 93.62 | 4.4 | 96.8 |
| 2018 | $3.72 | $8.40 | $1.50 | 2.48 | $4.62 | $22.70 | 9.8 | $20.32 | 94.30 | 3.9 | 98.4 |
| 2019 | $3.81 | $8.37 | $1.50 | 2.55 | $4.71 | $23.51 | 9.7 | $20.47 | 94.66 | 3.7 | 96.0 |
| 2020 | $4.12 | $8.95 | $1.56 | 2.63 | $4.82 | $24.68 | 10.0 | $21.87 | 93.77 | 8.1 | 81.5 |
| 2021 | $4.33 | $10.31 | $1.53 | 2.84 | $4.91 | $25.91 | 10.0 | $23.55 | 93.59 | 5.3 | 77.6 |
| 2022 | $4.81 | $10.52 | $1.80 | 2.67 | $5.09 | $27.57 | 10.5 | $25.54 | 91.79 | 3.6 | 59.0 |
| 2023 | $5.02 | $11.07 | $1.91 | 2.62 | $5.47 | $28.92 | 10.4 | $26.86 | 88.84 | 3.6 | 65.3 |
| 2024 | $5.39 | $11.65 | $2.00 | 2.70 | $5.69 | $30.12 | 10.7 | $28.43 | 87.16 | 4.0 | 72.5 |
| 2025 | $6.09 | $12.97 | $2.06 | 2.96 | $5.90 | $31.34 | 11.7 | $31.32 | 86.47 | 4.3 | 57.6 |
| 2026 YTD | $6.81 | $14.30 | $2.03 | 3.35 | $6.17 | $32.29 | 12.7 | $34.01 | 86.16 | 4.2 | 51.7 |
Then-dollars. 2026 YTD covers Jan–Sep. Download the full dataset (CSV)
Key numbers
Plain answers, recalculated every time the data updates.
- How much does ground beef cost in 2026?
- A pound of 100% ground beef averaged $6.81 at U.S. grocery stores so far in 2026 (Jan–Sep average), the highest yearly average since at least 1990. In 2025 it averaged $6.09. Source: BLS average price data.
- How much more does beef cost than in 1990?
- Ground beef averaged $1.59 a pound in 1990, about $4.03 in 2026 dollars. So even after inflation, ground beef costs 69% more so far in 2026 than it did in 1990. Source: BLS average prices, adjusted with CPI-U.
- How many minutes of work does a pound of ground beef cost?
- 12.7 minutes so far in 2026, for a worker earning the average hourly wage of $32.29 (production and nonsupervisory workers, before taxes). The low point since 1990 was 6.5 minutes in 1999. Source: BLS prices and average hourly earnings.
- Why is beef so expensive right now?
- Fewer cattle. The U.S. herd was 86.2 million head on January 1, 2026, the smallest January count since at least 1990, and 17% below the 1996 peak of 103.5 million. Source: USDA NASS cattle inventory.
- How does the price of beef compare with chicken?
- So far in 2026, one pound of ground beef costs as much as 3.3 pounds of whole chicken, up from 1.8 pounds in 1990. A pound of sirloin steak costs as much as 7.0 pounds of chicken. Source: BLS average prices.
- What does a cookout for four cost?
- $34.01 so far in 2026 for 2 lb of ground beef, 1 lb of sirloin and a 3 lb whole chicken at average grocery prices. The same basket cost $10.00 in 1990, about $25.40 in 2026 dollars. Source: BLS average prices.