Historical data · sourced snapshots
Grocery Price Inflation History (Food-at-Home CPI)
The food-at-home index is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ measure of grocery prices: what households pay for food they prepare themselves, as opposed to restaurant meals. It is a component of CPI-U and is published monthly. The index is set to 100 for the 1982 to 1984 period, so a reading of 250 means grocery prices are two and a half times their early-1980s level.
Historical chart
1971 to 2026
The BLS food-at-home price index, the official measure of grocery inflation, at decade snapshots.
| Period | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 39.3 | Food-at-home CPI snapshot |
| 1980 | 78.1 | Food inflation spike |
| 1990 | 116.5 | Higher grocery baseline |
| 2000 | 167.8 | Modern supply chains mature |
| 2010 | 218.1 | Staples keep repricing |
| 2020 | 245.5 | Pre-surge household basket |
| 2026 | 321.3 | Food-at-home CPI, 2026-08 |
What the numbers mean
Reading the grocery inflation history
Grocery inflation tends to be spiky. It jumped in the 1970s, stayed calm for most of the 2010s, then rose about 25% between 2020 and 2023, the largest three-year increase since 1981. Because food is bought every week, these changes are felt faster than almost any other price.
Related pages
Rent inflation · Healthcare inflation · How to read CPI
Sourced snapshots are rounded; the latest point is refreshed by a scheduled data update and carries its observation date. Methodology · Report a correction.
Questions
Grocery inflation history FAQ
Is this a real grocery basket?
It is the official BLS index for food at home, which is built from thousands of priced items across the country. It is not a made-up basket of specific products.
Why do my grocery bills rise faster than this index?
The index tracks prices for a fixed mix of items. Buying more, switching to pricier products, or living in a high-cost area changes your bill without changing the index.
How does grocery inflation compare with overall CPI?
Over long periods they track closely, but food moves in bursts. Compare the decade values here with the CPI-derived purchasing power page.