USA grocery prices
What groceries cost in the US this week
Every month the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes what American shoppers actually paid for staples — the U.S. city average. Lowtein reads this week's store flyers in 103 cities and puts the best advertised deal next to that number, so you can tell a real discount from a sticker that just says SALE.
Updated 2026-09-18.
| Item | BLS average | Best this week |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs /dozen | $2.19 | $1.29 |
| Chicken Breast /lb | $4.15 | $1.69 |
| Ground Beef /lb | $6.88 | $2.99 |
| Butter /lb | $3.92 | $1.49 |
| Pork Chops /lb | $4.91 | $1.47 |
| Beef Steak /lb | $14.59 | $4.77 |
| Tomatoes /lb | $2.00 | $0.69 |
| Strawberries /lb | $3.21 | $0.97 |
| Potatoes /lb | $0.94 | $0.38 |
This week's standouts
Deepest gap: pork chops — sirloin pork chops at Joe V's Smart Shop, $1.47/lb vs the $4.91 average (70% below). Tightest: eggs — even the best advertised price only runs 41% under the average.
What this measures
The BLS series is real transaction-level shelf pricing, published monthly with a short lag. Our side of the table is this week's advertised specials — loss-leaders included, which is the point: it answers what a deal-follower can pay, not what the average shopper does pay. Deal prices, not shelf averages — each item page shows the trend, the 12-month range, and where the deals are. Full method: how we check.
Price checker · Basket Tracker · Grocery Price Index · Open data · lowtein.com