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 2026-08-21.
| Item | BLS average | Best this week |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs /dozen | $2.14 | $1.28 |
| Chicken Breast /lb | $4.18 | $1.49 |
| Ground Beef /lb | $6.83 | $2.99 |
| Butter /lb | $3.82 | $2.49 |
| Pork Chops /lb | $4.91 | $1.35 |
| Beef Steak /lb | $14.45 | $4.97 |
| Tomatoes /lb | $2.15 | $0.67 |
| Strawberries /lb | $3.35 | $1.49 |
| Potatoes /lb | $0.92 | $0.30 |
This week's standouts
Deepest gap: pork chops — fresh bone-in pork sirloin chops at Foodarama, $1.35/lb vs the $4.91 average (72% below). Tightest: butter — even the best advertised price only runs 35% 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