Ground beef: $6.923 per pound
U.S. average retail price, August 2026 - a record high
- U.S. retail ground beef (100% beef) averaged $6.923 per pound in - +9.6% year over year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- That is the highest monthly average on record.
- At wholesale, the Choice boxed beef cutout was $380.48/cwt on , per USDA AMS.
- The composite Beef Price Index stands at 153.5 (2020=100) - retail beef costs about 54% more than in 2020.
Ground beef monthly
$6.923
/lb · +9.6% YoY
Choice cutout daily
$380.48
/cwt · September 28, 2026
Beef Price Index
153.5
2020=100 · +5.9% YoY
Steaks (all uncooked)
$12.81
/lb · +4.8% YoY
Free to reuse with credit. Please link to beefpriceindex.com.
Beef prices by cut
| Cut | $/lb | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Ground chuck, 100% beef | $6.774 | +2.2% |
| Ground beef, 100% beef | $6.923 | +9.6% |
| All uncooked ground beef | $7.158 | +7.9% |
| All other uncooked beef and veal | $8.135 | +3.3% |
| Ground beef, lean and extra-lean | $8.573 | +7.8% |
| Round roast, USDA Choice, boneless | $8.959 | +10.2% |
| All uncooked beef roasts | $9.368 | +7.4% |
| Beef for stew, boneless | $9.448 | +6.8% |
| Round steak, USDA Choice, boneless | $9.692 | +6.8% |
| All uncooked beef steaks | $12.813 | +4.8% |
| Sirloin steak, USDA Choice, boneless | $14.357 | +0.3% |
The whole price chain, on one site
- Boxed beef cutout - the daily USDA wholesale value (updates every trading day).
- Cattle prices - weekly 5-area fed steer prices in $/cwt.
- Who gets the beef dollar - USDA farm-to-retail spreads back to 1970.
- Beef price inflation - beef vs everything else, and prices in today's dollars.
- Beef vs chicken vs pork - the beef premium, charted.
- Beef prices by region - Northeast to West, the official BLS regional averages.
- Monthly reports - one dated page per data month, with RSS.
- Why is beef so expensive? - the four federal data series behind the record.