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Beef price inflation: up 5.9% year over year

CPI beef and veal, August 2026

The Consumer Price Index for beef and veal stood at 519.1 (1982-84=100) in August 2026, +5.9% year over year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nominal ground beef averaged $6.923/lb in August 2026.

CPI-U: beef and veal, U.S. city average (1982-84=100), monthly. Source: BLS series CUUR0000SEFC.

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Has beef gotten more expensive than everything else?

Yes - over the past 20 years the beef and veal CPI rose 157% while the all-items CPI rose 64%, a gap of about 93 points, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

CPI-U for beef and veal vs all items, both indexed to August 2006 = 100. Source: BLS series CUUR0000SEFC and CUUR0000SA0.

Is beef at a record high after inflation?

Not quite - ground beef costs $6.92/lb in today's dollars, below the real record of $6.95/lb set in January 2026, per BLS data.

Ground beef (100% beef): U.S. average retail price restated in today's dollars using CPI-U. Sources: BLS average price and CPI series.

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Sources: BLS CPI series CUUR0000SEFC (beef and veal) and CUUR0000SA0 (all items), both NSA. Download CSV.