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Beef price inflation: up 9.4% year over year

CPI beef and veal, July 2026

The Consumer Price Index for beef and veal stood at 522.2 (1982-84=100) in July 2026, +9.4% year over year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nominal ground beef averaged $6.885/lb in July 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 163% while the all-items CPI rose 64%, a gap of about 98 points, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

Is beef at a record high after inflation?

Not quite — ground beef costs $6.89/lb in today's dollars, below the real record of $6.93/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.