About Burgernomics
What does a cheeseburger actually cost?
What we do
Burgernomics rebuilds the cost of a cheeseburger from raw BLS ingredient prices every month, so readers can see inflation as a meal, not a number.
We focus on U.S. food-price inflation at the ingredient level. Every page on burgernomics.org is built from the BLS Consumer Price Index Average Price series, cited and linkable so readers can trace any number back to its source.
Who this is for
Burgernomics is built for budget-conscious shoppers, economics teachers, and reporters covering the cost of living.
Why this exists
Public data on U.S. food-price inflation at the ingredient level is technically free, but practically locked behind file formats, acronyms, and paywalled dashboards. Burgernomicsexists to close that gap: take the raw federal and public-sector data, and turn it into pages a normal person can read in thirty seconds.
How we work
- Primary source only. We pull from the BLS Consumer Price Index Average Price series and cite the exact dataset and version on every page.
- No invented numbers. If a figure is not in the underlying public data, it does not appear on burgernomics.org. We never generate synthetic statistics to fill gaps.
- Refreshed on a schedule. Data is refetched on a published cadence — you can see the "Last updated" date on every dataset page.
- Corrections welcome. Readers flag issues all the time. When the source fixes a record, Burgernomics follows.
Independence
Burgernomics is an independent publication. We are not funded, owned, or directed by any of the agencies, companies, or organizations that appear in our data. Hosting is paid for by advertising — see our Privacy Policy for details — and we do not take paid placements, sponsored rankings, or "remove-my-entry" fees.
History
Burgernomics launched in 2025 as part of a small portfolio of independent public-data sites. It has been maintained and updated continuously since.
Contact
Tips, corrections, data-partnership questions, and press inquiries: [email protected]. More options on our contact page.