BLS Average Price Data

How It Works

The BLS Average Price Data program is distinct from the more widely known CPI index values. While the CPI reports index numbers (e.g., 312.5 relative to a base period of 100), the Average Price Data program reports actual retail prices in dollars and cents — for example, $5.47 per pound for ground beef in February 2024. This makes it uniquely useful for concrete cost calculations like the Cheeseburger Index. The program tracks approximately 70 food items plus electricity and gasoline. Prices are collected from the same 23,000+ retail establishments used for the CPI, covering grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and other food retailers. Data is available at the national level and for four Census regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, West), but not at the state or city level. The data is published monthly with a 2-3 week lag — February data typically appears in mid-March. The BLS API (api.bls.gov) provides free, no-registration access to this data with series IDs in the APU format (Average Price, Urban consumers). All data is U.S. government work product in the public domain, making it freely available for any use without licensing restrictions.

Related Terms

• Consumer Price Index (CPI) — A measure of the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed basket of goods and services, published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Regional Price Differences — Systematic variations in food prices across U.S. geographic regions, driven by proximity to production, local labor costs, transportation logistics, and competition among retailers.
• USDA Food Price Outlook — Monthly forecasts from the USDA Economic Research Service predicting food price changes for the current and next year, based on commodity market analysis and econometric modeling.