U.S. food-at-home prices increased 1.2 percent in 2024 compared with 2023

Average annual food-at-home prices were 1.2 percent higher in 2024 than in 2023. For context, the 20-year historical level of retail food price inflation (2004–23) is 2.7 percent per year. Price growth continued to slow in 2024 compared with the increases in 2023 (5.0 percent) and 2022 (11.4 percent). Due to a resurgence of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak that began in 2022, egg prices rose the most (8.5 percent) across products in 2024. The second largest price increase in 2024 was in beef and veal prices (5.4 percent), followed by sugar and sweets (3.0 percent). Prices for these three categories grew faster in 2024 compared with their historical averages. Prices for the remaining food-at-home categories grew slower than their historical averages in 2024. Prices for two categories declined in 2024, fish and seafood prices (1.9 percent) as well as dairy products (0.2 percent). Other than the categories that declined, those with the largest discrepancies from their historical averages included other meats (0.3 percent in 2024 compared with 2.8 percent, historically), cereals and bakery products (0.5 percent in 2024 compared with 2.9 percent, historically), and poultry (0.8 percent in 2024 compared with 3.0 percent, historically).