Highlights and Interactive Charts

This page provides interactive charts on various aspects of fruit and vegetable prices:

• The average cost to consume products per cup equivalent by form
• The most and least expensive fruits and vegetables
• The distribution of fruit and vegetable prices by form

The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–25 recommends that people needing 2,000 calories per day include 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables in their daily diets. USDA food consumption surveys have found that the average U.S. consumer falls short, consuming only 0.9 cups of fruit and 1.4 cups of vegetables per day. Individuals choose foods based on taste, convenience, cost, and other factors, in addition to Federal dietary recommendations. In particular, cost has been cited as a possible barrier to higher fruit and vegetable consumption.

Some products are more expensive than others. In 2022, among all 155 fresh and processed fruit and vegetable products examined by USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS), 9 fruit and 19 vegetables cost $0.50 or less per cup equivalent. Fresh watermelon ($0.24) and apples ($0.50) are among the fruit products available in this price range. Baby carrots ($0.37) and onions ($0.43) are among the available vegetables. A much greater variety of products cost between $0.50 and $1.00 per cup equivalent. Items available in this cost range include sweet potatoes ($0.58), canned corn ($0.65), raisins ($0.66), canned green peas ($0.71), clementines ($0.95), and frozen broccoli ($0.91). See how much your favorite fruits and vegetables cost in the following data visualization.

In 2022, the most expensive fruit and vegetable products for U.S. consumers were canned cherries and frozen asparagus at $3.56 and $2.62 per cup equivalent, whereas the least expensive options were fresh watermelon and dried pinto beans at $0.24 and $0.22 per cup equivalent. See what other products are among the most and least expensive options in the United States using the following data visualization.

Fresh products are not necessarily more or less expensive than processed ones (frozen, canned, dried, or 100 percent juice). Fresh apples ($0.50) were cheaper than applesauce ($0.63). However, canned corn ($0.65) and frozen raspberries ($2.04) were available for less than fresh corn ($1.50) and fresh raspberries ($2.58), respectively. See the distribution of costs for fruits and vegetables in their various forms in the following box and whisker plots.