7 Foods With the Biggest Price Increases Over the Last Year
Written by
Andrew Lisa
Edited by
Amen Oyiboke
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According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, food inflation eased in 2023 and 2024, and the agency’s 2025-26 outlook projects grocery prices will rise more slowly than the 20-year historical average this year and next.
Between May and June, prices decreased across four major food categories and remained stable for one. While that’s welcome news for household grocery budgets, a few supermarket staples are bucking the trend.
These foods have seen the largest price increases over the last year.
Eggs
Eggs remain the chief culprit behind America’s nagging food inflation.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent benchmark Consumer Price Index report, the price of food at home rose by 2.2% between July 2024 and July 2025– a healthy rate that nearly meets the Fed’s longstanding target of 2%.
However, the meats, fish, poultry and eggs index more than doubled that rate, with prices rising by an elevated 5.2% over the same 12-month period. Eggs were the biggest driver of that growth, with prices rising by 16.4% over the last year.
Beef and Veal
While eggs remain the avatar for food inflation, they weren’t the only products that experienced double-digit inflation. Meats joined eggs in driving up the numbers for the meats, fish, poultry and eggs category with a year-over-year inflation rate of 5.8%. Most of the damage came from beef and veal, which combined for 11.3% inflation, with uncooked ground beef, steaks, roasts and other beef and veal all putting up double-digit percentage increases.
Coffee
The only thing that came close to challenging the longstanding reign of eggs as the chief inflationary offender in the food at home category was a beverage.
Overall, coffee prices rose by 14.5%, with roasted coffee soaring by 14.8% and instant coffee rising by 14.3%.
Apples
Shoppers found relief in the produce aisle over the last year, with the price of fresh fruits and vegetables rising by only 0.3%. There were, however, a few exceptions. Most notably, apples, the price of which rose by 6% between July 2024 and July 2025.
Oranges
Citrus fruits as a whole rose only by a manageable 2% over the last year. However, the price of oranges, including tangerines, more than doubled that rate, with prices rising by 4.4%.
Bananas
Bananas were another inflationary driver in the fresh fruit category. While not as steep as apples or even oranges, the price of bananas rose by a still elevated 4.3% over the last year, nearly doubling the overall rate of food at home inflation.
Everything That Didn’t Come From a Grocery Store
The USDA Economic Research Service report, which showed that the price of food at home had generally slowed in 2023 and 2024, also showed that the price of food away from home had not. The cost of eating out has risen steadily over the past two years, a trend that has continued since 2020 and continues to persist with no signs of letting up. Between July 2024 and July 2025, the price of food away from home rose by 3.9%.
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