Average U.S. retail prices for 13 common grocery items, January 2020 vs. January 2026, with CPI benchmarks [OC] Comparison

What This Visualization Shows

This data visualization displays "Average U.S. retail prices for 13 common grocery items, January 2020 vs. January 2026, with CPI benchmarks [OC]" and provides a clear visual representation of the underlying data patterns and trends. The visualization focuses on **Source:** U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Average Price Data (APU series), January 2020 and January 2026. U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted.

**CPI benchmarks:** CPI-U All Items index 257.97 → \~325.2 (+26%). CPI Food at Home estimated +28.5% over the same period.

**Tool:** Python (matplotlib)

A few things that stood out:

* Ground coffee more than doubled (+109%). Global arabica supply shortages have driven wholesale coffee prices to multi-decade highs. * Ground beef is up 70%, largely driven by a cyclical contraction in the U.S. cattle herd that has tightened supply. * Eggs are +64% vs pre-pandemic, but actually down significantly from their early 2025 avian flu peak of \~$4.95/dozen. * Bananas (+12%) and cheddar cheese (+12%) barely moved relative to everything else. * Milk sits almost exactly at the CPI All Items line — right at +26%.

The dashed lines show the CPI All Items (+26%) and CPI Food at Home (+28%) cumulative change over the same period for reference. Orange bars exceeded the CPI All Items benchmark., which allows us to understand complex relationships and insights within the data through visual storytelling.

Deep Dive into the Topic

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Data Analysis and Insights

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Significance and Applications

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