Advertised prices for 12 grocery staples, read weekly from NYC grocery stores' published circulars, compared with the BLS U.S. average price (updated monthly).
Advertised prices for 12 grocery staples, read weekly from NYC grocery stores' published circulars, compared with the BLS U.S. average price (updated monthly).
NYC basket: +10.6% vs prior week · week of . Driven by onions, +37.2% on 70 matched stores.
Every Friday, one email: where the NYC Core Basket Index went and the cheapest prices we found across NYC that week. Free. This is the part where we ask for your email.
| Staple | NYC median advertised price | BLS U.S. average, Sep 2026 | vs U.S. average | Stores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs | $4.99 | $2.27 | +120% | 174 |
| Milk | - | $4.11 | - | - |
| Chicken breast | - | $4.20 | - | - |
| Bread | $2.87 | $1.83 | +57% | 187 |
| Rice | $0.99 | $1.12 | -12% | 210 |
| Apples | $1.99 | - | - | 244 |
| Bananas | $0.69 | $0.66 | +5% | 37 |
| Cheese | $7.98 | $6.13 | +30% | 336 |
| Butter | $3.99 | $5.93 | -33% | 135 |
| Ground beef | $7.99 | $6.79 | +18% | 197 |
| Onions | $1.58 | - | - | 123 |
| Beans | $1.41 | - | - | 162 |
A dash means not enough stores advertised it that week to publish an honest number.
Apples, onions, beans have no current federal price series, so they show no U.S. comparison.
Advertised prices compared across NYC grocery stores' published circulars, read every week; each staple's NYC median advertised price is compared with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average price for the same item (U.S. city average, published monthly); week-to-week movement is measured across matched stores.
Sources: NYC grocery stores' published circulars · BLS Average Price Data · series APU0000708111 (eggs), APU0000709112 (milk), APU0000FF1101 (chicken breast), APU0000702111 (bread), APU0000701312 (rice), APU0000711211 (bananas), APU0000710212 (cheese), APU0000710411 (butter), APU0000703112 (ground beef)
Advertised prices can differ from shelf prices; verify in store.