Ground beef averaged $6.792 a pound across the United States in September, up from $6.323 in September 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That is a gain of 47 cents a pound, or 7.4 percent, in one year.
The price did slip from August, when 100 percent ground beef averaged $6.923 a pound. The 1.9 percent monthly drop is small next to the yearly climb, and it leaves the everyday grocery staple well above where it stood last fall.
What the monthly drop does and does not change
The September figure is a decline of 13 cents from August’s $6.923, but the year-over-year comparison is the one that shows up at the checkout. A household that buys four pounds of ground beef a month now pays about $1.88 more than it did a year ago, and a shopper who stocks the freezer with ten pounds pays $4.69 more.
The federal price series tracks 100 percent beef sold by the pound across U.S. cities. A particular supermarket can sit above or below the national average, but the series shows which direction the market has moved over twelve months.
People on fixed incomes, such as retirees living on Social Security or a pension, feel an extra bite from this kind of increase because the monthly check rarely moves with a single grocery item. When ground beef is the budget protein, a 7.4 percent rise in one year takes a steady slice out of the food budget before any other cost is counted.
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How other cuts of beef compare
Ground beef is not alone, but the pattern differs by cut. Boneless USDA Choice round steak averaged $9.838 a pound in September, compared with $9.360 a year earlier, an increase of 5.1 percent. The month before, it was $9.692.
Boneless USDA Choice sirloin steak averaged $14.106 in September, nearly flat from $14.135 a year earlier. All uncooked beef roasts averaged $9.097, up 0.6 percent from $9.040, and boneless beef for stew averaged $8.533, down 1.7 percent from $8.680. Ground beef posted the largest yearly increase among the six cuts in the table.
Regional numbers run higher in places. In the South, 100 percent ground beef averaged $6.501 a pound in September, up 9.3 percent from $5.949 a year earlier, and up 1.4 percent from August. While the national average fell month to month, Southern shoppers saw the price rise again.
Where beef sits in the wider food inflation picture
The Labor Department’s consumer price report for September, released October 14, shows the beef index fell 1.0 percent over the month, which matches the dip in the ground beef average. The same report says the food index increased 2.5 percent over the last year, and the index for food at home decreased 0.1 percent in September.
Seen against that backdrop, beef stands out. The broader category of meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose only 0.3 percent over twelve months, while ground beef alone rose 7.4 percent.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, in its September 25 outlook, forecasts beef and veal prices to rise 9.4 percent in 2026, with a range of 7.4 to 11.6 percent. The same outlook puts overall food prices up 2.9 percent for the year and food at home up 2.4 percent.
That forecast is an estimate of the calendar-year average, not a promise about any one month. September’s monthly dip does not by itself change the direction USDA economists describe for the full year, which still has beef rising faster than food as a whole.
Is food help available to older households?
One program that responds directly to grocery costs is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps. Households with a member age 60 or older follow different rules from other households, according to the USDA.
Those households only have to meet the net income test, not the gross income test. For the period from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, the net monthly income limit is $1,330 for one person and $1,804 for two people, with $474 added for each additional member. Countable resources can be up to $4,750, compared with $3,000 for other households, and the home and lot are not counted.
Deductions also work differently for older applicants. According to the USDA’s rules for elderly and disabled members, medical costs above $35 a month that insurance does not cover can be deducted, and shelter costs above half of adjusted income are deductible with no cap. Those deductions can lower the net income figure that decides eligibility, so a gross income above $1,330 does not automatically rule out a one-person household.
The application goes through the state SNAP agency, which conducts an interview and asks for proof of income, expenses and insurance payments. The USDA says a decision is typically issued within 30 days, and some households may receive benefits within 7 days. The page notes it is being updated for changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, so the state agency has the final word on current rules.
Counting the grocery bill against the budget
Ground beef at $6.792 a pound is the latest number in a series that has gone up more than it has gone down across the past year. For households that buy it weekly, the 47-cent yearly increase is modest per pound but adds up across a year of meals.
The USDA forecast leaves open whether beef eases or keeps climbing into 2027. Households deciding whether food assistance, heating help or other benefits belong in the budget are working from the same question: how much of the rising grocery bill is covered by programs that already exist.
Is the grocery bill outgrowing the budget?
Beef is up 7.4 percent in a year, and the USDA expects beef and veal to climb 9.4 percent over 2026. SNAP is one of several programs that cover food and household costs, and each has its own income limits and application path that older households often learn about late.
The Benefits Checklist turns that question from groceries to the programs behind them. It scans 11 benefit programs that retirees most often miss, from SNAP at 60 and older to heating help, and sets out the 2026 income limits next to a 50-state phone directory.
Get the Benefits Checklist with the 2026 income limits for food and heating help →
More Financial Reading
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
