Cost of Living
Grocery prices, gas prices, utility costs, inflation impacts on everyday expenses, consumer sentiment, and the real-world financial pressures facing households.
Latest in Cost of Living
Lettuce prices have jumped 32% over the past year, squeezing fixed-income grocery budgets
Grocery shoppers on fixed incomes are absorbing one of the sharpest single-item price increases in the produce aisle: lettuce costs climbed 32.1% over the past...
New York is mailing inflation-relief checks of up to $400 to about 8 million households this year
More than 8 million inflation refund checks have already landed in New York mailboxes, delivering up to $400 per household in a one-time payment that...
New Jersey’s Stay NJ program could cut some seniors’ property taxes nearly in half this year
Senior homeowners across New Jersey began receiving checks earlier this year that could cut their property tax bills by as much as half, marking the...
The national gas average is nearing $4 a gallon, up about 20% from a year ago
American drivers are paying roughly 20 percent more for a gallon of regular gasoline than they did a year ago, with the national average climbing...
Egg prices are down almost 28% from a year ago
American grocery shoppers are paying sharply less for eggs than they did a year ago. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its June 2026...
Egg prices are set to fall about 30% this year, a rare break in the grocery aisle
American grocery shoppers are on track for a rare price break this year: the cost of a dozen eggs is forecast to drop roughly 30%...
The national average for gas climbed to $3.95 and is inching toward $4, near its highest of the year
American drivers are paying $3.95 a gallon for regular gasoline this week, a price that puts the national average within striking distance of $4 and...
The national median rent climbed to $1,385, its fifth straight monthly rise, squeezing fixed incomes
Rent increases are eating into the modest raise that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients received at the start of 2026. The national median...
Beef prices jumped 12.9% over the past year, the steepest climb in the grocery aisle
American grocery shoppers are paying sharply more for beef than they were a year ago, with prices for beef and veal climbing 12.9% between May...
A federal program pays to seal and upgrade low-income seniors’ homes, cutting utility bills at no cost to them
Seniors living on fixed incomes can have their homes sealed, insulated, and upgraded at zero out-of-pocket cost through the federal Weatherization Assistance Program, a decades-old...
Coffee prices jumped 17.5% in a year, the fastest-rising grocery cost
American grocery shoppers are absorbing the sharpest price increase on a single supermarket staple in years. Coffee prices climbed 17.5 percent over the twelve months...
A home health aide now runs a median $35 an hour, so full-time in-home care can top a nursing home’s cost
Families hiring round-the-clock home health aides now face annual bills that can exceed $300,000, a figure that dwarfs the roughly $100,000-to-$120,000 annual cost of a...
Ground beef now averages about $6.75 a pound, near a record high
American grocery shoppers are paying about $6.75 per pound for ground beef, a price that sits near its all-time peak and adds real pressure to...
Nearly 40% of households under $50,000 are struggling to pay power bills this summer
Nearly four in ten households earning less than $50,000 a year reported difficulty paying their energy bills over the past twelve months, according to Census...
Drivers are paying about 20% more for gas than a year ago, even as pump prices ease from the summer peak
American drivers are still spending roughly 20 percent more per gallon of regular gasoline than they did at the same point last summer, even though...
Gas is cheapest in Indiana at $3.06 a gallon while Hawaii drivers pay $5.46, near a $3.95 national average
Drivers filling up in Indiana are paying about $3.06 a gallon for regular gasoline, the lowest statewide average in the country. At the other extreme,...
Harris Teeter and Pick ‘n Save are closing stores in six states, sending some shoppers to find a new pharmacy
Kroger plans to shut down roughly 60 stores across multiple banners, including Harris Teeter and Pick ‘n Save locations, forcing pharmacy customers in at least...
$792 is the record average summer electric bill, and Arizona may pay $1,060
American households are heading into the most expensive cooling season on record, with the national average summer electric bill projected at $792. In Arizona, where...
Restaurant prices rose 3.5% over the year, outpacing groceries and squeezing fixed incomes
Americans eating out are paying 3.5% more than they did a year ago, while grocery bills rose 2.7% over the same period ending in May...
Pizza Hut is closing about 250 U.S. restaurants, so redeem any gift cards before your location shuts
Customers holding Pizza Hut gift cards face a shrinking window to use them. Yum! Brands, the parent company behind Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell,...