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
Seniors 60 and older can deduct medical costs over $35 to raise food-stamp benefits
For older Americans on tight fixed incomes, a small line in the SNAP rulebook can meaningfully raise a monthly food benefit, yet it is one...
Diesel reaches $5.37 nationally, up $1.64 from last year
Diesel’s year-over-year jump reaches far beyond the drivers who see the price on a pump display. Freight carriers, contractors, farmers and delivery fleets consume the...
Gas reaches $4.09 nationally, nearly $1 above last summer
The national average for regular gasoline reached $4.089 a gallon on August 4, up 93.6 cents from $3.153 a year earlier. The rounded $4.09 figure...
Americans saved just 2.7% of disposable income in June as inflation ran 3.7%
Households put away only 2.7 cents from each dollar of disposable personal income in June while the price index tied to their spending stood 3.7%...
$4.99 a month is Amazon’s new price for ad-free Prime Video, a 67% jump
The cost of watching Prime Video without commercials jumped to $4.99 a month in 2026, up from $2.99, a 67 percent increase that Prime members...
$159 a year could be Amazon Prime’s new price, its first increase since 2022
Amazon Prime could climb from $139 to about $159 a year under a projection from J.P. Morgan analysts, which would be the membership’s first base-price...
$19.99 a month is Netflix’s new standard-plan price after its 2026 hike
Netflix’s most-popular plan now costs $19.99 a month after the company’s 2026 price increase, the second hike in under two years and a fresh test...
A household with five streaming services now pays about $70 a month, before any live TV
A household juggling five streaming services now pays roughly $70 a month, or about $840 a year, before adding a single live-TV package. That total...
Grocery and food prices are set to rise about 3.1% this year, the USDA says
Grocery and restaurant prices together are expected to climb about 3.1 percent in 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest food-price forecast. That...
82 cents is the new price of a Forever stamp after the latest postal increase
The price of a first-class Forever stamp climbed to 82 cents on July 12, 2026, the sixth increase in five years and one more reminder...
Imported pasta now faces tariffs near 107%, pushing up the price of a pantry staple
A plate of imported pasta is about to get considerably more expensive. Italian pasta shipped to the United States now faces combined tariffs approaching 107...
$1,060 in summer power bills will hit Arizona homes, the steepest in the nation
Arizona households are on course to pay roughly $1,060 to keep cool between June and September 2026, the steepest summer electricity burden of any state...
Drugstore chains have closed nearly 3,000 stores in four years, creating pharmacy deserts
The corner drugstore is disappearing faster than most shoppers realize. The three largest U.S. pharmacy chains have closed close to 3,000 stores over the past...
Tariffs are on track to cost the average American household about $700 this year
Tariffs imposed and scheduled through 2026 are on track to cost the average American household about $700 this year, according to an analysis by the...
$800 will run the average home’s air conditioning this summer, a record
Running the central air through a hot American summer will cost the typical household about $800 in 2026, the highest figure on record and a...
New-car payments hit a record $770 a month, and nearly 1 in 5 buyers now pay over $1,000
The average monthly payment on a new car has climbed to a record $770, and nearly one in five buyers who financed a vehicle now...
Gas has jumped to a national average of $4.09 a gallon, nearly $1 more than a year ago
The national average price of regular gasoline has climbed to $4.09 a gallon, roughly a dollar higher than it stood a year ago and back...
West Hollywood’s minimum wage tops $20.25 an hour in 2026, among the highest local pay floors in the country.
West Hollywood set its citywide minimum wage at $20.25 an hour for 2026, one of the steepest local pay floors anywhere in the country and...
USDA expects food prices to rise about 3.1% in 2026.
The Agriculture Department expects grocery and restaurant prices combined to rise about 3 percent in 2026, a pace that looks calm on the surface and...
Egg prices tumbled to about $2.19 a dozen, down nearly 28% from a year ago.
A dozen large eggs fell to about $2.19 in May 2026, a level not seen since before the bird-flu shortages that sent prices soaring through...