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
Ground beef climbed to about $6.75 a pound in 2026.
A pound of ground beef averaged about $6.75 across U.S. grocery stores in May 2026, roughly fifty cents higher than a year earlier and a...
Minimum wage rises in 19 states in 2026, with Washington’s climbing to a nation-leading $17.13 an hour.
Minimum pay rose for millions of workers on January 1, 2026, as 19 states lifted their wage floors and Washington set the highest statewide rate...
Gas prices fell 9.7% in June but remained 26.7% higher than a year earlier
Gasoline delivered both relief and sticker shock in the same June report: the consumer price index for gas fell 9.7% from May after seasonal adjustment,...
Grocery prices are up roughly 25% since 2019, straining seniors’ fixed budgets.
Seniors on fixed incomes are absorbing a grocery price increase of roughly 25 percent since 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price...
Assisted living now runs a median $6,200 a month before Medicaid helps.
Families searching for assisted living face a median price tag of $6,200 a month, and for most of them, Medicaid will not cover a single...
A home health aide now runs a median $35 an hour, so full-time care at home can top a nursing home’s cost.
Families arranging round-the-clock home care for aging relatives now face annual bills that can exceed the cost of a nursing home bed. With a home...
SNAP or Medicaid households can get $9.25 a month off phone or internet bills.
Millions of households that rely on SNAP or Medicaid now have one federal program left to lower their phone or internet bills: Lifeline, which provides...
Kroger is rolling out its biggest price cuts in years to win grocery shoppers back from Walmart and Costco.
Kroger is betting that aggressive price reductions, funded by internal cost savings, can reverse a slow bleed of grocery shoppers to Walmart and Costco. The...
Walmart and Sam’s Club just cut prices on thousands of items, from beef to grilling gear, to ease summer bills.
Families heading into peak grilling season just got a price break on some of the most expensive items in their shopping carts. Walmart and Sam’s...
$1,000 is what Pennsylvania’s rebate now pays seniors for 2025 property taxes or rent.
Pennsylvania residents who are 65 or older, or who live with disabilities, can now apply for up to $1,000 back on property taxes or rent...
Minimum wage will top $17 an hour in California, Connecticut and Washington in 2027.
Workers earning the lowest legal hourly pay in California, Connecticut and Washington will cross the $17 threshold by January 2027, driven by automatic inflation-adjustment formulas...
$400 inflation-relief checks are going to about 8 million New York households this year.
New York State has begun mailing inflation refund checks of up to $400 to roughly 8.2 million households, with deliveries continuing through October and November....
$50 million is Disney’s settlement over TV pricing, with cash for YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream subscribers by September 8.
Subscribers to YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream who paid higher prices for live-TV packages that included Disney-owned channels could receive cash from a $50 million...
Sam’s Club raised its annual membership to $60, its first hike in over three years
Sam’s Club members who renew after May 1, 2026, will pay $60 for an annual membership, up from the prior level that had held steady...
Two pounds of ground beef just hit a record $14.06, up 5.5% in a year, the steepest climb on the grocery survey’s books
American grocery shoppers are paying more for ground beef than at any point on record. Two pounds of ground beef reached $14.06 in the latest...
Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, Alabama and West Virginia carry the lowest overall living costs
Households stretching paychecks against persistent inflation now have fresh federal and state data confirming that five states offer living costs well below the national average....
Many states block utilities from cutting off a household’s heat or air conditioning during extreme-weather months, protecting seniors behind on the bill
Seniors on fixed incomes who fall behind on utility bills face a direct threat when temperatures turn dangerous, but regulators in states from Arizona to...
At 60 and older you can deduct out-of-pocket medical costs over $35 a month on a SNAP application, often unlocking a bigger food benefit
Millions of Americans age 60 and older pay for prescriptions, dental work, hearing aids, and other medical needs out of their own pockets each month....
Gas jumped 15 cents in a week to a national average of $4.09, and most states now sit above $4 a gallon
American drivers are paying sharply more at the pump after regular gasoline jumped 15 cents in a single week to a national average of $4.09...
Rent now swallows more than a third of a typical retiree’s income in Florida, California and Washington, D.C.
Older Americans who rent in Florida, California and Washington, D.C., now hand over more than a third of their income to cover housing, according to...