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
Ohio suspended its 38.5-cent gas tax and 47-cent diesel tax from October 4 through January 2, moving $725 million from state reserves to cover the cost
Ohio stopped collecting its 38.5-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax and its 47-cent-a-gallon diesel tax at 12:01 a.m. on October 4, and the pause runs through January 2....
Canadian goods already in transit on September 29 keep paying the old duty instead of being turned away
Canadian goods already on their way into the United States when the new import bans began at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on September 29 were not...
USDA’s September outlook puts food eaten at home 2.4 percent higher across 2026
USDA’s Economic Research Service now forecasts that food eaten at home will cost 2.4 percent more across 2026, with a forecast interval running from 1.8...
Mercer says employers expect health benefit costs per employee to rise 8.2% in 2027, the steepest since 2003, with two-thirds of large employers shifting more premium to workers
Mercer’s 2026 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, issued through Marsh, finds that employers expect the total health benefit cost per employee to rise 8.2%...
Listed Canadian alcohol products have carried an additional 50% duty since September 15
A 50% additional duty has applied since 12:01 a.m. eastern time on September 15, 2026, to listed Canadian alcohol products entering the United States, under...
Heating with electricity is projected to cost $794 this winter against $497 on gas
The American Gas Association projects that a household heating with electricity will spend an average of $794 from November through March, against $497 for a...
Gasoline averages $6.40 a gallon in California and $3.79 in Indiana, the cheapest state
On October 2, 2026, a gallon of regular gasoline cost an average of $6.40 in California and $3.79 in Indiana, the cheapest state in the...
AAA puts the yearly cost of owning a new vehicle at $12,863
AAA’s 2026 Your Driving Costs study puts the average yearly cost of owning a new vehicle at $12,863, a figure the association released on September...
Home energy aid is frozen at last year’s funding, and Iowa’s 60-and-older window opened Oct. 1
Congress has kept the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program at last year’s funding level, and Iowa began taking its first LIHEAP applications on Oct....
Oil-heated homes face about $878 more this winter, near $2,627 in all
The National Energy Assistance Directors Association projects that households heating with oil will pay about $878 more this winter, lifting the average bill to about...
Household natural gas prices are forecast to fall to $14.08 per thousand cubic feet in 2027 from $15.93 this year, EIA says
The average household natural gas price is forecast to fall to $14.08 per thousand cubic feet in 2027 from $15.93 this year, the U.S. Energy...
Electricity prices rose in 44 states and D.C. in July from a year earlier, with Hawaii up 25.4% and Ohio up 15.2%, EIA says
Electricity cost more per kilowatt-hour in July than a year earlier in 44 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported,...
Ground beef averaged $6.92 a pound in August, up about 60 cents
Ground beef cost an average of $6.92 a pound in August, about 60 cents more than the $6.32 it averaged a year earlier, according to...
Electricity averages 19.6 cents a kilowatt-hour and natural gas $1.71 a therm heading into winter, BLS says
At 19.6 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity and $1.71 a therm for piped natural gas, the average U.S. household energy rates in August were higher...
Car repair bills climbed 5.2% in a year while auto insurance fell 5.1%
Maintaining and repairing a motor vehicle cost 5.2% more in August than a year earlier, while the Consumer Price Index for motor vehicle insurance stood...
Airfares are up 23.4% from a year ago as holiday booking season begins
Applied to a $500 round trip, the 23.4% rise that the Bureau of Labor Statistics measured in airline fares over the 12 months to August...
Premium gas averages $5.36 a gallon, up $1.38 from a year ago
Premium gasoline averaged $5.3625 a gallon nationwide on Sept. 28, according to AAA, up $1.38 from the $3.9805 recorded a year earlier. Regular unleaded, the...
Heating oil now costs 52% more than a year ago, at $5.15 a gallon
Heating oil averaged $5.15 a gallon in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the consumer price index for fuel oil stood 52%...
The gas industry puts the average natural-gas heating bill at about $497 for November through March
The American Gas Association puts the average household’s natural-gas heating bill at about $497 for November through March this year, a figure the trade group...
Car incentives shrank to 6.5% of the average transaction price in August, down from 7.2% a year earlier
Automakers spent 6.5% of a new vehicle’s average transaction price on incentives in August, down from 6.6% in July and from 7.2% in the same...