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
Electric vehicles now cost 9.4% more than gas cars on average, down from 16% a year ago, Kelley Blue Book says
A new vehicle powered by a battery now costs 9.4% more on average than one with a gasoline engine, down sharply from a 16% premium...
ESPN’s streaming app now costs $13.99 a month for Select and $31.99 for Unlimited
A monthly ESPN Select subscription now costs $13.99, and ESPN Unlimited costs $31.99, according to ESPN’s own pricing page, up from $12.99 and $29.99. The...
Disney raised its ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu plans to $12.49 a month
Disney’s ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu plans each rose fifty cents this week, from $11.99 to $12.49 a month, the fourth time in the streaming era...
The gas industry says natural-gas heating costs will fall 14% this winter, while energy-assistance directors forecast a 5.8% rise
Two organizations are describing the same winter in opposite terms. The American Gas Association forecasts natural-gas heating costs will fall 14 percent this season, while...
Sugar and sweets are forecast to cost 6.6 percent more this year, the USDA says
Sugar and sweets, the grocery category covering candy, baking sugar and similar items, are forecast to cost 6.6 percent more in 2026 than in 2025,...
Grocery prices are forecast to rise 1.8 percent in 2027, the USDA predicts
Grocery prices, what the Department of Agriculture calls food-at-home, are forecast to rise 1.8 percent in 2027, a deceleration from the 2.4 percent increase the...
Imported upholstered furniture keeps a 25% tariff until January 1, when Trump’s delayed increase is scheduled to start
A 25% tariff on imported upholstered furniture, in place since September 2025, is scheduled to rise to 30% on January 1, 2027, after President Trump...
Medical care prices rose 1.6 percent in the year to August, while drug and medical-supply prices fell 2.7 percent
Doctor visits and hospital stays kept getting more expensive over the year to August even as prescription drugs and other medical supplies got cheaper, based...
Out-of-pocket medical bills pushed 7.7 million Americans into poverty in 2025, more than payroll or income taxes did
Medical bills pushed more Americans into poverty last year than either of the two largest taxes withheld from a paycheck, according to the Census Bureau’s...
Los Angeles County’s sales tax rises to 10.25 percent on October 1, up from 9.75 percent
Sales tax across Los Angeles County ticks up to 10.25 percent on October 1, 2026, a half-point increase from the current 9.75 percent rate, under...
Only 60 percent of employers now cover weight-loss drugs for obesity, down from 72 percent
Employer coverage of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for obesity has fallen to 60 percent, down from 72 percent a year earlier, according to Business Group on...
Nearly half of large employers plan to raise workers’ deductibles or copays in 2027, Mercer finds
Nearly half of the country’s largest employers, 48 percent, plan to raise workers’ deductibles or copays for 2027, according to survey findings Mercer released June...
About one in six U.S. households is behind on utility bills, with utility debt nearing $23 billion before winter
About one in six U.S. households is behind on its utility bills heading into winter, with residential utility debt nationwide nearing $23 billion, according to...
Disney+ and Hulu ad-free plans rise to $21.49 a month, and existing subscribers pay the new rate next month
Disney+ Premium and Hulu’s ad-free plan both climbed to $21.49 a month this week, a $2.50 jump from $18.99 and the fourth increase to that...
The Disney+ and Hulu ad-free bundle rises to $21.99 a month
The Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium, the ad-free package that combines both apps, rose to $21.99 a month this week, a two-dollar increase from $19.99. The...
Private mortgage insurance must drop off automatically once a loan reaches 78 percent of the home’s value
Private mortgage insurance on most home loans is required by federal law to end on its own once the loan’s original amortization schedule shows the...
China’s 13 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans still dwarfs Brazil’s 3 percent after the Trump-Xi talks
Nearly a year after Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping first struck a trade truce, China’s total tariff on American soybeans still sits at 13 percent,...
More than 330,000 Americans lost food stamps in May and June alone
More than 330,000 Americans lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program between May and June 2026 alone, according to a Stateline analysis of state...
USPS plans holiday surcharges from October 4, adding as much as $20.80 to some Priority Mail Express packages
The U.S. Postal Service has filed a temporary peak-season price increase that would add as much as $20.80 to certain retail Priority Mail Express packages...
Arizona’s food stamp rolls have fallen by more than half, to about 421,000 people in June
Arizona’s food stamp rolls have been cut by more than half since July 2025, falling to about 421,000 people receiving benefits in June, according to...