Every month, the Alpaugh Family Economics Center’s research team tracks the price of dozens of everyday grocery items, from produce and proteins to pantry staples, to give readers a concrete, data-driven look at how the cost of living is actually changing. Inflation numbers in the news can feel abstract; our Price Tracker series grounds them in specific prices, showing exactly which items are getting cheaper, which are climbing, and the market forces behind those shifts.
In this month’s edition, Dr. Ben Brennan digs into July 2026’s data, when overall prices ticked down as seasonal produce got cheaper, even as certain cuts of meat, coffee, and blackberries moved higher on tightening supply. Read on for the full breakdown, including a month-by-month view of price growth since last September and a complete price list for every item we track.
July 2026 Price Tracker
In July, overall prices fell relative to June. This was driven mainly by seasonal changes in produce prices, as peaches, pears, celery, and green bell peppers all saw significant price decreases. This was tempered by increased meat prices.
| Month | Monthly Growth | Growth Since September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| January | -1.88% | -1.34% |
| February | 1.43% | 0.07% |
| March | -0.46% | -0.39% |
| April | -0.33% | -0.72% |
| May | 0.84% | 0.12% |
| June | -0.08% | 0.03% |
| July | -0.36% | -0.32% |
Drivers of Basket Decrease
This month continues last month’s trend of large price decreases in produce. Peaches continued to fall in price, this month by $0.42 per pound, or 17.8 percent of their June price, now selling for an average of $1.96 per pound. Heads of lettuce are now selling for $0.17 per pound less than in June, representing a 6.9 percent decrease from their June price. Pears, green bell peppers, celery, and blueberries all saw moderate decreases in their prices, with $0.16 per pound, $0.15 per pepper, $0.13 per stalk, and $0.13 per pound, respectively.
Outside of produce, the biggest price decrease this month was for flank steak, which fell $0.42 per pound. All summer, stores have been cutting prices of specific cuts of beef as loss leaders while usually raising the prices of others. Strategically, this makes sense. Price-conscious shoppers are going to care less about which cut they’re using, while customers who care about specific cuts will pay more to get their preferred choice.
Eggs continue to recover from the high prices during the depths of the bird flu outbreak. The remaining largest price decreases were very small in relative terms. The average price of a pound of salmon and a 12-pack of Coke fell less than two percent each.
| Item | Price Change | Percent Change | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peaches (pound) | -$0.42 | -17.79% | $1.96 |
| Flank Steak (pound) | -$0.42 | -2.88% | $14.16 |
| Head of Lettuce | -$0.17 | -6.94% | $2.32 |
| Pears (pound) | -$0.16 | -6.14% | $2.39 |
| Green Bell Pepper (per pepper price) | -$0.15 | -13.13% | $1.02 |
| Eggs (dozen) | -$0.14 | -8.03% | $1.58 |
| Celery (1 head) | -$0.13 | -5.30% | $2.35 |
| Blueberries (pound) | -$0.13 | -2.22% | $5.59 |
| 12-pack of Coke | -$0.12 | -1.32% | $8.93 |
| Salmon (previously frozen pound) | -$0.11 | -1.01% | $10.32 |
Are All Prices Falling?
In the June data, blackberries saw a 17-cent drop in their per-pound price. In July, the largest price increase was a $0.61-per-pound increase in the price of blackberries. The reason for this appears to be tightening supplies both domestically and internationally.
Most of the usual suspects are at the top of the list for price increases: ground beef, tri-tip steak, top sirloin, and cod. Coffee’s 30-cent-per-pound price increase undoes the 15-cent-per-pound decrease from last month; however, coffee is still down about a dollar per pound since September. The best corroborating evidence for price increases that I can find are reports of rising prices due to tighter supplies in Vietnam, and unseasonally heavy rains in Brazil.
| Item | Price Change | Percent Change | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackberries (pound) | $0.61 | 9.22% | $7.24 |
| Ground Beef (pound, not frozen) | $0.32 | 4.90% | $6.77 |
| Coffee (pound) | $0.30 | 3.99% | $7.75 |
| Tri-Tip Steak (pound) | $0.19 | 1.53% | $12.51 |
| Store Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies (12 count) | $0.18 | 4.23% | $4.53 |
| Tilapia (previously frozen pound) | $0.16 | 2.06% | $7.78 |
| Top Sirloin Steak (pound) | $0.14 | 1.00% | $14.14 |
| Cod (previously frozen pound) | $0.11 | 0.85% | $12.77 |
| Oranges (pound) | $0.08 | 7.18% | $1.25 |
| Spaghetti Noodles (store brand- pound) | $0.05 | 4.66% | $1.19 |
Full Rundown of Average Prices
| Item | Average Price | Price Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-pack of Coke | $8.93 | -$0.12 | -1.3% |
| Apples (pound) | $1.52 | $0.00 | 0.1% |
| Bacon (pound) | $4.58 | -$0.01 | -0.3% |
| Bagels (half dozen) | $2.30 | -$0.01 | -0.2% |
| Bakery Fresh Dinner Rolls (22 ounces) | $4.62 | -$0.07 | -1.5% |
| Bakery Fresh Store Cupcakes (6 count) | $5.93 | -$0.02 | -0.3% |
| Bananas (pound) | $0.51 | -$0.01 | -2.2% |
| Blackberries (pound) | $7.24 | $0.61 | 9.2% |
| Blueberries (pound) | $5.59 | -$0.13 | -2.2% |
| Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (pound) | $3.43 | $0.02 | 0.7% |
| Bread (20-ounce loaf) | $1.73 | $0.01 | 0.8% |
| Butter (pound) | $3.33 | $0.03 | 0.8% |
| Can of Tuna (5 ounces) | $1.04 | $0.01 | 0.8% |
| Canned Green Beans (14.5 ounces) | $0.86 | -$0.01 | -0.6% |
| Canned Peaches (15.25 ounces) | $1.85 | $0.00 | -0.2% |
| Canned Pineapple (20 ounces) | $1.85 | $0.04 | 1.9% |
| Canned Soup (store brand) (10.5 ounces) | $0.83 | $0.02 | 3.0% |
| Canned Spinach (13.5 ounces) | $1.51 | -$0.01 | -0.8% |
| Canned Tomatoes (store brand-diced, 14.5 ounces) | $0.99 | -$0.01 | -1.3% |
| Carrots (pound) | $1.38 | $0.05 | 3.5% |
| Celery (1 head) | $2.35 | -$0.13 | -5.3% |
| Cereal (store brand) (12 ounces) | $2.15 | -$0.01 | -0.5% |
| Cheese (store brand -block) | $3.73 | $0.01 | 0.4% |
| Coffee (pound) | $7.75 | $0.30 | 4.0% |
| Cream Cheese (store brand- 16 ounces) | $3.31 | $0.04 | 1.2% |
| Cucumber (each) | $0.83 | -$0.03 | -3.8% |
| Deli Turkey (sliced- pound) | $6.52 | $0.04 | 0.6% |
| Eggs (dozen) | $1.58 | -$0.14 | -8.0% |
| Flank Steak (pound) | $14.16 | -$0.42 | -2.9% |
| Flat Iron Steak (pound) | $13.17 | -$0.08 | -0.6% |
| Flour (pound) | $0.61 | -$0.01 | -0.9% |
| Cod (previously frozen, pound) | $12.77 | $0.11 | 0.9% |
| Salmon (previously frozen, pound) | $10.32 | -$0.11 | -1.0% |
| Tilapia (previously frozen, pound) | $7.78 | $0.16 | 2.1% |
| Frozen Peas (16 ounces) | $1.46 | -$0.03 | -2.2% |
| Frozen Pineapple (16 ounces) | $3.75 | $0.05 | 1.4% |
| Frozen Shredded Potatoes (16 ounces) | $2.06 | -$0.02 | -1.0% |
| Frozen Berry Mix (16 ounce) | $4.23 | -$0.02 | -0.4% |
| Grapes (pound) | $2.23 | -$0.11 | -4.5% |
| Green Bell Pepper (per pepper price) | $1.02 | -$0.15 | -13.1% |
| Ground Beef (pound, not frozen) | $6.77 | $0.32 | 4.9% |
| Head of Lettuce | $2.32 | -$0.17 | -6.9% |
| Lemon (each) | $0.73 | $0.01 | 2.1% |
| Lime (each) | $0.52 | -$0.02 | -3.7% |
| Milk (gallon) | $3.07 | -$0.08 | -2.7% |
| Olive Oil (store brand- 16.9 fluid ounces) | $6.84 | -$0.03 | -0.5% |
| Orange Juice (gallon) | $7.55 | $0.03 | 0.4% |
| Oranges (pound) | $1.25 | $0.08 | 7.2% |
| Peaches (pound) | $1.96 | -$0.42 | -17.8% |
| Peanut Butter (store brand- 16 ounces) | $2.18 | -$0.04 | -1.7% |
| Pears (pound) | $2.39 | -$0.16 | -6.1% |
| Plums (pound) | $2.60 | $0.01 | 0.4% |
| Potato Chips (store brand- 8 ounces) | $1.88 | -$0.06 | -2.9% |
| Potatoes (pound) | $0.89 | -$0.02 | -2.5% |
| Rice, White, Long grain (pound) | $0.90 | -$0.02 | -1.7% |
| Sour Cream (store brand- 16 ounces) | $1.95 | -$0.01 | -0.5% |
| Spaghetti Noodles (store brand- pound) | $1.19 | $0.05 | 4.7% |
| Spinach (bunch) | $1.83 | -$0.04 | -1.9% |
| Store Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies (12 count) | $4.53 | $0.18 | 4.2% |
| Strawberries (pound) | $2.90 | $0.01 | 0.3% |
| Sugar Ground-white, pound) | $0.80 | $0.01 | 1.6% |
| Tomatoes (pound) | $1.54 | -$0.07 | -4.2% |
| Top Sirloin Steak (pound) | $14.14 | $0.14 | 1.0% |
| Tri-Tip Steak (pound) | $12.51 | $0.19 | 1.5% |
| Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream (store brand- gallon) | $7.64 | -$0.07 | -0.9% |
