Average prices: sources and methodology

CPI Average Price Data, U.S. city average. BLS collects these prices for the Consumer Price Index: each month, data collectors record the prices of specific items in stores across US urban areas, and BLS publishes the average for the U.S. city average and for four regions (Northeast, Midwest, South and West). Prices are per pound, per dozen or per gallon, as BLS defines each item.

Averages exclude sales tax and are not seasonally adjusted. Some rest on few prices, and some fresh produce is not priced in low-season months. BLS published no data for October 2025 because of the federal government shutdown; that month shows as a gap. A new month normally appears with the CPI release in the middle of the following month.

Public domain (U.S. government work). We show “Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Average Price Data.” with every figure. BLS average price data

Table 18-10-0245-01 Monthly average retail prices for selected products. Statistics Canada calculates these averages from transaction data that grocery retailers provide, so they reflect what shoppers actually paid, for Canada and each province. For products sold in many sizes, prices within a set range of package sizes are standardized to one size (for example, a 500 g block of cheese) before averaging. The table starts in January 2017.

The mix of products behind an average can change from month to month, so Statistics Canada advises caution when reading changes over time. Recent months can be revised, so we re-read the last five months on every update. A new month normally appears about five to six weeks after it ends.

Used under the Statistics Canada Open Licence, which allows commercial use with attribution. Every figure carries the attribution the licence asks for: “Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0245-01 Monthly average retail prices for selected products, <reference month>. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.”

Shopping prices comparison tool (average prices). ONS sets an average price for each item every January — from scanner data and the prices collected for the Consumer Prices Index — and moves it each month by the item's price index. ONS publishes these as official statistics in development, so we label them as estimates: they mainly show how prices change. The items and their pack sizes are revised each March, which can change the whole series; the grocery averages start in January 2025.

Used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Every figure carries “Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.” ONS shopping prices comparison tool

Table CPM12 National Average Price. Each month, alongside the Consumer Price Index, the CSO publishes a national average price for selected items, such as 2 litres of full-fat milk or a kilogram of Irish cheddar. The table goes back to 2012; we keep it from January 2017.

Used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Every figure carries “Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Table CPM12 National Average Price, <reference month>. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.” The CSO logo is never used.

Prix moyens de vente de détail (monthly average consumer prices, metropolitan France). Insee publishes monthly average prices for a list of everyday products in metropolitan France, from the prices collected for the consumer price index. A few months in 2020 are missing from Insee's series; they show as gaps.

Used under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0, which asks for the source and the date of the data's last update: every figure carries “ Source: Insee, monthly average consumer prices in metropolitan France, <reference month> (data updated <date>).”

A country is added only when its statistics office publishes average retail prices in money — not just a price index — with a licence that allows use on this site. In the calculator, the currency decides the country: US dollars, Canadian dollars and pounds map to the US, Canada and the UK. The euro is shared, so euro prices are compared with France or Ireland only when your browser's language says you are there.

Not covered yet: New Zealand and Japan publish suitable averages but need a registered data key; Poland's monthly average prices in złoty stopped in 2019; Germany publishes only price indices.

Each average is kept exactly as published — per pound, per 12 oz, per dozen, per 4 L — and converted with the same factors the calculator uses. Prices stay in the local currency and are never converted between currencies.

When a product you enter matches one with an official average and your currency matches its country, the calculator converts your price per unit to the unit of the average and shows the difference: (your price − average) ÷ average, rounded to a whole percent. Within ±5% it says “about the average”. If the average is per pound and you entered a count, it asks you to switch units instead of guessing.

If you add sales tax, your price is compared on the same footing as the average: before tax for the US and Canada, whose averages exclude sales tax (as their shelf tags do), and with the tax for the UK, Ireland and France, whose averages include VAT. The comparison runs entirely in your browser. Averages more than 3 months old are not shown in the calculator.

• An automatic job checks each source once a day; most days there is nothing new.
• New data is checked before it is published: every price must be above zero, every month valid and unique. A move of more than 40% from the previous month is held back until a person has checked it against the source.
• If a source can't be reached, the last good data stays online unchanged.
• Revised months replace the old value; months the source skipped stay empty.
• Each page shows when its data last changed and when the next month is expected.

There is one page per product and country, and only when the source has at least 12 months of data for it and its latest month is no more than 3 months old. A series the source has stopped publishing gets no page. These pages are in English only; a language version will exist only where there is local data for it.

An average across a country is not the price at your store. Prices differ by region, store, brand, package size, organic versus conventional, and sales. Use the average as a reference point, not as an offer or a guaranteed price.

Found a number that doesn't match the source? Email michalbs87@gmail.com with the page and the figure, or use the contact page. Corrections are made as soon as they are confirmed against the source.