After a weekslong delay because of the federal government shutdown, the latest report on consumer prices has arrived, giving Americans a glimpse at how President Donald Trump’s economic policies are impacting everyday costs everywhere from the grocery store to the gas pump.
Across the board, inflation accelerated in September, with prices rising 0.3% — though slightly less than the 0.4% in August. Consumer costs are also 3% higher than they were a year ago, an increase economists largely attribute to surging food and energy costs as a result of the president’s sweeping tariffs.
Still, nine months into the second Trump administration, the data ran somewhat counter to what many economists anticipated, particularly following the latest round of import tax hikes that took effect in early August. The cost of bananas is at a record high, but beef prices have finally fallen, utility expenses are down month-over-month and other goods only saw minimal changes in cost in September.
The better-than-expected figures come as a spate of good news for money-conscious Americans, particularly as many may lose their SNAP benefits in the coming days — including nearly 2 million Illinoisans.
Whether prices will continue to rise or inflation will begin to cool is yet to be seen, and unfortunately, we may not know for some time. The next consumer price report is slated to release Nov. 13, though the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has indicated that no new releases will be produced until the government reopens.
The Tribune is tracking 11 everyday costs for Americans — eggs, milk, bread, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, chicken, ground beef, gasoline, electricity and natural gas — and how they are changing, or not, under the second Trump administration. This tracker is updated monthly using consumer price index data from BLS.
To see the average U.S. price of a specific good, click on the dropdown arrow below and select the item you wish to view.
Eggs
Egg prices fell for a sixth month straight in September, down another 10 cents from August to land at $3.49 per dozen of large Grade A eggs. It’s the first time this year that the national average is lower than it was a year ago — when costs began to spike as a result of bird flu.
Unfortunately for consumers, these lower prices may not last for long. From August to September the number of birds affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza in the U.S. jumped a jaw-dropping 6,700%. In August, new cases were reported in only three states — representing less than 57,000 birds. By September, there were confirmed outbreaks in nearly 30 flocks across 10 states, with more than 3.8 million birds affected, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins hinted at a “potentially challenging fall,” and virologists anticipate cases will continue to rise with the change of seasons, as migrating wild birds spread the virus to new environs. If that comes to pass, shoppers could expect another spike in egg prices.
Currently, the cost of eggs is about 16% less than it was in December 2024, before Trump took office.
Milk
The cost of milk also dropped month-over-month, with a gallon of fresh, fortified whole milk priced at $4.13. That price is just 3 cents higher than it was when President Joe Biden left the White House and up 3% from a year ago.
Bread
The average price of white bread ticked up by a few cents last month. Even so, at $1.87 per pound, bread costs about 3% less than it did when Trump started his second term and has dropped about 17 cents from last year’s record high.
Bananas
One grocery list mainstay that’s becoming more expensive? Bananas.
For a third consecutive month, the staple fruit surpassed all-time highs, inching higher than August’s record. At exactly $0.67 per pound, bananas cost roughly 9% more than they did nine months ago.
Inflated prices are likely another byproduct of the president’s trade war, with tariffs imposed on the country’s top banana suppliers: Imports from Guatemala and Honduras are levied at 10%, while Ecuador and Costa Rica’s tariff rates are set at 15% and Mexico is subject to a 25% tax.
Oranges
Oranges aren’t getting cheaper either.
Navel oranges are now $1.80 per pound — less than a cent shy of record highs.
Like many citrus fruits, the cost of oranges is heavily tied to the harvesting season. As we exit orange season, supplies will decrease, coinciding with an increase in demand, thus triggering higher prices. This is typical for the fruit market, with oranges cheapest in the winter months, then increasing in cost throughout the late spring and summer and eventually peaking in September or October each year.
But these near-record prices are more attributable to the drastic drop in oranges grown stateside this year.
In January, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service forecast that domestic orange production would fall to its lowest level in almost 90 years due to unfavorable weather and crop disease — particularly in Florida. As a result, the United States is importing more of the fruit, but tariffs on orange growers could be helping to push costs skyward.
According to Tribune analysis of the latest USDA trade data, the U.S. currently imports more oranges from Chile and South Africa than the rest of the world combined; and the import taxes for these two countries are set at 10% and 30%, respectively.
Currently, prices are 15% more than they were at the start of the Trump administration.
Tomatoes
Tomato prices, meanwhile, have fallen for the first time in months, with the national average dropping 2 cents since August.
A pound of field-grown tomatoes now costs $1.91. That price is slightly less than it was 12 months ago and down 7% in the last nine months.
Chicken
The cost of fresh, whole chicken fell month-over-month to $2.06 per pound, with the national average the same as it was in January. Still, prices are somewhat inflated from a year ago, continuing to hover above the $2 mark.
Increased chicken prices could be a result of rising feed costs, the effects of bird flu on the poultry supply chain or that the recent increases in beef prices are driving a shift in consumer demand toward cheaper meat options such as chicken.
Plus, with bird flu cases spiking again on poultry farms, we may see prices sneak up again in the coming months.
Ground beef
For the first time since President Trump took office, the price of beef has fallen.
A pound of 100% ground beef chuck now costs $6.33, plunging 4.5% from August. September’s dip is significant not only because it marks the first time this year that prices have gone down — it’s also the first month since February that the national average didn’t notch a new record.
Recent cost hikes can be attributed to a confluence of factors. The U.S. cattle inventory is the lowest it’s been in almost 75 years, and severe drought in parts of the country has further reduced the feed supply, per the USDA.
Supply challenges and rising feed costs stateside mean the country is importing more meat. But beef and cattle sourced from other nations isn’t necessarily a cheaper alternative. New tariff rates on top beef exporters such as Canada and Brazil took effect in August, raising the countries’ already steep import taxes to 35% and 50%, respectively. More recently, the president threatened Canada with another 10% hike on top of its existing tariff rate.
To make matters worse, in July the U.S. suspended all live cattle imports from Mexico due to concerns over a flesh-eating parasite, further straining the supply of beef and cattle.
Though consumers are finally getting a reprieve from compounding prices, beef costs remain much higher than they were a few months ago. Since the change of administrations, ground beef costs ballooned by more than 13%, and despite a 30-cent drop month-over-month, September’s average is still the third highest on record — going back at least 45 years.
But some more relief could be coming. Just last week, Trump proposed buying Argentinian beef in the hopes of bringing stubbornly high prices a bit closer to the ground.
Electricity
Electric costs have been steadily rising throughout the year.
At approximately 19 cents per kilowatt-hour, the current price of electricity is a fraction of a cent off last month’s record high. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American household uses 899 kWh per month, translating to a monthly bill of about $170.
As for Chicago, ComEd, the city’s primary electric utility, announced earlier this year that a massive supply rate increase would hit this summer, warning that the cost for an average residential customer was expected to go up by $10.60 per month. For some Chicagoans, that supply increase spelled triple-digit hikes on their recent bills.
Since December, the average electric price per kilowatt-hour has climbed almost 7%.
Gasoline
The price at the pump is creeping up again.
A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline cost $3.34 in September, a 4-cent increase from the previous month. On average, gas prices are up 6% during the Trump presidency — a difference of nearly 20 cents per gallon.
Prices in Chicago are also going up. The cost of gas in the city rose another 7 cents last month to an average of $3.55 per gallon, according to EIA data.
Natural Gas
Piped utility gas, or natural gas, is another expense that’s trending downward. The average price dropped slightly for a third consecutive month, settling at $1.61 per therm.
Yet, on average, Americans are paying close to 6% more to heat their homes, ovens and stovetops than when Biden left office. Year-over-year, that difference is even more drastic: a roughly 15% change.
