You don’t have to go too far to see the real-world effects of inflation.
The consumer price index was up 0.4% in September from August and is up 5.4% from a year ago, a 13-year high. But broad numbers like that don’t always resonate with people. It’s the price changes in individual, everyday items that show the real impact on their wallet.
Retailers are fighting inflation in a variety of ways, including shrinking packaging sizes to keep prices the same so customers don’t always know they’re paying more for less. So rather than diving into the reasons for inflation (ranging from worker shortages to supply-chain issues to energy costs), we thought it would be more effective to show how today’s prices compare with those of a year ago.
Food and beverage inflation
Bacon: +19.3% over the past year
Ground beef: +10.8%
Pork ribs: +19.2%
Chicken: +7.6%
Ham: +7%
Fresh fish: +10.7%
Eggs: +12.6%
Apples: +7.8%
Lettuce: +5%
Carbonated drinks: +5.3%
Salad dressing: +7.2%
Peanut butter: +6.2%
Food from vending machines: +6%
Beer (retail, not at a restaurant or bar): +3%
Wine (retail, not at a restaurant or bar): +1.6%
Energy inflation
Gasoline: +42.1%
Propane, kerosene, and firewood: +27.6%
Natural gas: +20.6%
Consumer goods inflation
Rental cars: +42.9%
Living room, kitchen, and dining room furniture: +13.7%
Washer and dryer: +19.1%
Paper towels and other household paper products: +5.3%
Women’s dresses: +9.5%
Children’s shoes: +11.9%
New cars: +8.8%
Used cars: +24.4%
TVs: +12.7%
Cigarettes: +7%
Hotel rooms: +17.5%
Haircuts: +5%
More finance coverage from Fortune:
- Oct. 15 deadline looms for people who obtained 2021 tax extension
- Where Zillow says home prices are headed in 2022
- Nearly 90% of Americans now use fintech—with Boomers the fastest-growing demo
- Commentary: Pay streaming is about to upend salaries as we know them
- Gas prices have more than tripled in the last 18 months—and are likely to go higher
Subscribe to Fortune Daily to get essential business stories straight to your inbox each morning.
