Price of a pound of beef stew meat by year, 1991–2025
A pound of beef stew meat cost $2.59 on average in 1991 and $8.14 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The price rose 214% over those years while prices in general rose 136%, so, measured in 2025 dollars, it cost 33% more in 2025 than in 1991.
- Average in 1991
- $2.59
- Average in 2025
- $8.14
- Highest year, 2025
- $8.14
- Biggest one-year rise, 2014
- +14%
- Against inflation
- Beat it by 33%
Every year
The table lists all 34 years with data, from 1991 to 2025. Select a year to see what everything else cost that year.
| Year | Average price | In 2025 dollars | Change from year before |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | $2.59 | $6.12 | — |
| 1992 | $2.58 | $5.92 | 0% |
| 1993 | $2.58 | $5.75 | 0% |
| 1994 | $2.53 | $5.50 | −2% |
| 1995 | $2.50 | $5.28 | −1% |
| 1996 | $2.50 | $5.13 | 0% |
| 1997 | $2.51 | $5.03 | 0% |
| 1998 | $2.55 | $5.04 | +2% |
| 1999 | $2.58 | $4.99 | +1% |
| 2000 | $2.70 | $5.05 | +5% |
| 2001 | $2.96 | $5.38 | +10% |
| 2002 | $2.95 | $5.28 | 0% |
| 2003 | $3.10 | $5.42 | +5% |
| 2004 | $3.32 | $5.66 | +7% |
| 2005 | $3.33 | $5.49 | 0% |
| 2006 | $3.31 | $5.29 | −1% |
| 2007 | $3.51 | $5.45 | +6% |
| 2008 | $3.79 | $5.67 | +8% |
| 2009 | $3.78 | $5.67 | 0% |
| 2010 | $3.89 | $5.74 | +3% |
| 2011 | $4.25 | $6.08 | +9% |
| 2012 | $4.50 | $6.31 | +6% |
| 2013 | $4.57 | $6.32 | +2% |
| 2014 | $5.21 | $7.09 | +14% |
| 2015 | $5.60 | $7.61 | +7% |
| 2016 | $5.32 | $7.14 | −5% |
| 2017 | $5.37 | $7.05 | +1% |
| 2019 | $5.64 | $7.10 | — |
| 2020 | $5.96 | $7.41 | +6% |
| 2021 | $6.52 | $7.75 | +9% |
| 2022 | $6.95 | $7.65 | +7% |
| 2023 | $7.00 | $7.40 | +1% |
| 2024 | $7.18 | $7.37 | +3% |
| 2025 | $8.14 | $8.14 | +13% |
Decade by decade
Across the 1990s the yearly average ran from $2.50 in 1995 to $2.59 in 1991, for a decade average of $2.55. The 2000s averaged $3.28: the most expensive year was 2008 at $3.79 and the cheapest 2000 at $2.70. In the 2010s, a pound of beef stew meat averaged $4.93, from a low of $3.89 in 2010 to a high of $5.64 in 2019. Across the 2020s the yearly average ran from $5.96 in 2020 to $8.14 in 2025, for a decade average of $6.96.
Every five years in this record: 1995 $2.50, 2000 $2.70, 2005 $3.33, 2010 $3.89, 2015 $5.60, 2020 $5.96 and 2025 $8.14. From 2021 to 2025, the most recent years of data, the average rose 25%, from $6.52 to $8.14.
Against inflation
In 2025 dollars, the 1991 average of $2.59 is worth $6.12. The actual 2025 average was $8.14. So a pound of beef stew meat outpaced prices in general: after adjusting for inflation, it cost 33% more in 2025 than in 1991.
Highs, lows and big moves
The highest yearly average in this record is $8.14 in 2025, and the lowest is $2.50 in 1995. The biggest one-year increase was 14%, from $4.57 in 2013 to $5.21 in 2014. The biggest one-year decrease was 5%, from $5.60 in 2015 to $5.32 in 2016.
Of the 10 items in meat and poultry tracked here, 4 rose faster than inflation over their full records, and this is one of them. This record starts in 1991, the first year with at least nine months of Bureau prices. The Bureau published fewer than nine months of prices for 2018, so that year is left out of the table and the chart.
Average prices are U.S. city averages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (series APU0000703432), averaged over each calendar year. A year is included only when the Bureau published at least nine months of prices for it. Values in 2025 dollars use the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) annual average. See how Sticker Shock builds its data. Figures may contain errors and are not financial advice.