Price of a pound of hot dogs by year, 1980–2021
A pound of hot dogs cost $1.72 on average in 1980 and $4.01 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The price rose 133% over those years while prices in general rose 229%, so, measured in 2025 dollars, it cost 29% less in 2021 than in 1980.
- Average in 1980
- $1.72
- Average in 2021
- $4.01
- Highest year, 2021
- $4.01
- Biggest one-year rise, 2020
- +14%
- Against inflation
- Trailed it by 29%
Every year
The table lists all 24 years with data, from 1980 to 2021. Select a year to see what everything else cost that year.
| Year | Average price | In 2025 dollars | Change from year before |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | $1.72 | $6.72 | — |
| 1981 | $1.77 | $6.27 | +3% |
| 1982 | $1.82 | $6.07 | +3% |
| 1983 | $1.81 | $5.85 | −1% |
| 1984 | $1.80 | $5.58 | −1% |
| 1985 | $1.81 | $5.42 | +1% |
| 1986 | $1.93 | $5.67 | +7% |
| 1987 | $1.99 | $5.64 | +3% |
| 1988 | $2.02 | $5.50 | +2% |
| 1989 | $2.06 | $5.35 | +2% |
| 1990 | $2.29 | $5.64 | +11% |
| 1991 | $2.35 | $5.55 | +3% |
| 1992 | $2.24 | $5.14 | −5% |
| 1993 | $2.11 | $4.70 | −6% |
| 1994 | $2.11 | $4.58 | 0% |
| 1995 | $2.03 | $4.29 | −4% |
| 1996 | $2.08 | $4.27 | +2% |
| 1997 | $2.27 | $4.55 | +9% |
| 2016 | $3.24 | $4.35 | — |
| 2017 | $2.85 | $3.74 | −12% |
| 2018 | $2.92 | $3.74 | +2% |
| 2019 | $3.10 | $3.90 | +6% |
| 2020 | $3.54 | $4.40 | +14% |
| 2021 | $4.01 | $4.76 | +13% |
Decade by decade
In the 1980s, a pound of hot dogs averaged $1.87, from a low of $1.72 in 1980 to a high of $2.06 in 1989. Across the 1990s the yearly average ran from $2.03 in 1995 to $2.35 in 1991, for a decade average of $2.19. In the 2010s, a pound of hot dogs averaged $3.03, from a low of $2.85 in 2017 to a high of $3.24 in 2016. Across the 2020s the yearly average ran from $3.54 in 2020 to $4.01 in 2021, for a decade average of $3.78.
Every five years in this record: 1980 $1.72, 1985 $1.81, 1990 $2.29, 1995 $2.03 and 2020 $3.54. From 2017 to 2021, the most recent years of data, the average rose 41%, from $2.85 to $4.01.
Against inflation
In 2025 dollars, the 1980 average of $1.72 is worth $6.72. The series ends in 2021 at $4.01, or $4.76 in 2025 dollars. So after adjusting for inflation, a pound of hot dogs cost 29% less in 2021 than in 1980, even though the price on the shelf went up.
Highs, lows and big moves
The highest yearly average in this record is $4.01 in 2021, and the lowest is $1.72 in 1980. The biggest one-year increase was 14%, from $3.10 in 2019 to $3.54 in 2020. The biggest one-year decrease was 12%, from $3.24 in 2016 to $2.85 in 2017.
Of the 10 items in meat and poultry tracked here, 4 rose faster than inflation over their full records. The Bureau published fewer than nine months of prices for 1998–2015, so those years are left out of the table and the chart. The Bureau has published no full year of prices for this series since 2021, so the comparisons on this page end there.
Average prices are U.S. city averages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (series APU0000705111), 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.