Beef & Veal Prices

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks Beef & Veal prices under Consumer Price Index series CUSR0000SEFB, with 84 monthly observations running from January 2019 to January 2026. The CPI is indexed to the 1982–84 base period (= 100), so the latest value of 410.7 means beef & veal prices are about 411% of that early-1980s baseline. Over the 7-year window on this chart, the category has moved +35.2%, a cumulative change that compounds the monthly inflation readings most shoppers feel one trip at a time.

Year-over-year, beef & veal prices changed +2.9% between Jan 2025 and Jan 2026. The peak over this span hit 410.7 in January 2026, while the low sat at 303.7 in January 2019, a spread that frames how volatile this category has been versus broader food-at-home CPI. Related categories shown below let you triangulate whether the move is category-specific or part of a broader food-price wave.

Why this matters: BLS CPI data is the same series the Federal Reserve uses to calibrate monetary policy, so it drives interest rate decisions that reach far beyond the grocery aisle. For household budgeting, comparing this category's total change (35.2%) against wage growth and overall food CPI tells you whether beef & veal is stretching or relieving your grocery budget. The annual averages table below lets you spot the inflection points year by year, and the subcategory breakdown (where available) shows which specific items are moving the most. Data updates monthly from bls.gov/cpi and feeds into every chart and percentage on this page.