Bacon Prices Price History
1950–2025 · BLS
The average retail price of sliced bacon in the United States, tracked annually from 1950 through 2025. Bacon has gone from a blue-collar breakfast staple to something of a cultural phenomenon over the past two decades, and the price tag reflects that transformation. The "bacon craze" of the 2010s — bacon donuts, bacon ice cream, bacon everything — collided with tighter pork supplies and higher feed costs to push prices from under $2.00 per pound to well over $6.00, turning a once-cheap protein into a genuine budget consideration.
Source: BLS1950–2025
Price in 1950
$0.52
Price in 2025
$6.65
Total Change
+1178.8%
Years Tracked
75
Bacon Prices Over Time
1950Year Range2025
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- Bacon more than doubled between 2009 and 2014, jumping from $3.37 to $5.48 per pound, driven by the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus that wiped out millions of piglets and tightened the domestic pork supply overnight.
- The 2022 peak of $7.10 per pound would have been unthinkable a decade earlier — adjusted for inflation, bacon is now roughly three times more expensive in real terms than it was in the 1950s.
- Prices actually fell during the late 1980s and early 1990s, bucking the trend of most grocery items, as industrial hog farming scaled up in states like Iowa and North Carolina and drove production costs down.
- Bacon is one of the few grocery items where premium and artisan versions have significantly outpaced the average price — thick-cut and uncured varieties now routinely sell for $9-12 per pound, stretching the gap between budget and boutique products.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD per pound) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | $0.52 | — |
| 1955 | $0.56 | +7.7% |
| 1960 | $0.62 | +10.7% |
| 1965 | $0.83 | +33.9% |
| 1970 | $0.89 | +7.2% |
| 1975 | $1.41 | +58.4% |
| 1976 | $1.45 | +2.8% |
| 1977 | $1.35 | -6.9% |
| 1978 | $1.52 | +12.6% |
| 1979 | $1.28 | -15.8% |
| 1980 | $1.34 | +4.7% |
| 1981 | $1.45 | +8.2% |
| 1982 | $1.79 | +23.4% |
| 1983 | $1.76 | -1.7% |
| 1984 | $1.75 | -0.6% |
| 1985 | $1.75 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | $1.82 | +4.0% |
| 1987 | $1.88 | +3.3% |
| 1988 | $1.82 | -3.2% |
| 1989 | $1.52 | -16.5% |
| 1990 | $1.61 | +5.9% |
| 1991 | $1.56 | -3.1% |
| 1992 | $1.50 | -3.8% |
| 1993 | $1.62 | +8.0% |
| 1994 | $1.59 | -1.9% |
| 1995 | $1.69 | +6.3% |
| 1996 | $2.08 | +23.1% |
| 1997 | $2.25 | +8.2% |
| 1998 | $2.16 | -4.0% |
| 1999 | $2.14 | -0.9% |
| 2000 | $2.60 | +21.5% |
| 2001 | $2.87 | +10.4% |
| 2002 | $2.97 | +3.5% |
| 2003 | $3.03 | +2.0% |
| 2004 | $3.11 | +2.6% |
| 2005 | $3.08 | -1.0% |
| 2006 | $3.29 | +6.8% |
| 2007 | $3.47 | +5.5% |
| 2008 | $3.72 | +7.2% |
| 2009 | $3.37 | -9.4% |
| 2010 | $3.72 | +10.4% |
| 2011 | $4.37 | +17.5% |
| 2012 | $4.33 | -0.9% |
| 2013 | $4.75 | +9.7% |
| 2014 | $5.48 | +15.4% |
| 2015 | $5.12 | -6.6% |
| 2016 | $4.82 | -5.9% |
| 2017 | $5.07 | +5.2% |
| 2018 | $5.24 | +3.4% |
| 2019 | $5.29 | +1.0% |
| 2020 | $5.58 | +5.5% |
| 2021 | $5.82 | +4.3% |
| 2022 | $7.10 | +22.0% |
| 2023 | $6.35 | -10.6% |
| 2024 | $6.50 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $6.65 | +2.3% |
Year1950
Price (USD per pound)$0.52
YoY Change—
Year1955
Price (USD per pound)$0.56
YoY Change+7.7%
Year1960
Price (USD per pound)$0.62
YoY Change+10.7%
Year1965
Price (USD per pound)$0.83
YoY Change+33.9%
Year1970
Price (USD per pound)$0.89
YoY Change+7.2%
Year1975
Price (USD per pound)$1.41
YoY Change+58.4%
Year1976
Price (USD per pound)$1.45
YoY Change+2.8%
Year1977
Price (USD per pound)$1.35
YoY Change-6.9%
Year1978
Price (USD per pound)$1.52
YoY Change+12.6%
Year1979
Price (USD per pound)$1.28
YoY Change-15.8%
Year1980
Price (USD per pound)$1.34
YoY Change+4.7%
Year1981
Price (USD per pound)$1.45
YoY Change+8.2%
Year1982
Price (USD per pound)$1.79
YoY Change+23.4%
Year1983
Price (USD per pound)$1.76
YoY Change-1.7%
Year1984
Price (USD per pound)$1.75
YoY Change-0.6%
Year1985
Price (USD per pound)$1.75
YoY Change+0.0%
Year1986
Price (USD per pound)$1.82
YoY Change+4.0%
Year1987
Price (USD per pound)$1.88
YoY Change+3.3%
Year1988
Price (USD per pound)$1.82
YoY Change-3.2%
Year1989
Price (USD per pound)$1.52
YoY Change-16.5%
Year1990
Price (USD per pound)$1.61
YoY Change+5.9%
Year1991
Price (USD per pound)$1.56
YoY Change-3.1%
Year1992
Price (USD per pound)$1.50
YoY Change-3.8%
Year1993
Price (USD per pound)$1.62
YoY Change+8.0%
Year1994
Price (USD per pound)$1.59
YoY Change-1.9%
Year1995
Price (USD per pound)$1.69
YoY Change+6.3%
Year1996
Price (USD per pound)$2.08
YoY Change+23.1%
Year1997
Price (USD per pound)$2.25
YoY Change+8.2%
Year1998
Price (USD per pound)$2.16
YoY Change-4.0%
Year1999
Price (USD per pound)$2.14
YoY Change-0.9%
Year2000
Price (USD per pound)$2.60
YoY Change+21.5%
Year2001
Price (USD per pound)$2.87
YoY Change+10.4%
Year2002
Price (USD per pound)$2.97
YoY Change+3.5%
Year2003
Price (USD per pound)$3.03
YoY Change+2.0%
Year2004
Price (USD per pound)$3.11
YoY Change+2.6%
Year2005
Price (USD per pound)$3.08
YoY Change-1.0%
Year2006
Price (USD per pound)$3.29
YoY Change+6.8%
Year2007
Price (USD per pound)$3.47
YoY Change+5.5%
Year2008
Price (USD per pound)$3.72
YoY Change+7.2%
Year2009
Price (USD per pound)$3.37
YoY Change-9.4%
Year2010
Price (USD per pound)$3.72
YoY Change+10.4%
Year2011
Price (USD per pound)$4.37
YoY Change+17.5%
Year2012
Price (USD per pound)$4.33
YoY Change-0.9%
Year2013
Price (USD per pound)$4.75
YoY Change+9.7%
Year2014
Price (USD per pound)$5.48
YoY Change+15.4%
Year2015
Price (USD per pound)$5.12
YoY Change-6.6%
Year2016
Price (USD per pound)$4.82
YoY Change-5.9%
Year2017
Price (USD per pound)$5.07
YoY Change+5.2%
Year2018
Price (USD per pound)$5.24
YoY Change+3.4%
Year2019
Price (USD per pound)$5.29
YoY Change+1.0%
Year2020
Price (USD per pound)$5.58
YoY Change+5.5%
Year2021
Price (USD per pound)$5.82
YoY Change+4.3%
Year2022
Price (USD per pound)$7.10
YoY Change+22.0%
Year2023
Price (USD per pound)$6.35
YoY Change-10.6%
Year2024
Price (USD per pound)$6.50
YoY Change+2.4%
Year2025
Price (USD per pound)$6.65
YoY Change+2.3%
Sources & Methodology
BLS average retail price for sliced bacon, per pound, from CPI survey data. Reflects national urban averages for standard-grade sliced bacon.
Primary source: BLS
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.