Produce
Bananas, per lb

The price of bananas

A pound of bananas cost 31.9¢ in January 1980 and 65.6¢ in September 2026.

In Sep 2026 dollars it cost $1.38 in January 1980, so it is 53% cheaper now after inflation. The record is 67.0¢, in September 2025; the low was 31.5¢, in December 1983.

Download the data (CSV)See the BLS series
Jan 198031.9¢Sep 202665.6¢
$1.38

The Jan 1980 price in Sep 2026 dollars: what it cost then, in today’s money.

In one year
down 2.1%From 67.0¢ in Sep 2025
In ten years
up 14.1%From 57.5¢ in Sep 2016
Record high
67.0¢September 2025
Record low
31.5¢December 1983

Bananas, per lb, every month since Jan 1980

Price at the timeIn Sep 2026 dollars
Bananas: monthly U.S. average price, Jan 1980 to Sep 2026Two lines. The solid line over the yellow area is the price at the time, from 31.9¢ in January 1980 to 65.6¢ in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $1.38 to 65.6¢. Record high 67.0¢ in September 2025.$0.00$0.50$1.00$1.50$2.0019802000202067.0¢, 202565.6¢Bananas: monthly U.S. average price, Jan 1980 to Sep 2026Two lines. The solid line over the yellow area is the price at the time, from 31.9¢ in January 1980 to 65.6¢ in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $1.38 to 65.6¢. Record high 67.0¢ in September 2025.$0.00$0.20$0.40$0.60$0.80$1.00$1.20$1.40$1.6019801990200020102020Record 67.0¢, 202565.6¢Bananas: monthly U.S. average price, Jan 1980 to Sep 2026Two lines. The solid line over the yellow area is the price at the time, from 31.9¢ in January 1980 to 65.6¢ in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $1.38 to 65.6¢. Record high 67.0¢ in September 2025.$0.00$0.20$0.40$0.60$0.80$1.00$1.20$1.40$1.601980198519901995200020052010201520202025Record 67.0¢, 202565.6¢

Solid line, yellow area: the average price in each month, in the dollars of that month. Dashed blue line: the same price restated in Sep 2026 dollars using the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U). Where the dashed line falls, the item got cheaper compared with everything else. Months with no published price are left as gaps when they are long, and bridged when they are a single month. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys to read any month.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average price series APU0000711211 (U.S. city average); CPI-U CUUR0000SA0.

A January in every decade

“Now vs then” is the plain change on the shelf. “After inflation” compares the old price in Sep 2026 dollars with today’s: negative means it takes less of today’s money than it did.

Bananas: January prices in past decades compared with September 2026
MonthPrice thenIn today’s $Now vs thenAfter inflation
Jan 198031.9¢$1.38up 105.6%down 52.5%
Jan 199042.9¢$1.14up 52.9%down 42.2%
Jan 200049.0¢97.8¢up 33.9%down 32.9%
Jan 201058.6¢91.1¢up 11.9%down 28.0%
Jan 202057.0¢74.4¢up 15.1%down 11.8%

Year by year

Averages of the monthly prices in each calendar year, newest first. Years with fewer than nine published months are left out; partial years are marked.

Bananas: yearly average price
YearAveragevs year beforeLowest monthHighest month
20269 of 12 months65.2¢up 0.7%64.5¢ Jun65.7¢ Mar
202511 of 12 months64.7¢up 4.4%61.9¢ Feb67.0¢ Sep
202462.0¢down 1.6%61.2¢ Aug62.9¢ Mar
202363.0¢down 1.0%62.5¢ Jun64.1¢ Feb
202263.6¢up 6.1%62.8¢ Feb64.3¢ Aug
202160.0¢up 3.8%58.9¢ Aug62.2¢ Dec
202057.8¢up 0.8%57.0¢ Jan58.9¢ May
201957.4¢unchanged 0.0%56.7¢ Apr58.1¢ Mar
201857.4¢up 2.0%56.6¢ Nov58.2¢ Mar
201756.3¢down 1.8%54.4¢ Sep57.3¢ Jan
Every year back to 1980
Bananas: yearly average price
YearAveragevs year beforeLowest monthHighest month
201657.3¢down 1.7%56.2¢ Aug58.6¢ Mar
201558.3¢down 2.6%57.4¢ Jun59.7¢ Apr
201459.8¢down 0.3%58.2¢ Oct60.8¢ Aug
201360.0¢down 0.4%58.6¢ Oct61.1¢ Feb
201260.2¢down 1.3%59.5¢ Aug60.7¢ Mar
201161.0¢up 5.3%59.6¢ Jan62.5¢ Feb
201058.0¢down 5.2%57.1¢ May58.7¢ Feb
200961.1¢up 0.3%56.1¢ Nov64.1¢ Feb
200860.9¢up 19.4%52.1¢ Jan63.4¢ Aug
200751.0¢up 2.0%50.3¢ May52.5¢ Dec
200650.0¢up 1.7%47.9¢ Sep51.4¢ May
200549.2¢down 0.6%48.0¢ Nov50.7¢ Mar
200449.5¢down 2.6%46.9¢ Nov51.2¢ Jan
200350.9¢up 0.2%49.0¢ Oct52.6¢ Jan
200250.7¢up 0.2%49.8¢ Sep51.9¢ Mar
200150.7¢up 1.1%49.2¢ Apr52.3¢ Jul
200050.1¢up 2.1%47.9¢ Nov52.8¢ Feb
199949.1¢down 0.6%47.1¢ Oct50.9¢ Feb
199849.4¢up 1.5%47.0¢ Oct53.0¢ Jul
199748.7¢down 0.6%45.8¢ Sep53.2¢ Mar
199649.0¢unchanged 0.0%45.8¢ Sep53.9¢ Mar
199549.0¢up 6.0%45.4¢ Dec52.2¢ Jul
199446.2¢up 5.3%43.0¢ Oct51.4¢ Feb
199343.9¢down 4.2%39.5¢ Sep48.3¢ Apr
199245.8¢down 4.8%40.4¢ Dec51.7¢ Mar
199148.1¢up 3.8%39.5¢ Oct58.4¢ May
199046.3¢up 3.3%42.9¢ Jan52.9¢ Jul
198944.9¢up 7.3%39.4¢ Jan52.3¢ Apr
198841.8¢up 14.6%37.4¢ Jan50.1¢ Jun
198710 of 12 months36.5¢down 5.2%34.3¢ Nov39.0¢ Jun
198638.5¢up 4.9%33.3¢ Dec46.4¢ Apr
198536.7¢up 2.1%31.6¢ Nov42.2¢ Apr
198435.9¢down 6.8%31.7¢ Dec39.1¢ Jun
198338.6¢up 9.0%31.5¢ Dec46.2¢ Jul
198235.4¢down 2.3%31.7¢ Oct38.1¢ Jun
198136.2¢up 5.9%34.1¢ Jul37.9¢ May
198034.2¢—31.9¢ Jan35.7¢ May

About this number

  • What this number is. The average price BLS records for “Bananas, per lb. (453.6 gm)” across U.S. cities, collected for the Consumer Price Index. It is an average across many stores and brands, not a price at any one store.
  • No price for October 2025. BLS did not publish one: data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.
  • 2 other months without a price between Jan 1987 and Feb 1987. BLS publishes an average only when it has enough price quotes; the yearly table skips thin years.
  • Today’s dollars. Prices are restated in Sep 2026 dollars by multiplying by CPI-U for Sep 2026 (336.94) and dividing by CPI-U for the month in question.

Sources

Download CSV558 rows: month, price, and price in Sep 2026 dollars

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