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Rice, white long grain, per lb

The price of rice

A pound of rice cost 48.4¢ in January 1980 and $1.12 in September 2026.

In Sep 2026 dollars it cost $2.10 in January 1980, so it is 47% cheaper now after inflation. This is its highest monthly price on record; the low was 39.1¢ in July 1987.

Download the data (CSV)See the BLS series
Jan 198048.4¢Sep 2026$1.12
$2.10

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

In one year
up 5.5%From $1.06 in Sep 2025
In ten years
up 55.1%From 72.1¢ in Sep 2016
Record high
$1.12September 2026
Record low
39.1¢July 1987

Rice, per lb, every month since Jan 1980

Price at the timeIn Sep 2026 dollars
Rice, white long grain: 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 48.4¢ in January 1980 to $1.12 in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $2.10 to $1.12. Record high $1.12 in September 2026.$0.00$0.50$1.00$1.50$2.00$2.50198020002020$1.12Rice, white long grain: 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 48.4¢ in January 1980 to $1.12 in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $2.10 to $1.12. Record high $1.12 in September 2026.$0.00$0.50$1.00$1.50$2.00$2.5019801990200020102020$1.12Rice, white long grain: 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 48.4¢ in January 1980 to $1.12 in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $2.10 to $1.12. Record high $1.12 in September 2026.$0.00$0.50$1.00$1.50$2.00$2.501980198519901995200020052010201520202025$1.12

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 APU0000701312 (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.

Rice, white long grain: January prices in past decades compared with September 2026
MonthPrice thenIn today’s $Now vs thenAfter inflation
Jan 198048.4¢$2.10up 131.0%down 46.7%
Jan 199050.1¢$1.32up 123.2%down 15.6%
Jan 200049.9¢99.6¢up 124.0%up 12.2%
Jan 201075.4¢$1.17up 48.3%down 4.6%
Jan 202071.6¢93.5¢up 56.1%up 19.6%

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.

Rice, white long grain: yearly average price
YearAveragevs year beforeLowest monthHighest month
20269 of 12 months$1.08up 3.1%$1.06 Jan$1.12 Sep
202511 of 12 months$1.05up 1.6%$1.01 Jan$1.08 Dec
2024$1.03up 5.0%$1.00 Jan$1.08 Aug
202398.5¢up 7.9%95.9¢ Feb$1.01 Jul
202291.3¢up 15.0%83.0¢ Feb97.1¢ Dec
202179.4¢up 4.6%77.2¢ Mar84.4¢ Nov
202011 of 12 months75.9¢down 0.8%71.6¢ Jan79.1¢ Nov
201976.4¢up 10.2%71.4¢ Dec80.1¢ Jun
201869.4¢down 3.8%68.2¢ Jan71.2¢ Dec
201772.1¢up 0.7%68.6¢ Apr76.4¢ Jul
Every year back to 1980
Rice, white long grain: yearly average price
YearAveragevs year beforeLowest monthHighest month
201671.6¢up 4.5%69.3¢ Dec74.7¢ May
201568.5¢down 6.6%66.2¢ Sep73.2¢ Nov
201473.4¢up 1.4%70.0¢ Dec75.8¢ Jul
201372.4¢up 3.8%70.2¢ May74.1¢ Sep
201269.7¢down 5.9%67.7¢ May73.9¢ Jan
201174.1¢unchanged 0.0%71.5¢ Aug76.7¢ May
201074.1¢down 3.3%71.0¢ Nov76.4¢ Mar
200976.6¢up 4.5%75.1¢ Oct79.7¢ Jan
200873.3¢up 33.4%56.8¢ Jan85.6¢ Oct
200754.9¢unchanged 0.0%52.9¢ Jun56.3¢ Jan
200654.9¢down 0.9%53.2¢ Jan56.8¢ Oct
200555.4¢up 3.3%52.4¢ Dec59.7¢ Jan
200453.6¢up 18.6%48.2¢ Jan57.2¢ Nov
200345.2¢—42.8¢ Jun49.0¢ Nov
199953.7¢down 0.9%48.8¢ Nov55.7¢ Aug
199854.2¢down 4.1%53.6¢ Jun54.7¢ Feb
199756.5¢up 3.4%55.8¢ Apr57.5¢ Dec
199654.6¢up 4.1%53.7¢ Jun55.6¢ Mar
199552.4¢down 4.1%51.1¢ Mar55.3¢ Dec
199454.7¢up 6.7%51.5¢ Jan57.5¢ Apr
199351.2¢down 3.0%49.0¢ Nov53.0¢ Feb
199252.8¢up 5.0%51.5¢ Feb54.3¢ Oct
199150.3¢up 1.3%49.2¢ Feb51.7¢ Nov
199049.6¢down 0.4%47.6¢ Feb50.7¢ Nov
198949.8¢up 2.9%48.2¢ Apr52.0¢ Sep
198848.4¢up 20.7%44.6¢ Jan50.7¢ Jul
198740.1¢down 9.9%39.1¢ Jul42.2¢ Dec
198644.6¢down 5.2%43.2¢ Nov45.6¢ Jan
198547.0¢down 1.7%45.0¢ Dec47.6¢ Mar
198447.8¢up 1.0%47.1¢ Apr48.5¢ Feb
198347.3¢down 6.3%46.8¢ Mar48.6¢ Jan
198250.5¢down 10.3%48.2¢ Dec54.7¢ Feb
198156.3¢up 10.1%54.5¢ Dec57.7¢ Aug
198051.2¢—48.4¢ Jan53.9¢ Dec

About this number

  • What this number is. The average price BLS records for “Rice, white, long grain, uncooked, 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.
  • 25 other months without a price between May 2000 and Apr 2020. 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 CSV535 rows: month, price, and price in Sep 2026 dollars

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