Produce
Tomatoes, field grown, per lb

The price of tomatoes

A pound of tomatoes cost 70.3¢ in January 1980 and $1.99 in September 2026.

In Sep 2026 dollars it cost $3.04 in January 1980, so it is 35% cheaper now after inflation. The record is $2.69, in April 2026; the low was 54.8¢, in September 1982.

Download the data (CSV)See the BLS series
Jan 198070.3¢Sep 2026$1.99
$3.04

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

In one year
up 4.3%From $1.91 in Sep 2025
In ten years
up 11.5%From $1.79 in Sep 2016
Record high
$2.69April 2026
Record low
54.8¢September 1982

Tomatoes, per lb, every month since Jan 1980

Price at the timeIn Sep 2026 dollars
Tomatoes, field grown: 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 70.3¢ in January 1980 to $1.99 in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $3.04 to $1.99. Record high $2.69 in April 2026.$0.00$2.00$4.00$6.00$8.00198020002020$1.99Tomatoes, field grown: 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 70.3¢ in January 1980 to $1.99 in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $3.04 to $1.99. Record high $2.69 in April 2026.$0.00$1.00$2.00$3.00$4.00$5.00$6.00$7.0019801990200020102020$1.99Tomatoes, field grown: 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 70.3¢ in January 1980 to $1.99 in September 2026. The dashed blue line is the same price in Sep 2026 dollars, from $3.04 to $1.99. Record high $2.69 in April 2026.$0.00$1.00$2.00$3.00$4.00$5.00$6.00$7.001980198519901995200020052010201520202025$1.99

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 APU0000712311 (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.

Tomatoes, field grown: January prices in past decades compared with September 2026
MonthPrice thenIn today’s $Now vs thenAfter inflation
Jan 198070.3¢$3.04up 183.4%down 34.6%
Jan 1990$1.74$4.59up 14.8%down 56.6%
Jan 2000$1.44$2.88up 38.0%down 30.8%
Jan 2010$1.84$2.86up 8.4%down 30.3%
Jan 2020$2.22$2.90down 10.3%down 31.3%

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.

Tomatoes, field grown: yearly average price
YearAveragevs year beforeLowest monthHighest month
20269 of 12 months$2.14up 16.2%$1.79 Jan$2.69 Apr
202511 of 12 months$1.84down 7.7%$1.71 May$2.05 Jan
2024$2.00up 3.9%$1.84 Jun$2.15 Jan
2023$1.92up 0.4%$1.80 May$2.11 Jan
2022$1.91up 3.4%$1.79 Apr$2.23 Dec
2021$1.85down 5.8%$1.77 Mar$1.93 Jan
202010 of 12 months$1.96up 1.7%$1.85 Sep$2.22 Jan
2019$1.93up 0.7%$1.78 Oct$2.23 Jan
2018$1.92down 0.8%$1.68 May$2.34 Jan
2017$1.93up 0.3%$1.81 Oct$2.24 Dec
Every year back to 1980
Tomatoes, field grown: yearly average price
YearAveragevs year beforeLowest monthHighest month
2016$1.93up 4.6%$1.64 Jul$2.53 Jan
2015$1.84up 7.8%$1.71 Jun$2.09 Jan
2014$1.71up 11.4%$1.54 Aug$2.19 Dec
201311 of 12 months$1.53up 5.2%$1.43 Jul$1.73 Dec
2012$1.46down 12.6%$1.34 May$1.59 Dec
2011$1.67down 1.5%$1.42 Aug$2.27 Apr
2010$1.69up 4.3%$1.41 Aug$2.13 Apr
2009$1.62down 7.0%$1.51 Mar$1.96 Dec
2008$1.74up 5.9%$1.59 Sep$2.03 Jan
2007$1.65down 4.9%$1.49 Aug$2.15 Dec
2006$1.73up 7.5%$1.46 Jun$2.19 Oct
2005$1.61up 0.3%$1.42 Aug$1.91 May
2004$1.61up 6.4%$1.25 Jul$2.47 Dec
2003$1.51up 13.9%$1.40 Jun$1.71 Jan
2002$1.32up 0.3%$1.16 Sep$1.66 Dec
2001$1.32down 4.5%$1.17 Sep$1.47 Nov
2000$1.38up 0.9%$1.26 Aug$1.57 Dec
1999$1.37down 7.2%$1.23 Aug$1.90 Jan
1998$1.48up 14.2%$1.24 Sep$1.80 Dec
1997$1.29up 6.9%$1.09 Sep$1.65 Mar
1996$1.21up 4.6%98.0¢ Sep$1.87 Apr
1995$1.16up 6.5%93.8¢ Aug$1.51 Dec
1994$1.09up 0.2%91.4¢ Mar$1.60 Jan
1993$1.08down 1.0%82.4¢ Jul$1.55 May
1992$1.09up 8.7%74.7¢ Jun$1.73 Mar
1991$1.01down 6.8%71.4¢ Oct$1.67 Jun
1990$1.08up 18.4%69.7¢ May$2.36 Feb
198991.2¢up 9.3%77.7¢ Sep$1.32 May
198883.4¢up 1.3%74.4¢ Mar90.2¢ Apr
198710 of 12 months82.3¢down 0.1%66.4¢ Aug99.6¢ Dec
198682.4¢up 5.9%67.4¢ Sep$1.10 Jan
198577.8¢down 3.6%61.6¢ Sep$1.19 Apr
198480.7¢up 2.9%67.8¢ Dec99.8¢ Feb
198378.4¢up 6.2%58.4¢ Aug$1.08 Mar
198273.9¢down 4.0%54.8¢ Sep90.1¢ Feb
198177.0¢up 14.3%60.4¢ Sep$1.20 Apr
198067.4¢—58.6¢ Feb76.4¢ Oct

About this number

  • What this number is. The average price BLS records for “Tomatoes, field grown, 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.
  • 5 other months without a price between Jan 1987 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 CSV555 rows: month, price, and price in Sep 2026 dollars

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