Tomatoes, navel oranges, and other groceries that rose in price in the South last month

After more than a year of historical inflation, grocery prices are staying steady. Prices fell in March and April for the first time since September 2020 and have changed little since.

The drop earlier this spring was largely fueled by decreases in eggs—which had risen dramatically in price—as well as meats, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products.

Still, inflation continued to plague shoppers. The overall cost of groceries in June remained up 4.7% from 2022—the result of historically high inflation in the past couple of years following a series of major social and economic events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, labor disruptions, and heightened consumer demand. Overall, inflation has cooled but hasn’t reached pre-pandemic levels.

Despite the lull, groceries in some categories continued to climb. Stacker used monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to find the grocery items that experienced the largest price increases over the last month in the South, using year-over-year changes as a tiebreaker where needed. For this analysis, the South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Stacker excluded some hyper-specific meat categories in order to better understand grocery price fluctuations more broadly.

Stefan Malloch // Shutterstock

#13. Cheddar cheese, natural (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +0.4%
– Annual change in cost: +4.9%
– June 2023 cost: $5.88

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#12. Ground beef (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +1.1%
– Annual change in cost: +0.7%
– June 2023 cost: $5.32

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#11. Ham (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +1.2%
– Annual change in cost: +13.5%
– June 2023 cost: $4.3

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#10. Dried beans (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +1.3%
– Annual change in cost: +5.0%
– June 2023 cost: $1.52

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#8. Whole chicken (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +1.7%
– Annual change in cost: +8.3%
– June 2023 cost: $1.82

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#8. Long-grain white rice (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +1.7%
– Annual change in cost: +18.7%
– June 2023 cost: $1.18

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#7. Ground coffee (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +2.0%
– Annual change in cost: +7.3%
– June 2023 cost: $5.88

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#6. Beef steaks (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +2.2%
– Annual change in cost: +6.7%
– June 2023 cost: $9.82

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#5. White potatoes (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +2.5%
– Annual change in cost: +17.6%
– June 2023 cost: $1.07

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#4. Ice cream, prepackaged in bulk (per 1/2 gal.)

– One-month increase in cost: +3.8%
– Annual change in cost: +11.3%
– June 2023 cost: $5.84

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#3. Romaine lettuce (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +4.4%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– June 2023 cost: $2.52

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#2. Navel oranges (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +4.5%
– Annual change in cost: -5.5%
– June 2023 cost: $1.57

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#1. Tomatoes (per lb.)

– One-month increase in cost: +5.9%
– Annual change in cost: +6.8%
– June 2023 cost: $1.71