cherries cutout

Price evolution of cherries in the United States

Category >
Foods & Beverages > Fruits
  1. Relevance of the price of cherries
  2. Price evolution of cherries
    1. Absolute price of cherries per year
    2. Inflation adjusted price of cherries per year
  3. Conclusion
  4. FAQs about cherries's price in the the United States
  5. Price evolution table and full chart

Before moving on, it is also important to highight dat our data set of prices for cherries has some gaps. From the 42 year period we will be looking at between 1981 and 2023 there are 20 years we do not have data for. These years are 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022. So please keep that in mind moving forward.

Historical pricing of cherries in the the United States

Price evolution of cherries

The average price of a pound of cherries between 1981 and 2023 was $2.65, with the lowest price being $1.23 in 1981 and the highest $5.58 in 2023 (at least within the timeframe we have data for).

Yes, I'm sorry to say, but cherries in the United States has never been as expensive as it is today.

Let's take a closer look at the data in the tables below:

Absolute price of cherries per year

Our data source for this article was: FRED .

The absolute price of cherries in the the United States has gone from $1.23 in 1981 to $5.58 in 2023. That's an absolute increase of $4.35, or 353.66% in a period of 42 years. (go to the next section for inflation-adjusted values).

This increment has not been linear though. During this period of 42 years the price of cherries actually decreased year over year 9 times, in 1983, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019.

The biggest absolute price decrease in the price of a pound of cherries was in 2019, when the price dropped by $-4.20, or -100%. The biggest price increase was $0.76, or 23.1% in 2013.

With the price increasing most years, it comes as no surprise that the price of cherries today is higher than what it used to be some years ago.

Inflation-adjusted price of cherries per year

As accurate as the information above might be, it can also be somehow deceiving. This is because the value of money changes over time, usually decreasing. That means that $1 of today's money cannot buy as much as $1 in the past. This phenomenon is called inflation, and can make it complicated to compare historical pricing data. Luckily, we can adjust for it and calculate what a dollar value of the past would be equal to in today's money.

So let's not take a look at the evolution of the price of cherries in the the United States, in that same 42 years period between 1981 and 2023, but adjusting prices to inflation (aka. in today's money).

When we adjust for inflation, we see that the price of cherries also peaked in 2023, when it cost $5.87 (in today's money), and was at its lowest in 1989 when it sold for $3.

The biggest drop in adjusted price happened in 2014, when the inflation-adjusted price dropped by $-5.43 (-100%). The biggest spike in adjusted price was in 1990 when it jumped by $1.35 (45%).

The average price of cherries during this period of time, adjusting for inflation, has been $4.63, and the most current price of $5.58 is 20.52% above that average.

Conclusion

The absolute price of cherries has increased by $1.53 ($37.78%) in the last decade, and $4.35 (353.66%) since 1981. But that comes as no surprise, as prices always tend to increase over time due to inflation.

Now, as we've explained earlier, the absolute price of a product does not necessarily represent its affordability fairly. For that we have to look at its inflation adjusted price, or in other words, the price evolution in today's money.

When we look at the inflation-adjusted price of cherries, we see that it has varied ± 63.44% over this period of time, and is currently 20.62% more expensive than the average over these years .

Even when adjusting prices for inflation, cherries prices are still higher in 2023 than they were in 1981. Although, considering the complexity of the economy, that price increase is not huge.

That being said, the current price of cherries might be somehow close to what it was in 1981 (in today's money, of course), but it has had so much volatily over the years that it's really hard to predict how it might evolve from here.

FAQs about the price of cherries in the the United States

The most expensive cherries has ever been was in 2023, when it would cost $5.58.

(at least within the timeframe we have data for)

The cheapest cherries has ever been was in 1981, when it would cost $1.23.

However, if we adjust for inflation, cherries was the cheapest in 1989, when it would cost $3 in today's money

(at least within the timeframe we have data for)

The average price of a pound of cherries in the 1990s was $0.40, with the highest being $2.26 in 1991 and the lowest - in 1992.

The average price of a pound of cherries in the 2000s was $1, with the highest being $3.72 in 2008 and the lowest - in 2000.

The average price of a pound of cherries in the 2010s was $2.90, with the highest being $4.20 in 2018 and the lowest - in 2014.

Evolution of the price of cherries charts and table

Below you'll find the raw data of absolute and inflation adjusted prices of cherries in the the United States

The average price of a pound of cherries in
2023
was
$5.58
or
$5.87
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2022
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2021
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2020
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2019
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2018
was
$4.20
or
$5.28
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2017
was
$3.77
or
$4.84
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2016
was
$3.47
or
$4.51
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2015
was
$3.60
or
$4.68
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2014
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2013
was
$4.05
or
$5.43
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2012
was
$3.29
or
$4.50
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2011
was
$3.41
or
$4.82
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2010
was
$3.24
or
$4.65
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2009
was
$2.99
or
$4.28
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2008
was
$3.72
or
$5.53
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2007
was
$3.31
or
$5.06
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2006
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2005
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2004
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2003
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2002
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2001
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
2000
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1999
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1998
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1997
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1996
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1995
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1994
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1993
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1992
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1991
was
$2.26
or
$5.33
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1990
was
$1.75
or
$4.35
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1989
was
$1.15
or
$3
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1988
was
$1.63
or
$4.42
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1987
was
$1.35
or
$3.79
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1986
was
$1.27
or
$3.64
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1985
was
$1.62
or
$4.80
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1984
was
$1.25
or
$3.87
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1983
was
$1.23
or
$3.93
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1982
was
$1.54
or
$5.22
in today's money
The average price of a pound of cherries in
1981
was
$1.23
or
$4.60
in today's money