honey cutout

Price evolution of honey in the United States

Category >
Foods & Beverages
  1. Relevance of the price of honey
  2. Price evolution of honey
    1. Absolute price of honey per year
    2. Inflation adjusted price of honey per year
  3. Conclusion
  4. FAQs about honey'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 honey has some gaps. From the 61 year period we will be looking at between 1960 and 2021 there are 3 years we do not have data for. These years are 1982, 1984, 1985. So please keep that in mind moving forward.

Historical pricing of honey in the the United States

Price evolution of honey

The average price of a pound of honey between 1960 and 2021 was $0.87, with the lowest price being $0.15 in 1960 and the highest $2.41 in 2021 (at least within the timeframe we have data for).

Yes, I'm sorry to say, but honey in the United States has never been as expensive as it is today. However, if you look at the inflation adjusted price, a pound of honey actually peaked in 1974 at $3.05 (in today's money).

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

Absolute price of honey per year

Our data source for this article was: United States department of agriculture .

The absolute price of honey in the the United States has gone from $0.15 in 1960 to $2.41 in 2021. That's an absolute increase of $2.26, or 1506.67% in a period of 61 years. (go to the next section for inflation-adjusted values).

This increment has not been linear though. During this period of 61 years the price of honey actually decreased year over year 20 times, in 1962, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019.

The biggest absolute price decrease in the price of a pound of honey was in 1982, when the price dropped by $-0.57, or -100%. The biggest price increase was $0.55, or 76.39% in 2002.

So yes, it's had its ups and downs, but overall, price increases outweight the deceases, making honey pricier than it used to be.

Inflation-adjusted price of honey 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 honey in the the United States, in that same 61 years period between 1960 and 2021, but adjusting prices to inflation (aka. in today's money).

When we adjust for inflation, we see that the price of honey actually peaked in 1974, when it cost $3.05 (in today's money), and was at its lowest in 2000 when it sold for $0.94.

The biggest drop in adjusted price happened in 1982, when the inflation-adjusted price dropped by $-1.87 (-100%). The biggest spike in adjusted price was in 1973 when it jumped by $1.18 (63.1%).

The average price of honey during this period of time, adjusting for inflation, has been $1.71, and the most current price of $2.41 is 40.94% above that average.

Conclusion

The absolute price of honey has increased by $0.84 ($53.50%) in the last decade, and $2.26 (1506.67%) since 1960. 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 honey, we see that it has varied ± 89.07% over this period of time, and is currently 40.75% more expensive than the average over these years .

Even when adjusting prices for inflation, honey prices are still higher in 2021 than they were in 1960. And not just a bit more expensive, we are talking about a significant increase no matter how you look at it!

So if there had to be one single take away from this article it would be this: The average person has to make a bigger economic effort to purchase honey today than in the past.

FAQs about the price of honey in the the United States

The most expensive honey has ever been was in 2021, when it would cost $2.41.

However, if we adjust for inflation, honey was the most expensive in 1974, when it would cost $3.05 in today's money

(at least within the timeframe we have data for)

The cheapest honey has ever been was in 1960, when it would cost $0.15.

However, if we adjust for inflation, honey was the cheapest in 2000, when it would cost $0.94 in today's money

(at least within the timeframe we have data for)

The average price of a pound of honey in the 1960s was $0.15, with the highest being $0.16 in 1961 and the lowest $0.13 in 1966.

The average price of a pound of honey in the 1970s was $0.41, with the highest being $0.55 in 1978 and the lowest $0.14 in 1970.

The average price of a pound of honey in the 1980s was $0.35, with the highest being $0.57 in 1980 and the lowest - in 1982.

The average price of a pound of honey in the 1990s was $0.63, with the highest being $0.90 in 1996 and the lowest $0.50 in 1990.

The average price of a pound of honey in the 2000s was $1.16, with the highest being $1.58 in 2009 and the lowest $0.58 in 2000.

The average price of a pound of honey in the 2010s was $2, with the highest being $2.19 in 2017 and the lowest $1.57 in 2011.

Evolution of the price of honey charts and table

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

The average price of a pound of honey in
2021
was
$2.41
or
$2.52
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2020
was
$2.03
or
$2.15
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2019
was
$1.97
or
$2.13
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2018
was
$2.17
or
$2.40
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2017
was
$2.19
or
$2.47
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2016
was
$2.12
or
$2.42
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2015
was
$2.09
or
$2.39
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2014
was
$2.17
or
$2.52
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2013
was
$2.13
or
$2.51
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2012
was
$1.95
or
$2.35
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2011
was
$1.57
or
$1.95
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2010
was
$1.60
or
$2.02
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2009
was
$1.58
or
$1.99
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2008
was
$1.51
or
$1.97
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2007
was
$1.25
or
$1.68
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2006
was
$1.24
or
$1.72
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2005
was
$1.01
or
$1.45
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2004
was
$0.98
or
$1.44
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2003
was
$1.46
or
$2.20
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2002
was
$1.27
or
$1.94
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2001
was
$0.72
or
$1.13
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
2000
was
$0.58
or
$0.94
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1999
was
$0.60
or
$1
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1998
was
$0.64
or
$1.08
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1997
was
$0.76
or
$1.31
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1996
was
$0.90
or
$1.60
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1995
was
$0.57
or
$1.04
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1994
was
$0.54
or
$1.01
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1993
was
$0.61
or
$1.18
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1992
was
$0.58
or
$1.15
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1991
was
$0.57
or
$1.18
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1990
was
$0.50
or
$1.09
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1989
was
$0.45
or
$1.03
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1988
was
$0.46
or
$1.10
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1987
was
$0.44
or
$1.09
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1986
was
$0.48
or
$1.21
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1985
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1984
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1983
was
$0.48
or
$1.35
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1982
was
-
or
-
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1981
was
$0.57
or
$1.87
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1980
was
$0.57
or
$2.13
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1979
was
$0.54
or
$2.24
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1978
was
$0.55
or
$2.46
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1977
was
$0.53
or
$2.52
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1976
was
$0.46
or
$2.32
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1975
was
$0.48
or
$2.64
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1974
was
$0.50
or
$3.05
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1973
was
$0.47
or
$3.05
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1972
was
$0.28
or
$1.87
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1971
was
$0.19
or
$1.33
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1970
was
$0.14
or
$1.03
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1969
was
$0.15
or
$1.17
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1968
was
$0.14
or
$1.14
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1967
was
$0.14
or
$1.17
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1966
was
$0.13
or
$1.12
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1965
was
$0.15
or
$1.31
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1964
was
$0.15
or
$1.33
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1963
was
$0.15
or
$1.34
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1962
was
$0.15
or
$1.36
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1961
was
$0.16
or
$1.47
in today's money
The average price of a pound of honey in
1960
was
$0.15
or
$1.39
in today's money