Sugar Prices Price History
1950–2025 · BLS
The average retail price of white granulated sugar in the United States, tracked annually from 1950 through 2025. Sugar has one of the strangest price histories of any grocery staple. It spent most of the 20th century as dirt cheap thanks to massive government subsidies and import quotas, then spiked violently during the mid-1970s commodity panic before settling into a long, slow grind higher. Today it costs nearly nine times what it did in 1950, though adjusted for inflation it's actually cheaper than it was during the Carter administration.
Source: BLS1950–2025
Price in 1950
$0.10
Price in 2025
$0.88
Total Change
+780.0%
Years Tracked
75
Sugar Prices Over Time
1950Year Range2025
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- The 1974 sugar panic was something else — prices nearly tripled in a single year, jumping from $0.16 to $0.36 per pound, as crop failures in the Caribbean collided with panic buying and speculative hoarding.
- Sugar was essentially flat from 1982 through 1999, hovering between $0.26 and $0.39 per pound for almost two decades, kept artificially stable by federal price supports and import tariffs that shielded domestic producers.
- The price has roughly doubled since 2000, climbing from $0.39 to $0.88 per pound, but sugar remains one of the cheapest calorie sources in the American grocery store at around 1,800 calories per dollar.
- Despite all the talk about sugar taxes and declining soda consumption, per capita sugar consumption has barely budged — Americans still eat about 17 teaspoons a day, just from different sources like flavored yogurt, pasta sauce, and protein bars.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD per pound) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | $0.10 | — |
| 1955 | $0.11 | +10.0% |
| 1960 | $0.12 | +9.1% |
| 1965 | $0.12 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | $0.13 | +8.3% |
| 1971 | $0.14 | +7.7% |
| 1972 | $0.14 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | $0.16 | +14.3% |
| 1974 | $0.36 | +125.0% |
| 1975 | $0.39 | +8.3% |
| 1976 | $0.23 | -41.0% |
| 1977 | $0.20 | -13.0% |
| 1978 | $0.21 | +5.0% |
| 1979 | $0.22 | +4.8% |
| 1980 | $0.35 | +59.1% |
| 1981 | $0.31 | -11.4% |
| 1982 | $0.29 | -6.5% |
| 1983 | $0.28 | -3.4% |
| 1984 | $0.30 | +7.1% |
| 1985 | $0.27 | -10.0% |
| 1986 | $0.26 | -3.7% |
| 1987 | $0.27 | +3.8% |
| 1988 | $0.29 | +7.4% |
| 1989 | $0.32 | +10.3% |
| 1990 | $0.37 | +15.6% |
| 1991 | $0.35 | -5.4% |
| 1992 | $0.34 | -2.9% |
| 1993 | $0.33 | -2.9% |
| 1994 | $0.34 | +3.0% |
| 1995 | $0.35 | +2.9% |
| 1996 | $0.37 | +5.7% |
| 1997 | $0.38 | +2.7% |
| 1998 | $0.38 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | $0.37 | -2.6% |
| 2000 | $0.39 | +5.4% |
| 2001 | $0.42 | +7.7% |
| 2002 | $0.42 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | $0.41 | -2.4% |
| 2004 | $0.42 | +2.4% |
| 2005 | $0.46 | +9.5% |
| 2006 | $0.52 | +13.0% |
| 2007 | $0.51 | -1.9% |
| 2008 | $0.56 | +9.8% |
| 2009 | $0.60 | +7.1% |
| 2010 | $0.64 | +6.7% |
| 2011 | $0.69 | +7.8% |
| 2012 | $0.68 | -1.4% |
| 2013 | $0.65 | -4.4% |
| 2014 | $0.65 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | $0.62 | -4.6% |
| 2016 | $0.63 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | $0.63 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | $0.62 | -1.6% |
| 2019 | $0.63 | +1.6% |
| 2020 | $0.65 | +3.2% |
| 2021 | $0.68 | +4.6% |
| 2022 | $0.78 | +14.7% |
| 2023 | $0.82 | +5.1% |
| 2024 | $0.85 | +3.7% |
| 2025 | $0.88 | +3.5% |
Year1950
Price (USD per pound)$0.10
YoY Change—
Year1955
Price (USD per pound)$0.11
YoY Change+10.0%
Year1960
Price (USD per pound)$0.12
YoY Change+9.1%
Year1965
Price (USD per pound)$0.12
YoY Change+0.0%
Year1970
Price (USD per pound)$0.13
YoY Change+8.3%
Year1971
Price (USD per pound)$0.14
YoY Change+7.7%
Year1972
Price (USD per pound)$0.14
YoY Change+0.0%
Year1973
Price (USD per pound)$0.16
YoY Change+14.3%
Year1974
Price (USD per pound)$0.36
YoY Change+125.0%
Year1975
Price (USD per pound)$0.39
YoY Change+8.3%
Year1976
Price (USD per pound)$0.23
YoY Change-41.0%
Year1977
Price (USD per pound)$0.20
YoY Change-13.0%
Year1978
Price (USD per pound)$0.21
YoY Change+5.0%
Year1979
Price (USD per pound)$0.22
YoY Change+4.8%
Year1980
Price (USD per pound)$0.35
YoY Change+59.1%
Year1981
Price (USD per pound)$0.31
YoY Change-11.4%
Year1982
Price (USD per pound)$0.29
YoY Change-6.5%
Year1983
Price (USD per pound)$0.28
YoY Change-3.4%
Year1984
Price (USD per pound)$0.30
YoY Change+7.1%
Year1985
Price (USD per pound)$0.27
YoY Change-10.0%
Year1986
Price (USD per pound)$0.26
YoY Change-3.7%
Year1987
Price (USD per pound)$0.27
YoY Change+3.8%
Year1988
Price (USD per pound)$0.29
YoY Change+7.4%
Year1989
Price (USD per pound)$0.32
YoY Change+10.3%
Year1990
Price (USD per pound)$0.37
YoY Change+15.6%
Year1991
Price (USD per pound)$0.35
YoY Change-5.4%
Year1992
Price (USD per pound)$0.34
YoY Change-2.9%
Year1993
Price (USD per pound)$0.33
YoY Change-2.9%
Year1994
Price (USD per pound)$0.34
YoY Change+3.0%
Year1995
Price (USD per pound)$0.35
YoY Change+2.9%
Year1996
Price (USD per pound)$0.37
YoY Change+5.7%
Year1997
Price (USD per pound)$0.38
YoY Change+2.7%
Year1998
Price (USD per pound)$0.38
YoY Change+0.0%
Year1999
Price (USD per pound)$0.37
YoY Change-2.6%
Year2000
Price (USD per pound)$0.39
YoY Change+5.4%
Year2001
Price (USD per pound)$0.42
YoY Change+7.7%
Year2002
Price (USD per pound)$0.42
YoY Change+0.0%
Year2003
Price (USD per pound)$0.41
YoY Change-2.4%
Year2004
Price (USD per pound)$0.42
YoY Change+2.4%
Year2005
Price (USD per pound)$0.46
YoY Change+9.5%
Year2006
Price (USD per pound)$0.52
YoY Change+13.0%
Year2007
Price (USD per pound)$0.51
YoY Change-1.9%
Year2008
Price (USD per pound)$0.56
YoY Change+9.8%
Year2009
Price (USD per pound)$0.60
YoY Change+7.1%
Year2010
Price (USD per pound)$0.64
YoY Change+6.7%
Year2011
Price (USD per pound)$0.69
YoY Change+7.8%
Year2012
Price (USD per pound)$0.68
YoY Change-1.4%
Year2013
Price (USD per pound)$0.65
YoY Change-4.4%
Year2014
Price (USD per pound)$0.65
YoY Change+0.0%
Year2015
Price (USD per pound)$0.62
YoY Change-4.6%
Year2016
Price (USD per pound)$0.63
YoY Change+1.6%
Year2017
Price (USD per pound)$0.63
YoY Change+0.0%
Year2018
Price (USD per pound)$0.62
YoY Change-1.6%
Year2019
Price (USD per pound)$0.63
YoY Change+1.6%
Year2020
Price (USD per pound)$0.65
YoY Change+3.2%
Year2021
Price (USD per pound)$0.68
YoY Change+4.6%
Year2022
Price (USD per pound)$0.78
YoY Change+14.7%
Year2023
Price (USD per pound)$0.82
YoY Change+5.1%
Year2024
Price (USD per pound)$0.85
YoY Change+3.7%
Year2025
Price (USD per pound)$0.88
YoY Change+3.5%
Sources & Methodology
BLS average retail price for white granulated sugar, per pound. Prices represent national urban averages from CPI survey data.
Primary source: BLS
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.