Beef Prices Are Still Not Too High for Consumers

Beef prices have been in the spotlight lately. However, available data show consumers are still willing and able to pay for beef at the store. Beef Bests Other Proteins There have been questions about whether consumers have started to trade to other, more affordable proteins. There is no evidence to suggest that consumers are switching away from beef to lower-priced protein choices. In fact, monthly retail price data continue to show beef gaining market share over the other proteins. It is possible consumers are moving down the beef chain to less expensive items such as thinner meats and ground beef, though it is difficult to determine due to the seasonality of demand by cut. Additionally, an overall emphasis on health and fitness, combined with escalating use of GLP-1 drugs, is driving a protein craze in the U.S. — and beef seems to be the winner. Consumers are choosing beef as the primary protein because of an improvement in eating quality (things like taste, healthfulness, eating satisfaction and convenience of the product). For example, USDA data show that at the low end, the percentage of carcasses grading Choice or better was about 55% in the late 1990s. Today, it is between 81% and 83%, a substantial industrywide increase. The multidecade commitment to improving the quality of beef has now set the table for beef to take advantage of the protein craze. Beef Prices Rise in Tandem With Wages Although beef prices have increased when measured against minutes of labor required to buy a pound of beef, beef is still affordable. The chart looks at the relationship of the average hourly wage to the retail beef price and shows a very stable relationship over time. The average hourly wage from January to August 2025 is 3% above the average hourly wage for 2024. Meanwhile, the average all-fresh beef price (a retail price that includes ground beef) from January to August 2025 is $8.56, up 6.8% from a year earlier. Although beef prices have increased at a faster rate in 2025 than the average hourly wage, over the long term the relationship is not out of line (like in 2014 to 2016) and expected to normalize over time.