Every once in a while, I check on milk prices. It seems to me that you can judge a lot about whether the cost of groceries are increasing or decreasing by looking at the prices for the basic staples, such as milk. It can also give a good indication about the cost of living in certain regions of the country.
The United States Department of Agriculture keeps track of retail milk prices by going out and taking a sample of these prices throughout different states. They then publish a report on their findings. Here is a quick view at the results. These prices represent a gallon of whole milk, and they don’t take into account sale prices. (My milk never seems to go on sale here in the PA grocery stores.)
I know you don’t want to hear this, but milk prices are definitely up all over the country. Back in May, you could still see some parts of the country that sold milk for less than $3.00. Well, that is a thing of the past. Now, even the lowest region for milk is higher than that, and some areas are well into the $4.00 mark, with the average price of milk across the country being $3.87 per gallon of whole milk! Those prices are approaching the cost of getting it straight from an Amish-owned cow (raw organic milk at $4.50 a gallon) here, so I might wind up switching over, soon.
New Orleans LA still has the most expensive milk around, at $4.42 a gallon. The cheapest milk? Indianapolis, IN at $3.19. How did your city do? Here are some of the prices reported upon.
Atlanta, GA: 4.39
Boston, MA: 3.88
Cincinnati, OH : 3.22
Dallas, TX : 3.73
Fort Lee, NJ: 4.06
Louisville, KY: 3.29
Miami, Fl: 4.29
Philadelphia, PA: 4.06
Portland, OR: 3.22
Seattle, WA: 3.66
Washington, DC: 4.12
Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Computing Blog here at Families.com where she shares everything from the latest news on technology to cool downloads and fun websites.
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