Whole milk price history and inflation, 1996–2026
$4.11 per gallon (Sep 2026)
BLS average price of a gallon of fresh whole fortified milk. Milk prices follow farm milk prices, feed and transport costs. The latest average price is $4.11 for Sep 2026. That is -0.6% from a year earlier.
Adjusted for overall inflation (CPI-U), the 1996 average price of $2.62 would be $5.64 in Sep 2026 dollars, so whole milk has become less expensive in real terms.
Annual averages
| Year | Average price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 * | $4.07 | +2.1% |
| 2024 | $3.98 | -1.1% |
| 2023 | $4.03 | -1.6% |
| 2022 | $4.09 | +15.4% |
| 2021 | $3.54 | +6.8% |
| 2020 | $3.32 | +9.3% |
| 2019 | $3.04 | +4.8% |
| 2018 | $2.90 | -10.2% |
| 2017 | $3.23 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | $3.20 | -6.3% |
| 2015 | $3.42 | -7.4% |
| 2014 | $3.69 | +6.7% |
| 2013 | $3.46 | -0.9% |
| 2012 | $3.49 | -2.2% |
| 2011 | $3.57 | +9.6% |
| 2010 | $3.26 | +4.8% |
| 2009 | $3.11 | -18.1% |
| 2008 | $3.80 | +8.3% |
| 2007 | $3.50 | +13.7% |
| 2006 | $3.08 | -3.3% |
| 2005 | $3.19 | +1.0% |
| 2004 | $3.16 | +14.3% |
| 2003 | $2.76 | +0.1% |
| 2002 | $2.76 | -4.4% |
| 2001 | $2.88 | +3.7% |
| 2000 | $2.78 | -2.2% |
| 1999 | $2.84 | +5.1% |
| 1998 | $2.70 | +3.4% |
| 1997 | $2.61 | -0.3% |
| 1996 | $2.62 | +0.0% |
* Partial year, averaged over published months only. 2025: 11 of 12 months (BLS published no October 2025 data because of the federal government shutdown; the average uses the 11 published months).