Groceries In NJ Cost 25 Percent More Since COVID, New Study Finds

NEW JERSEY — How much more are New Jerseyans paying at the cash register since the COVID-19 pandemic?

About 25 percent more since March 2020, according to an analysis of consumer data from TraceOne, a software solutions company.

And while Americans have seen grocery prices increase at the fastest rate since the 1970s, the rising prices of certain items are causing more wallet strain than others. The price of beef roasts increased by 40 percent, canned fruits and vegetables increased by 31.6 percent and chicken increased by 29.2 percent since March 2020, according to the analysis.

It’s a persistent reminder that inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), sits around 3.5 percent - which is still above the Fed’s preferred target rate of 2 percent.

Most notably, eggs have increased by a whopping 50 percent since the pandemic began, researchers found. The silver lining: egg prices have come down year-over-year by 6 percent since 2023. The same goes for flour (-2 percent), salad dressing (-4 percent) and frozen fruits and vegetables (-9 percent).

In New Jersey, 7.1 percent of consumer spending goes to groceries, the report found. That’s on the low side for Americans, with grocery shoppers in states like Hawaii and Mississippi doling out about 10 percent of their spending on groceries.

New Jersey households also average $275 on weekly grocery spending, or $192 per week for one-person households, $220 per week for two-person households, $273 per week for three-person households and $290 per week for four-person households.

The analysis was conducted by TraceOne using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau, according to the report. You can view the full analysis here.