U.S. city average · September 2026
Ice cream: $5.93 per half gallon. Up 26% in ten years.
In Sep 2026 dollars it cost $7.60 in January 1980, so it is 22% cheaper now after inflation. The record is $6.50, in August 2025; the low was $1.72, in March 1980.
Latest · Sep 2026
$5.93
per half gallon
In one year
−7.3%
From $6.40
In ten years
+26.3%
From $4.70
Record high
$6.50
August 2025
Solid: the average price in each month, in the dollars of that month. Dashed: the same price restated in Sep 2026 dollars using the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U). Where the dashed line falls, the item got cheaper relative to everything else. Months with no published price are bridged with a straight line.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average price series APU0000710411 (U.S. city average) · CPI-U CUUR0000SA0
Then and now
A January in every decade, against September 2026.
“Now vs then” is the plain change on the shelf. “After inflation” compares the old price in Sep 2026 dollars with today’s: negative means it costs less of a typical paycheck’s buying power than it did.
| Month | Price then | Today’s $ | Now vs then | After inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1980 | $1.75 | $7.60 | up +237.9% | down −22.0% |
| Jan 1990 | $2.72 | $7.19 | up +118.1% | down −17.5% |
| Jan 2000 | $3.32 | $6.63 | up +78.4% | down −10.6% |
| Jan 2010 | $4.48 | $6.97 | up +32.3% | down −14.9% |
| Jan 2020 | $4.82 | $6.30 | up +22.9% | down −5.9% |
Year by year · 47 years
Yearly averages, newest first.
Averages of the monthly prices in each calendar year. Years with fewer than nine published months are left out; partial years are marked.
| Year | Average | vs year before | Lowest month | Highest month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20269 of 12 months | $6.06 | down −4.8% | $5.84 Jul | $6.26 Feb |
| 202511 of 12 months | $6.37 | up +3.8% | $6.14 Nov | $6.50 Aug |
| 2024 | $6.13 | up +3.9% | $5.73 Mar | $6.45 Nov |
| 2023 | $5.90 | up +8.7% | $5.72 Feb | $6.04 Oct |
| 2022 | $5.43 | up +10.9% | $4.99 Jan | $5.75 Oct |
| 2021 | $4.89 | down −0.6% | $4.68 May | $5.01 Jan |
| 2020 | $4.92 | up +2.3% | $4.82 Jan | $5.09 Jun |
| 2019 | $4.81 | up +1.6% | $4.63 Jun | $4.98 Feb |
| 2018 | $4.74 | up +1.0% | $4.59 May | $4.86 Oct |
| 2017 | $4.69 | down −1.4% | $4.57 Nov | $4.87 Feb |
Every year back to 1980
| Year | Average | vs year before | Lowest month | Highest month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $4.76 | up +0.4% | $4.62 Nov | $4.92 Apr |
| 2015 | $4.74 | down −3.0% | $4.47 Jul | $5.09 Jan |
| 2014 | $4.89 | down −2.1% | $4.69 Jun | $5.04 Dec |
| 2013 | $4.99 | down −0.9% | $4.79 Sep | $5.26 Jan |
| 2012 | $5.04 | up +2.3% | $4.85 Aug | $5.29 Jan |
| 2011 | $4.93 | up +10.4% | $4.61 May | $5.25 Dec |
| 2010 | $4.46 | up +3.3% | $4.31 Mar | $4.60 Oct |
| 2009 | $4.32 | up +2.6% | $4.17 Mar | $4.62 Oct |
| 2008 | $4.21 | up +6.5% | $4.04 Feb | $4.42 Sep |
| 2007 | $3.95 | up +5.4% | $3.79 Apr | $4.22 Nov |
| 2006 | $3.75 | up +0.1% | $3.60 Aug | $3.90 Dec |
| 2005 | $3.74 | down −2.4% | $3.51 Nov | $3.95 May |
| 2004 | $3.84 | up +0.8% | $3.65 Mar | $4.05 Aug |
| 2003 | $3.81 | up +2.0% | $3.30 Apr | $3.98 Aug |
| 2002 | $3.73 | up +0.8% | $3.34 Oct | $3.90 Sep |
| 2001 | $3.70 | up +7.4% | $3.46 Nov | $3.84 Aug |
| 2000 | $3.45 | up +4.6% | $3.27 Mar | $3.66 Dec |
| 1999 | $3.30 | up +5.4% | $3.19 May | $3.40 Dec |
| 1998 | $3.13 | up +7.2% | $2.97 Mar | $3.37 Nov |
| 1997 | $2.92 | up +1.9% | $2.84 Jul | $3.02 Dec |
| 1996 | $2.86 | up +7.8% | $2.67 Jan | $3.08 Oct |
| 1995 | $2.65 | up +1.1% | $2.55 Feb | $2.73 Oct |
| 1994 | $2.63 | up +3.6% | $2.52 Feb | $2.71 Oct |
| 1993 | $2.53 | down −1.9% | $2.41 May | $2.61 Oct |
| 1992 | $2.58 | up +0.2% | $2.49 Dec | $2.64 Feb |
| 1991 | $2.58 | down −1.0% | $2.52 Apr | $2.63 Dec |
| 1990 | $2.60 | up +0.2% | $2.54 Dec | $2.72 Jan |
| 1989 | $2.60 | up +5.7% | $2.55 Jan | $2.67 Dec |
| 1988 | $2.46 | up +0.0% | $2.41 Mar | $2.54 Dec |
| 198711 of 12 months | $2.46 | up +4.3% | $2.43 Jun | $2.49 Oct |
| 1986 | $2.36 | up +2.6% | $2.32 Jan | $2.40 Dec |
| 1985 | $2.30 | up +3.6% | $2.27 Aug | $2.35 Oct |
| 1984 | $2.22 | up +2.8% | $2.17 Mar | $2.30 Sep |
| 1983 | $2.16 | up +2.6% | $2.09 Mar | $2.25 Oct |
| 1982 | $2.10 | up +4.3% | $2.04 May | $2.19 Nov |
| 1981 | $2.02 | up +10.6% | $1.94 Jan | $2.06 Dec |
| 1980 | $1.82 | — | $1.72 Mar | $1.92 Dec |
About this number
- What this number is. The average price BLS records for “Ice cream, prepackaged, bulk, regular, per 1/2 gal. (1.9 lit)” across U.S. cities, collected for the Consumer Price Index. It is an average across many stores and brands, not a price at any one store.
- No price for October 2025. BLS did not publish one: data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.
- 1 other month without a price between Jan 1987 and Jan 1987. BLS publishes an average only when it has enough price quotes; the chart bridges those months with a straight line and the yearly table skips thin years.
- Today’s dollars. Prices are restated in Sep 2026 dollars by multiplying by CPI-U for Sep 2026 (336.94) and dividing by CPI-U for the month in question.