Here's just how much the cost of basic necessities has gone up in the past 5 years

SALT LAKE CITY — The recent wave of skyrocketing egg prices has drawn even more attention to how much more consumers are currently spending on basic necessities — and pretty much everything else — even as inflation has slowed dramatically since hitting a 40-year high in 2022.

While inflation is a measure of the rate of price changes on consumer goods and services over time, economists note prices tend to stay high at the end of an inflationary run-up.

Current average consumer prices are up 23% since 2019, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, with some categories somewhat higher, like food, which saw about a 30% rise over the same period.

The latest Consumer Price Index reading from the Labor Department showed the average cost of goods and services rose 3% on an annual basis in January with the core index, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, coming in at 3.3%. Consumer inflation hit 9.1%, the highest annual reading since November 1981.

According to bureau data, the top four categories of U.S. consumer spending include housing (including insurance and maintenance costs), representing 39.2% of expenditures; transportation, 17%; food, 12.9%; and personal insurance and pensions, 12.4%.

Here's a sampling of how housing-related costs have escalated since 2019:

Housing and construction

Average monthly rent, Salt Lake City (Zillow data through Dec. 31, 2024)

• 2019: $1,239
• 2024: $1,657
• Change: +34%

Average home cost, Salt Lake City (Zillow data through Dec. 31, 2024)

• 2019: $370,985
• 2024: $547,861
• Change: +48%

While percentage increases to the cost of most residential buildings supplies have hovered in the single-digit range over the past year, supply chain issues wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic drove those prices to record levels, and they haven't retreated since then. Here's a sampling of products and price changes since 2020, according to bureau data and assembled by CBS News.

Drywall

• Price change in last year: +5%
• Since 2020: +47%

Paint

• Price change in last year: 0%
• Since 2020: +47%

Concrete block and stone

• Price change in last year: +4%
• Since 2020: +43%

Softwood lumber

• Price change in last year: +10%
• Since 2020: +21%

Cars and gas

Like many industry sectors, automobile manufacturers were wracked by supply chain issues amid pandemic conditions. While issues like a dearth of microchips used in new vehicle manufacturing have since been resolved, prices remain at or near record highs.

Average price for a new light vehicle in U.S. (per to Kelley Blue Book data)

• 2019: $38,948
• 2024: $48,724
• Change: +25%

Average price for used light vehicle in U.S. (per Kelley Blue Book data)

• 2019: $20,000
• 2024: $28,000
• Change: +40%

Gas price fluctuations are primarily driven by macroeconomic petroleum industry factors, like global wholesale prices and overall supply and demand. Here's a snapshot of those price changes since 2019:

U.S. (1 gal. regular, avg. for February)

• 2019: $2.39
• 2025: $3.25
• Change: +36%

Utah (1 gal. regular, avg. for February)

• 2019: $2.33
• 2025: $3.04
• Change: +30%

Groceries

Here is sampling of price changes on select grocery items over the past five years according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data (as of January):

Eggs (dozen)

• 2019: $1.55
• 2025: $4.95
• Change: +219%

Sugar (1 pound)

• 2019: $0.60
• 2025: $1.01
• Change: +70%

Soft drinks (per unit in 12-pack)

• 2019: $0.35
• 2025: $0.58
• Change: +68%

Ground beef (1 pound)

• 2019: $3.80
• 2025: $5.55
• Change: +46%

Milk (½ gallon)

• 2019: $2.91
• 2025: $4.03
• Change: +38%

Potatoes (1 pound)

• 2019: $0.75
• 2025: $0.97
• Change: +30%

Health insurance

The rising cost of health insurance has tracked with the rising cost of health care in the U.S. where pharmaceutical drugs cost four times as much as in other developed nations. Hospitals, doctors and nurses all charge more in the U.S. than in other countries, according to an analysis from Investopedia, with hospital costs increasing much faster than professional salaries.

Here is how much the cost of health insurance has risen in the past five years for U.S. consumers:

Average annual health insurance cost for U.S. individual (per KFF data)

• 2019: $7,188
• 2024: $8,951
• Change: +25%

Average annual health insurance cost for U.S. family (per KFF data)

• 2019: $20,576
• 2024: $25,572
• Change: +24%

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