High grocery prices have slowly become the norm in the United States. In 2022, food prices increased by 9.9%—faster than any year since 1979, according to the USDA. While this rapid rise has since slowed down, many shoppers are still finding themselves paying high prices at the checkout.
Some food items have gone up in price faster than others. For example, in March 2025, the average price of a dozen eggs reached a five-year high of $8, and many stores had difficulty keeping them in stock.
Although the price of eggs made news across the country, there’s another food item that’s experiencing a similar growth that fewer people appear to be discussing: red meat.
What’s Going On With Red Meat Prices?
In a video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), user Tim (@trouble_man90) showed off the price of meat at a South Carolina grocery store.
“Am I trippin or are these prices crazy??” he wrote in the post.
The prices do seem fairly high. One package of choice ribeye steaks is listed at $18.97 per pound for a total of $34.72; another package, this one containing New York strip, has a listed price of $16.97 per pound for a total price of $26.30.
Other users were quick to respond to this video, noting that, at a time when some internet influencers are promoting meat-heavy diets—and when protein products are all the rage—it feels strange that the rising cost of beef isn’t getting the same media attention that pricy eggs did.
But is the price of red meat really going up as much as people say it is?
Here’s Why Red Meat Is So Expensive
In short, it’s not just time. There’s substantial evidence to suggest that red meat prices are increasing.
According to CBS News, the cost of beef reached $5.98 per pound in May. This is the highest that beef prices have been since the Department of Labor began tracking beef prices in the 1980s.
Why exactly prices have reached those heights is a difficult question.
Experts say many different factors are at play. To start, farmers are simply raising fewer beef cattle. In 2025, the number of beef cattle in the United States is 27.8 million—which, though it may sound like a lot, is actually the lowest it’s been since the 1960s.
What’s the reason for these shrinking herds? First, it’s getting more expensive to raise cattle, especially given recent droughts. Less rain means less grass, which in turn means more money spent on feed. These high costs meant that many of those raising cattle realized it just didn’t make financial sense for them to raise more and thus, sold off their cattle.
Second, this loss of cattle comes at a time when demand for beef is pretty high. As there is less beef to meet that demand, suppliers have raised prices to compensate.
Is It Getting Better or Worse?
Worse.
To start, the loss of beef cattle is not something that can be remedied overnight. It takes years to raise cattle to the age required for slaughter—meaning that even if ranchers decide to start raising more cattle right now, most Americans wouldn’t see the impact of that for quite some time.
Making things more difficult are the recently implemented tariffs. While in the past, the loss of a domestic product could be replaced by importing an international one, the new tariffs mean that importing beef may be significantly more expensive, with those costs likely being passed onto the consumer.
Beef prices may also be affected by things like high grain prices and rising interest rates. These are part of the reason why the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts beef prices will reach new highs by 2026.
This is going to be bad news for the 12% of Americans who eat over half of the country’s beef.
BroBible reached out to Tim via direct message on X.