Latte Price Index 2026. How Coffee Prices Reflect Inflation Across U.S.

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Economists have used everyday products for years to tell bigger stories about prices. The Big Mac Index turned a simple burger into a way to compare what money can buy in different countries, and projects like Visual Capitalist’s Latte Index took the same idea into the coffee world. We wanted to bring that concept closer to home. Instead of asking what a burger costs across countries, this Latte Price Index looks at what a standard latte costs across the United States.

Coffee prices have climbed almost everywhere. Anyone who buys a latte regularly has felt it. Higher wages, rising rents, ingredients, and operating costs all quietly show up in the price on the menu. That makes a latte a surprisingly honest way to feel inflation in everyday life. For this first edition of the index, we collected average latte prices from cafes in 20 major states and treated them as a small but telling signal of local price pressure as we move into 2026.

The chart shows how these prices compare across states. Most cluster near the middle, suggesting a shared national baseline for coffee pricing. Others stand out on the high or low end, hinting at stronger or weaker cost pressures beneath the surface. As we head into 2026, the Latte Price Index offers a simple, relatable way to see how inflation feels, not in reports, but at the counter.

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