Standards
Editorial standards
Basket Report uses named U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics price series, publishes its methodology, and provides downloadable data for verification and citation.
Data and sources
Every number links to a named data series from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). We show the month it covers and when we retrieved it. Each data page lists the unit, source and download files so readers can check our work. Basket Report is independent. BLS does not endorse the site.
We use government sources for prices and background facts. National and regional prices come from BLS CPI Average Price Data. We may cite USDA or another agency to explain a market when its research covers that subject. Get the files from our data directory. Read our method to see how we build the basket and which regions the data covers.
Missing data
When a source price or comparison is missing, we show N/A. We do not turn a missing value into zero or claim the price was unchanged. We do not fill gaps with estimates. A fixed basket may reuse an older published price under our basket rules. We name the item and its source month; the raw price for the missing month stays unavailable. To compare regions, we use the same set of items in each region and state which items are included.
How we use the data
We keep the original BLS values. We use them to calculate basket totals, price changes, yearly averages, ranks and records. We also show prices adjusted for inflation. These figures are labeled as Basket Report analysis. Monthly and yearly changes compare the same items across the two periods. A missing price is not a zero change.
Text built from the data can say how far a price rose or fell, or when it set a record. It does not claim to know what caused a price to move. Market context appears separately, with its own sources.
Dates and updates
We advance data dates only after we retrieve and check a newer source value. “Data through” tells you the latest month the source covers. “Retrieved” tells you when we obtained the data. If an update fails or brings no newer values, those data dates do not advance.
Forecasts
Basket Report covers past and current grocery prices. We do not predict future prices unless the page includes a clear, documented method for that forecast.
Editorial independence
Ads, sponsors and other business ties do not decide which prices we track, how we do the math or whether we publish a correction. Paid placements must be labeled and kept separate from our analysis.
Corrections
We record factual fixes and changes to our method on the corrections page. To report a possible error, use our contact page. Before changing a page, we check the report against the source data and our exported files.