The butter price is 17.3% lower than a year ago.
A pound of salted butter averages $3.96 — 20.9% below the September 2024 record and −17.3% versus last year.
Why butter is cheap
The butter price is 17.3% lower than a year ago. Salted Grade AA butter averaged $3.96 per pound for September 2026. Its monthly change is −1.5%, and the latest observation is 20.9% below the September 2024 record. Compare those two benchmarks separately: a month of rising prices need not erase a longer decline.
What drives butter prices
USDA explains that milk is separated into fat and other components used in different dairy products. Butter depends on that milk-fat supply, while demand from other dairy uses affects how it is allocated. Milk output, processing, trade and stored supplies can influence butter prices. Those mechanisms are useful background; a monthly BLS shelf-price observation does not establish which one caused the latest move.
Where the number comes from
Every figure here is the BLS average shelf price, recorded monthly since April 2018 — an actual dollar amount shoppers paid, not a wholesale quote or a forecast.
Frequently asked questions
How much does butter cost right now?
Salted butter averaged $3.96 per pound at the U.S. city average in September 2026, per BLS CPI Average Price Data.
What influences butter prices?
Butter tracks dairy supply. Milk-fat availability and demand across dairy products can affect prices, but the retail series does not isolate the reason for a monthly change. Butter is −17.3% year over year.
Is butter cheaper than last year?
As of September 2026 butter is −17.3% versus a year ago and sits 20.9% below the September 2024 record of $5.00.
Sources and methodology
- BLS average retail food and energy prices
- USDA ERS dairy industry background
- Basket Report methodology
- Basket Report data downloads
Data through September 2026 · Editorial prose reviewed for September 2026 · Source data is independently analyzed by Basket Report and does not imply BLS endorsement.
Explore butter prices
See the full price history and how butter tracks the dairy cycle.