May 2026 Meat Prices: Beef Hits New Highs as Eggs Fall 50% Year-Over-Year

The May 2026 Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics paints a tale of two meat cases. Beef is breaking new highs across nearly every cut, with chuck roast leading the monthly charge, while eggs continue their post-bird-flu free fall, down a stunning 50.5% from this time last year. For shoppers heading into Memorial Day grilling season, the price signals could not be more divergent.

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Beef: The Cattle Cycle Tightens Its Grip

Every beef category tracked in the BLS report posted gains in both the monthly and annual comparisons, and the magnitude is no longer subtle. Chuck roast was the standout, jumping 7.5% in a single month to reach $9.50 per pound. That is the largest month-over-month move in the entire dataset, and it brings the cut up 20.6% year-over-year, tied with sirloin steak (now $14.73 per pound) for the steepest annual increase among individual cuts. Round steak gained a more modest 2.2% on the month but is still up 17.0% from a year ago at $9.83 per pound. The catch-all beef steaks index, which rolls whole-muscle steak cuts together, sits at $13.02 per pound, up 18.1% year-over-year.

Ground beef has not escaped the run, though it has lagged slightly behind whole-muscle cuts. The all-ground category is now at $7.06 per pound, up 13.0% year-over-year. The 100% beef varieties run a bit cheaper at $6.90 per pound (ground beef) and $6.92 per pound (ground chuck), with both up roughly 15% from last May and another 3.0% to 3.5% just in the past month.

The driver is well-documented. The U.S. cattle herd is at its smallest level in 75 years, and rebuilding takes years rather than months. With fewer cattle moving to processing, every cut on the rail commands a premium, and there is no near-term mechanism to bring relief. Until heifer retention picks up meaningfully and the herd starts growing again, expect beef prices to keep grinding higher.

With beef prices remaining stubbornly high, Pres. Trump has signaled a possible move to lower tariffs and expand imports of lean beef from Argentina. The admin says the additional Argentine beef supply could help ease shortages caused by a historically small U.S. cattle herd and years of drought pressure on ranchers. However as of today, Trump delayed signing the order.

Pork: The Quiet Middle of the Meat Case

Pork continues to do what pork has done for most of the past year, which is very little dramatic. Bacon held essentially flat in May, ticking up just 0.4% to $6.83 per pound, and remains the rare protein still showing a year-over-year decline at 2.3%. After last year’s processor-driven bacon spike, the market has clearly normalized. Pork chops moved more, gaining 3.6% on the month to land at $4.33 per pound, with annual prices up a modest 2.6%. That is a noticeable acceleration from the largely flat trajectory pork chops held through most of 2025, and it is worth watching if pork chops are a regular on your dinner rotation.

Poultry and Eggs: The Bird Flu Hangover Eases

The relief story is in poultry, and especially in the egg aisle. Eggs dropped another 4.2% in May to land at $2.25 per dozen, a remarkable 50.5% below where they were a year ago. The comparison is so dramatic because May 2025 sat near the peak of HPAI-driven egg price spikes, when severely depleted laying flocks pushed prices into territory that had shoppers visibly upset at the checkout. With flocks rebuilt and production normalized, eggs have returned to something resembling sanity.

Chicken is following a similar, if far less dramatic, path. Boneless chicken breast slipped 1.6% on the month to $1.71 per pound and is down 4.1% year-over-year. Whole chicken is essentially flat at $2.03 per pound, down 0.3% on the month and 1.7% on the year. Chicken supply is healthy, demand is steady, and the price action reflects both.

What This Means at the Grocery Store

The May report sharpens a substitution story that has been building for months. A pound of sirloin now costs more than six times what a dozen eggs costs. A pound of ground beef costs more than four times what a pound of boneless chicken breast costs. Those ratios matter for households watching the grocery bill.

Expect more chicken on weeknight tables, more egg-forward breakfast and dinner recipes, and harder choices in the beef case heading into Memorial Day cookout season. The classic American cookout, built around burgers and steaks, is increasingly a premium spend. Smart shoppers can lean into the cheaper proteins where the menu allows, and reserve beef for occasions where nothing else will do.

The outlook is not likely to shift quickly. Herd rebuilding is a multi-year process, pork looks set to stay range-bound, and as long as bird flu stays contained, poultry and eggs should keep providing the value end of the meat case.