The best time to buy pork chops, from 20 years of U.S. government shelf prices.
Barely moves
Pork chops barely have a season: buy them when you need them.
The cheapest month (January) runs only 1.7% below trend and the dearest (August) 1.7% above: on $4.18 a pound that’s about 14¢. A sale at your store moves the price far more than the month does.
Typical price each month compared with that year’s trend, 2006–2025. The bar is the median year; the thin line spans the middle half of years.
| Month | Typical vs trend | Middle half of years | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.7% | −2.9% to −1.3% | 20 |
| February | −1.6% | −3% to −0% | 20 |
| March | −1% | −2% to +0.1% | 20 |
| April | −0.8% | −1.6% to +0.3% | 19 |
| May | +0.2% | −0.7% to +1.8% | 19 |
| June | +0.4% | −0.4% to +1.8% | 19 |
| July | +1.4% | −0% to +2.6% | 19 |
| August | +1.7% | +1% to +2.3% | 19 |
| September | +0.8% | −0.1% to +2% | 19 |
| October | +0.7% | −0.6% to +2% | 19 |
| November | −0.1% | −0.8% to +0.2% | 19 |
| December | −1% | −1.9% to +0.1% | 19 |
The U.S. average price of pork chops (per pound) was $4.18 in October 2026. At today’s price level, the typical January price is about $4.08 and the typical August price about $4.22.
Each row is one year; the dot is the month pork chops were cheapest relative to that year’s trend. January was the single cheapest month in 3 of 19 years; the rest of the time it moved around, which is what having no real season looks like.
| Year | Cheapest month |
|---|---|
| 2024 | February |
| 2023 | April |
| 2022 | June |
| 2021 | February |
| 2020 | March |
| 2019 | October |
| 2018 | February |
| 2017 | January |
| 2016 | January |
| 2015 | May |
| 2014 | February |
| 2013 | June |
| 2012 | December |
| 2011 | April |
| 2010 | March |
| 2009 | November |
| 2008 | February |
| 2007 | January |
| 2006 | December |
What else is cheap in January: what’s cheap in January. Meat: turkey (Dec), ham (Apr), bacon (Feb), sirloin steak (Feb), steak (Dec), beef roast (Oct), chuck roast (Jan), ground beef (Feb), chicken breast (Jan), whole chicken (Oct), chicken legs (Jan). All 39 foods: the grocery price calendar.
January. Over 2006–2025 the U.S. average price of pork chops in January was typically 1.7% below that year's trend, and below it in 19 of 20 years. August is the dearest month (1.7% above).
August, typically 1.7% above the year's trend price.
The U.S. average was $4.18 a pound in October 2026 (BLS Average Price Data).
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price Data (U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted), the shelf prices BLS collects every month for the Consumer Price Index, through October 2026. Seasonal pattern and every number on this page computed by Online List Maker; how.