Why Fast-Food Price Increases Have Surpassed Overall Inflation

by Ryan Baker
CNBC.com

Fast food has become increasingly expensive — and some consumers are changing their spending habits because of it.

Fast-food chains such as Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell are included in the limited-service meals and snacks category in the consumer price index report, which shows prices are up nearly 28% from 2019 to 2023. The full-service meals and snacks category, which covers sit-down restaurants with servers, meanwhile, has increased about 24% and overall CPI was up by about 19% in the same time period.

“There were increased commodity costs. We’ve seen those start to normalize,” said Stephens analyst Jim Salera. “But what continues to be ahead of historical averages is the increase in labor costs that restaurants are seeing.”

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