“Starting the day I take the oath of office,” President Donald Trump promised during a Pennsylvania campaign rally in 2024, “I will rapidly drive prices down and we will make America affordable again. We’re going to make it affordable again.” It was a bold promise, one keyed into the fact that many Americans ultimately vote with their wallets.
Yet, despite that promise, many household items have increased in price in the year since President Trump took office in January 2025. Here are a few such items and why they’ve increased in price.
Groceries
Coffee
Coffee prices have jumped 20.9% year-over-year per CNN. Coffee is a crucial part of the day for many Americans, meaning they’re more likely to keep paying for it despite the price hikes due to increased shopping expenses, weather changes and heightened labor costs.
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Non-Alcoholic Beverages
There’s been a 5.1% jump in non-alcoholic refreshments (not including coffee, of course) as a result of higher sugar prices and increased packaging costs, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
General Meats
General meats (ham, turkey, roast beef, etcetera) have seen a 6.2% year-over-year hike thanks to tariff pressures, as well as feed and processing cost increases, per American Progress.
Red Meat
Beef steaks have surged a whopping 16.6% in costs, as Axios has reported.
Sugar, Sweets and Candy
Sugar itself has increased in price by 6.7% and candy and sweets have jumped by 9.8%, per Supermarket News. President Trump’s tariffs have certainly been a factor in that year-over-year spike, as have rising transport costs and raw ingredient price variations.
Utilities
Electricity Services
Energy services rose by 6.7% in 2025, per reportage by the BLS, thanks to higher energy demands in 2025 and the increased cost of individual utilities.
Household Products
Paper Products
Higher pulp costs and logistics expenses are mostly to blame for the 5.5% increase in paper products (paper towels, toilet paper, etcetera) prices.
Household Appliances
Household machinery (coffee machines, refrigerators, etcetera) — especially those used in the kitchen and laundry room — increased by 5.6% because of tariff-related costs jumps and supply-chain slowdowns.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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