The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes monthly average store prices, put the average price of a pound of natural cheddar at $6.13 in September 2026, which is the highest monthly figure in a series that goes back to January 1984, when the same pound averaged $3.05.
Cheese Reporter, a dairy industry trade paper, flagged the record on October 16. It reported that the September price was up 15 cents from August and up more than 8 cents from September 2025. That topped the previous record of $6.12 set in August 2025. The government’s data also shows the previous high before that came in September 2022, at $6.08.
Where you live changes the number a lot
Cheese Reporter’s breakdown of the same government data put cheddar at $7.55 a pound in the West in September, up almost 75 cents from a year earlier, while the South averaged $5.53. Depending on which part of the country your grocery store is in, the same kind of cheese can cost about two dollars a pound more.
The big blocks cost a fraction of that
Every week the U.S. Department of Agriculture publishes the National Dairy Products Sales Report under its dairy mandatory price reporting program. The report tracks the prices cheese manufacturers receive for cheddar sold in 40-pound blocks. In the report released October 28, 2026, those blocks averaged about $1.50 a pound for the week ending September 26 and $1.42 a pound for the week ending October 24.
Put September’s store price next to that late-September block price and the pound of cheddar at the store cost just over four times what manufacturers received for a pound of block cheddar.
Not every cheese is climbing
Cheese Reporter’s roundup of the September numbers showed the broader index for cheese and related products down 3% from a year earlier, while a pound of American processed cheese averaged $4.74, almost 19 cents less than it cost in September 2025. Butter fell almost 83 cents from a year earlier to $3.96 a pound.
What the record price means for a pot of cheesy pasta
At September’s national average, the 6 ounces of cheddar in my Broccoli Cheddar Ditalini comes to about $2.30, which works out to roughly 38 cents a serving across its six servings. At the West’s $7.55 average, the same 6 ounces comes to about $2.83.
It’s a one-pot pasta where the cheddar melts into a smooth, creamy sauce and the broccoli is chopped fine enough to blend right into the cheesy pasta. The ditalini cooks right in the chicken broth with finely chopped broccoli until most of the broth is absorbed. Then the heavy cream and cheddar go in with mustard powder, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Everything gets stirred until the cheese melts and the sauce turns creamy. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes. Serve it right away while the sauce is at its creamiest.
