The Burger Price Index (BPI) is a weekly index that tracks the average cost of a burger across US cities. Think of it as the Consumer Price Index, but exclusively for the most important food group: burgers.
We currently track Boston, MA and Seattle, WA, with plans to expand to additional cities.
Each week, we survey burger prices from 10-15 restaurants per city across three segments:
The BPI is a weighted average of these segments. We weight casual and premium more heavily because they reflect the local dining economy, while fast-food prices are largely set nationally.
Prices are collected from restaurant menus, delivery platforms (DoorDash, UberEats), and restaurant websites. We use AI-assisted research to compile and verify prices weekly, with human review for accuracy.
Outlier filtering removes any prices below $1 or above $50 to prevent data quality issues.
The burger is America's economic barometer. Every city has them, every price point is represented, and they're sensitive to beef costs, labor markets, real estate, and consumer sentiment. Plus, tracking burger prices is objectively more fun than tracking treasury yields.
The Burger Price Index is for entertainment and informational purposes only. It is not financial advice, investment guidance, or a substitute for actually going out and eating a burger. Past burger performance is not indicative of future burger results. Eat responsibly.