Costs are up. It’s all around.

Nationally, inflation charted 2.7% in November, according to the latest available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure was slightly higher in the northeast region, where prices rose about 3.1% in November compared to the same month last year.

The latest inflation numbers were better than some had expected, but many Americans say they still feel the pinch of high prices.

James Myall, an analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, said that disconnect between “high-level” economic data and consumer sentiment is likely driven by the price of essentials, which carry more weight than other expenses.

“Probably, the things that people are feeling the most are those costs that feel unavoidable: rent, groceries,” Myall said.

Myall noted that the rate of price increases has slowed since its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic, from about 2021 to 2023, but wage growth also appears to be losing steam, which can further weaken Mainers’ spending power in the face of rising prices.

All told, Myall said the economy appears to be on a better trajectory than he expected in early 2025. But Trump administration policies like tariffs and mass deportations, which could shrink the labor pool, still leave things on shaky ground.

“I feel like we’ve gone from a generally strong and growing economy, especially for workers, (a year ago) to one that’s like plateauing and maybe teetering on the edge a little bit,” Myall said.

In preparation for the new year, we reviewed the cost of essentials to see how prices changed in 2025, and where things stand at the beginning of 2026.

Groceries

In January 2025, the average price for a gallon of 2% milk was $4.91, a pound of 80/20 ground beef was $5.70, and a dozen large, brown eggs cost $5.50. That’s according to data collected by Maine Public, which surveyed four grocers across the state.

On Tuesday, the average price of eggs at Whole Foods, Hannaford, Shaw’s and Walmart locations in Greater Portland was $3.03. That marks a 44.9% decrease — though prices were anomalously high at the beginning of last year, driven up by a surge in avian flu.

For a pound of ground beef, the average price was $6.23, a 9.3% rise. And the average milk price was $4.49 — down 8.6% from January.

Vehicles

Overall, Mainers paid less for new cars and more for used cars in 2025 than in 2024, according to data aggregated by Cox Automotive Group, operator of Kelley Blue Book.

The average sale price for a new car in Maine was $46,289 at the beginning of December 2025, down about 5.1% from $48,756 at the same time in 2024.

Maine’s prices were lower than the national average: $49,913 in December 2024 and $47,042 in December 2025, according to preliminary data shared with the Press Herald. Nationally, the average price for new cars hit an all-time record of $50,080 in September, Kelley Blue Book announced.

But it was a different story for used vehicles. The average sale price for used cars in Maine rose about 7.1%, from $28,813 in December 2024 to $30,868 a year later. Nationally, used car sale prices went from $29,570 to $30,383 — a 2.7% increase, according to the Cox data.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics meanwhile reported a 3.6% increase in used car prices from November 2024 to 2025.

Vehicle retailer CarGurus, which also tracks used car prices nationally, reported a smaller change. Its average price was $27,570 at the beginning of December, up about $112 or 0.4% from a year earlier.

But prices rose more sharply for SUVs and crossovers (1.3%), sedans (2.3%) and pickup trucks (3.7%), according to CarGurus.

Gas

The price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell about 10 cents between the beginning of 2025 and the same time in 2026, according to data aggregated by AAA.

On average, a gallon of gas ran about $2.93 on Friday, a 3.3% drop since the same date in 2025, when the price was about $3.03. Premium gas fell from about $4.01 to $3.97 a gallon, or about 1%.

The price of diesel, however, rose about 5% in that time frame, from about $3.79 to $3.98 per gallon.

Electricity

Energy costs continue to grow faster than the pace of inflation. In the northeast, energy prices rose 6.3% year-over-year in November — more than double the overall rate of inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Maine, rising electricity costs are a key concern for ratepayers and public officials. The state’s electricity costs are largely reliant on the price of natural gas, which is used to generate electricity, and customers also have to pay their utility to deliver that power to their homes and businesses.

For customers of Central Maine Power Co., the state’s largest electrical utility, the average bill will be 12.4% higher this month than it was a year prior.

That translates to a charge of $168.41 this month, compared to $149.76 in January 2025 for households using the typical 550 kilowatt-hours, according to the state Department of Energy Resources and Public Utilities Commission. Exact amounts vary based on customers’ usage.

Heating oil

Roughly half of Mainers rely on oil as their primary home heating source — the most of any state.

Statewide, the average cost for a gallon of heating oil was $3.47 last week, according to the latest available data from the Maine Department of Energy Resources.

That’s about eight cents higher, or 2.4%, than it was at the end of 2024, according to an archive of the state’s website. Back then, the statewide average clocked in at $3.39.

During that same window, a gallon of propane fell from $3.32 to $3.29 and the average cost of kerosene rose from $4.18 to $4.40 per gallon. About 16% of Mainers rely on propane and other tank-stored fuels for heat, according to data from the American Community Survey.