Dordash Senior Analyst Jessica Lachs concludes that everyday items – from fries to fresh produce – help reflect the true cost of living in America.
The Americans finally caught their breath. A new dodash report shows that after years of rising prices, families are spending wisely, small businesses are holding on tight and paychecks are starting to roll.
“High-quality” service conditions, based on millions of doordash transactions, provide a way for the US economy to evolve from the ground up.
To track those shifts, doordash analyzed trends accessible to three key indicators: the daily ally index, the basic morning index, which shows changes in prices for household goods, restaurant food and food.
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Prices for certain food and household items remain steady, according to data compiled by doordash. (Arlyn McDorey/Reuters)
An important daily index, which looks at the prices of sides such as toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper, detergent, pain medicine, found that the average cost of these household items is always the same as the previous 12 months.
While household spending has held steady, fast spending has come in slightly higher.
Doodalash’s Cheeseburger Index, which tracks the cost of the classic meal of a burger, fries and soda, finds prices only up 3.8% over the past year, from $17.90 to $18.58 nationally. But the picture looks very different from city to city. In Lincoln, Nebraska, dinner is $10.75, while in Anchorage, Alaska, it jumps to $25.55.
The least expensive place to buy cheese, fries and soda is Lincoln, Nebraska, according to Doordash data. (door dash)
In the analysis of the Morning Breakfast Index – Which tracks things like eggs, a glass of milk, a bagel and an avocado – an avocado – doordash found that the prices were attacked in March and March, should decrease the prices of the egg. However, last year, the national index slipped only 1.7%, a gap that shows how local trends can differ from national averages.
That diversity, says Jessica Lachs, chief executive of Doordash, is a key takeaway from the company’s insights.
“I think it’s interesting to see that the national estimates that we put, things like cheeseburger indexes and a ton of daily apps,” when you actually look at one city, “tons of fox appear.
“I think the variation from city to city paints a picture of how complex it is and how modern this is,” he added.
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The average price of a cheese meal in Anchorage, Alaska, is about $25.55, according to doordash data. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Lachs said Doordash aims to go beyond raw data by using indicators to help people visualize what price changes actually mean in everyday life.
“We wanted to come up with indicators that could translate really complex price data and price trends into something that was relatable and easy to understand,” Lachs said. “Things like the cheeseburger index take the general and paint a picture of what’s going on with prices in the overall cognitive economy,” he added.
The Doordash report also shows that paychecks are finally gaining ground. Since the beginning of 2024, wages have been rising faster than restaurant prices, which means that the American’s dollar has become more elastic. Across the country, wages are outpacing prices, especially in Port St Lucie, Florida, where wages are up 6.1%, and in Wisconsin, up 4.1%.
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The doordash acquisition comes as the White House touts progress on reducing inflation and increasing take-home pay.
“After inheriting an economic crisis, President Trump quickly put an end to Joe Biden’s high-profile struggles with the Consumer Price Index at its lowest level in four years,” White House spokesman Taylor Rogers said in a statement on Fox.
“President Trump’s growth policies will continue to drive high economic growth and drive spending as the President remains focused on continuing to make America affordable again,” Rogers said.
