SF coffee prices are climbing faster than inflation
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
In San Francisco, it often feels as if coffee prices are soaring to new heights. Now, we have the receipts to back it up.
Why it matters: The price of coffee, one of the many commodities affected both by general inflation and the Trump administration's import tariffs, rose in almost every U.S. state over the last year.
- Coffee plants are also vulnerable to extreme weather tied to climate change, including droughts and heat waves.
Driving the news: The median price of a regular hot coffee in San Francisco surged 9.4% from August 2024 to August 2025, according to a new study from Toast, which compiled data from tens of thousands of restaurants and cafes using its point of sale tech.
- At $4.92, San Francisco accounts for the second-highest price of all the cities Toast analyzed, just behind Los Angeles ($4.99).
- The median price of a cold brew ($5.97) jumped 4.5% from August 2024.
Zoom out: The median nationwide cost of a regular coffee hit $3.52 in August, Toast says, up 2.9% from the same time last year.
- Median cold brew costs hit $5.47, up 4.6%.
- That's compared with general inflation of about 2.9% over the period.
By the numbers: In raw terms, the most expensive cups of joe can be found in Hawai'i ($5.23 median price as of August 2025), California ($4.25) and Washington, D.C. ($4.21).
- California, which orders 40% more coffee per restaurant location than the national average, had a 6.3% increase in price from August 2024.
The big picture: Coffee has a long history in San Francisco.
- The city is home to the first cup of restaurant coffee served in the West as well as the nation's first commercially roasted coffee, which was produced in 1850 by a firm that eventually became Folgers Coffee.
- Demand has remained high even as tariffs and supply chain snarls fuel sticker shock.
What's next: The Trump administration said this month that it will consider lowering tariffs on coffee and other goods, though it will depend on dealmaking with other countries.