ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Prices are going up in New Mexico, especially at the grocery store.

A recent study found the average New Mexican family is spending up to $286 on groceries per week – and even more when children are involved.

“Food prices are up and are likely going to stay up,” said Reilly White, a UNM finance professor. “The good news is they’ve stopped increasing as much.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price for a pound of ground beef was $5.56 last month. That’s about 20 cents cheaper than back in July, but almost a full dollar more expensive than in January 2020 – right before the pandemic hit.

It’s a similar trend for milk, but a gallon is only about 50 cents more expensive than four years ago.

Eggs are half the price of what they were last winter, but that’s because there was an avian flu outbreak.

Most produce items, like tomatoes and bananas, have stayed around the same price for several years now. That’s probably a good thing, because snacks are getting more expensive.

Data shows the average bag of potato chips is almost $2 more expensive than four years ago. The price of chocolate chip cookies is also up almost 40%.

All of those small increments add up. While it’s easy to wish for prices to go down, economists say that’s actually not the right solution.

“When we see prices decline, what it does is, it decreases an incentive to put any more money in something,” White said. “It would incentivize farmers not to plant as much, some farmers wouldn’t make any money off of planting and selling groceries and goods. Also the distribution network of shipping that food to market suddenly loses some of their value as well.”

While it’s not likely there will be a major drop in grocery prices soon, there is some potentially good news when it comes to your housing budget.

“We have more construction going on now than any time in state history,” said Alan Laseck, executive director of the Apartment Association of New Mexico.

Officials with the Apartment Association of New Mexico say there are at least 40 housing projects under construction in the Albuquerque area. That is expected to bring at least 5,000 rental units to the market in the coming months.

State leaders are pitching in too, with several new bills opening up millions of dollars in funding for even more housing projects.

The average rent in Albuquerque is sitting at $1,340 a month – about $400 higher than January 2020. Economists suggest an increased housing supply could reduce prices for everyone.

“You’ll see prices starting to be more competitive, more deals will be offered by apartments and related companies to get people through the door,” White said. “Because of this, there’s just a supply in units, you can expect that some of these prices will start coming down meaningfully.”

There is also evidence that wage growth is happening. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed average hourly earnings increased by 1.4% since last January. It’s worth noting wage growth rates have surpassed inflation rates since last February.