If the back-to-school list felt heavier at checkout this year, that is not your imagination. Analysis of the most common school supply items found prices up roughly 8% over the past year, adding about $175 to the typical family's supply haul. Some individual items rose far more than that. Here is what went up, why, and what actually helps.
What Went Up, and By How Much
The increase is not spread evenly. A few categories account for most of the pain.
| Item | Year-over-year increase |
|---|---|
| Lunch boxes | About 27% |
| Notebooks | About 23% |
| Index cards | About 22% |
| Notebook paper | About 20% |
| Tissues | About 20% |
Sports equipment climbed more than 4% between December 2025 and June 2026, which matters for families with athletes. Meanwhile, price increases for a typical supply list overall came in around 7.7% to 8%, depending on which basket of items the analysis used.
The estimates vary by source, which is worth knowing rather than glossing over. One analysis put the average supply haul at about $173. Another estimated roughly $175 in additional cost per family. Different baskets of goods produce different numbers, but the direction is consistent.
Why Prices Rose
Three forces are stacked on top of each other.
Tariffs on imported goods
Most school supplies are not made domestically. As one economist put it, paper items, pens, glue sticks, and computers all tend to be imported — which places them squarely in the path of import duties.
The effect shows up clearly in company disclosures. Newell Brands, which makes Sharpie, Paper Mate, Expo, and Elmer's, raised prices repeatedly in 2025 while absorbing $174 million in tariff costs, and expects another $130 million in 2026. Logitech cited tariffs when explaining a sizable increase in its US prices.
Energy costs
Acco Brands, parent of Mead, Five Star, and Trapper Keeper, pointed to higher oil prices from the conflict in the Middle East as a driver of its cost increases. Paper and plastic manufacturing are energy-intensive, and gasoline near $4 a gallon also raises the cost of the daily school commute.
Ongoing inflation
US inflation eased to an annual rate of about 3.5% in June, down from 4.2% in May. Slower inflation still means prices rising, just less quickly — and it compounds on top of last year's increases rather than reversing them.
How Families Are Responding
The behavioral shift is significant. About half of parents expect to take on debt to cover back-to-school shopping this year, up from 34% in 2024.
Shopping timing has also moved earlier. Roughly 48% of purchases were expected to be completed by the end of July, and about 47% of consumers now start three to four weeks before school begins.
Cost-management tactics reported by shoppers this year:
- 51% are comparing prices across retailers
- 43% are shopping at discount stores
- 40% are hunting coupons and sales
- 43% buy pre-owned items when available
On that last point: 74% of shoppers said they do not feel guilty about sending children to school with pre-owned items. The stigma appears to have largely dissolved.
One Piece of Genuinely Useful News
A supply chain professor at Rutgers offered a reassuring observation: prices are not likely to climb much further for this year's back-to-school season. Everything currently on shelves already came in under the new tariff regime, and retailers that could raise prices have already done so.
The practical implication is that waiting for prices to fall this season is probably not a winning strategy — but neither is panic-buying out of fear of further increases. The increases have already happened.
What Actually Reduces the Bill
Ordered roughly by how much they save relative to effort:
- ☐ Shop your house first. Last year's leftovers cover a surprising share of the list
- ☐ Wait on the optional items. Teachers often revise lists in the first two weeks
- ☐ Buy the high-inflation categories used or in bulk — lunch boxes and notebooks rose most
- ☐ Split bulk purchases with another family; paper and tissues are cheapest in quantity
- ☐ Check your state's sales tax holiday if one applies
- ☐ Ask the school about supply assistance — many have programs that go unused
- ☐ Skip branded versions of commodity items like paper and folders
The first item is the one most people skip and the one that saves the most. A single drawer audit before shopping routinely eliminates a third of the list.
On Taking Debt for Supplies
Half of parents expecting to borrow for school supplies is a meaningful signal about household budgets. If you are in that group, one distinction is worth making: buy-now-pay-later products and credit cards carry very different costs depending on whether the balance is cleared before interest applies. A $175 supply increase becomes considerably more than $175 if it sits on a high-interest balance for months.
This is not a reason to feel bad about it — it is a reason to know which instrument you are using and what it costs.
Where the Money Really Goes
Supplies are the visible expense but not the largest one. One estimate put total per-student annual cost near $4,000, with only about $175 of that going to school items and roughly $3,800 to packed lunches over the year.
That ratio is worth sitting with. A family agonizing over notebook prices while spending twenty times more on daily lunches is optimizing the wrong line. Lunch planning, bulk grocery buying, and checking eligibility for school meal programs move the number far more than any decision made in the stationery aisle.
FAQ
How much are school supplies up this year?
Analyses put the increase at roughly 7.7% to 8% for a typical supply list, or about $175 more per family. Individual items varied widely, with lunch boxes and notebooks rising the most.
Are prices going to keep rising this season?
Supply chain analysts suggest most of the increase has already worked through to shelves, since current inventory entered under the existing tariff structure. Further large jumps within this season are considered less likely.
Why are notebooks and paper up so much?
Two reasons stack: most are imported and therefore tariff-exposed, and paper manufacturing is energy-intensive at a time when oil prices are elevated.
Is buying used actually worth it?
For backpacks, lunch boxes, calculators, and electronics, the savings are substantial and the items are often barely used. For consumables like paper and glue, there is no used market and little point.
This article is general consumer information and not financial advice. Figures are drawn from public reporting and research published in mid-2026 and vary by source and methodology; prices differ by region and retailer. For guidance on household budgeting or debt, consult a qualified financial counselor.
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