Stone prices since 2021: what two US sources show

The limestone card on our home page uses one source, a producer price index. It is worth checking against a second, independent one, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publishes one every year.

Two sources, two methods

The USGS reports the average unit value of crushed stone: the value of all the stone sold, divided by the tonnes sold. In its Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, the figure is $13.26 per metric ton for 2021 and an estimated $18.50 for 2025. That is a rise of 39.5%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics index on our home page follows the price producers receive for crushed and broken limestone. Averaging its twelve monthly readings for each year gives 342.5 for 2021 and 497.0 for 2025, a rise of 45.1%.

The two measure different things. A unit value also moves when the mix of what is sold changes, such as a shift between products or between regions. A price index tries to follow the price of the same product over time. That the two land within six percentage points of each other is a useful cross-check.

A rise that is slowing

Year-on-year changes in the same figures:

• USGS unit value: +7.9% in 2022, +10.8% in 2023, +10.3% in 2024 and +5.7% in 2025.
• BLS limestone index, yearly average: +12.9% in 2022, +11.1% in 2023, +8.3% in 2024 and +6.8% in 2025.

The two do not peak in the same year, so we would not read much into the timing. Both show the rise easing by 2025. The index for August 2026 stands at 528.8, which is 6.1% above August 2025.

What the USGS expects

The USGS says the factors behind higher crushed stone prices were expected to continue in 2026, “especially in and near metropolitan areas”. Its reasons are shortages in some urban areas because of zoning and land-development alternatives, which push new quarries away from large population centres, and higher fuel costs. Together these could mean higher-than-average price rises in industrialised and urban areas.

What the figures cannot tell you

Both sources describe the US market in US dollars, and the USGS figure for 2025 is an estimate. Neither is a Grand CCIL price or a Nigerian price. Local prices depend on grade, size, transport and demand where the stone is needed.

Use them to see which way the market has been moving, and speak to us for a quote.