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Swarmed price index · seller prices read weekly · last read September 28, 2026

What Bees Cost in the U.S.

Queens, nucs and packages, priced from seller storefronts every week.

Asking prices, week by week

248 storefronts · 4 weekly reads · Sep 28

Queen

One mated queen bee, to start or rescue a colony

1.9× USDA

$42.89unchanged since Sep 7

$40$42$44$46Sep 7Sep 28$42.89

61 sellers, lowest to highest

$19$90USDA $22

Nuc

A small working colony, ready to grow

1.6× USDA

$210−0.1% since Sep 7

$190$200$210$220$230Sep 7Sep 28$210

58 sellers, lowest to highest

$90$285USDA $130

Package

About 3 lb of loose bees plus a caged queen

1.4× USDA

$159+0.1% since Sep 7

$150$160$170Sep 7Sep 28$159

23 sellers, lowest to highest

$120$190USDA $110

Since 1873, in today's dollars

Queen $108 → $22Package $96 → $110

$0$50$1001900187320182025$22$110

Live seller panel

Sellers ask more than the USDA average

Read every week from 248 beekeeping storefronts, the family apiaries and breeders who price on their own websites. 's figure is what commercial operations pay buying in volume. Each seller counts once, however many pickup cities list the same .

$42.89 / $210.24 / $159.05Typical asking price: queen / nuc / package248 storefronts, checked weekly

What producers get, what sellers ask, what buyers pay

Our own weekly read of beekeeping storefronts, next to the USDA national average.

The eBay bar is 2,200 units sold over three years.

Bee stock prices: the USDA national average paid by commercial operations, our weekly panel of storefront asking prices, and eBay prices actually paid
ProductUSDA average USDPanel asking USDeBay paid USDPanel sellers
Queen2242.8949.661
Nuc130210.24no data58
Package110159.05173.1323

Who these storefronts are

Every price in this panel is listed by a small independent beekeeping business on its own website: family apiaries, queen breeders and honey producers. No supermarkets, no wholesalers, no marketplace listings. Most carry a handful of products, and the whole registry would fit in one aisle of a grocery chain.

Storefronts checked
328
States
50
Priced in the latest week
248

The registry is who the collector checks. Far fewer return a usable price in any given week, because stock sells out and seasons close, so the index rests on the smaller number.

See all 328 storefronts, by state

AK (5)

  • Alaska Honey Collective
  • Alaska Wild Berry Products
  • Alaskan Brand
  • Juneau Natural
  • Stoked Beekeeping Co

AL (3)

  • Chilton Bee Company
  • Foxhound Bee Company
  • Todd Farms / Todd's Local Honey

AR (5)

  • Baucum Nut House
  • Bemis Honey Bee Farm
  • Guenther Apiary
  • Honeyton Farms Apiary
  • Miracle Farms Market

AZ (10)

  • Arizona Honey Market (Mark Fratu)
  • Crockett Honey Co.
  • Desert Olive Farms
  • Happy Bees Market
  • Honey Hive Farms
  • Honey Hive Farms
  • Monica King / MonicaMiksa-King Honey Farm
  • Royal Kenyon BeeWorks (Flagstaff Honey)
  • Sun Valley Bees
  • The Honey Stand

CA (23)

  • Beeopic California LLC (Beeopic Beekeeping)
  • Bill's Bees
  • Blue Ridge Honey
  • Blue Sage Family Farm & Blue Sage Honey Co.
  • Bradshaw Honey Farms
  • C.F. Koehnen & Sons
  • California Bee Company
  • Hapa Honey Farm
  • Heavenly Honey Company of Ojai
  • Honey Bee Genetics
  • HoneyPlusCo
  • N8TURE'S HIVE
  • Olivarez Honey Bees, Inc.
  • Paul's Bees
  • Pure Honey (Henry's Bullfrog Bees Apiary)
  • R&K Honeybees
  • Santa Barbara Hives
  • Sierra Honey Farm
  • Southwest Honey and Bee Removals LLC
  • The Valley Hive
  • Uribe Honey Bees (The California Beekeeper)
  • Wings of Nature
  • Zava Ranch (honey, partnered with Blue Ridge Honey)

CO (12)

  • Bee Squared Apiaries
  • Burley's Bees
  • Ciardullo Ranch
  • Clark's of Colorado
  • Flower Street Farm
  • Fuller Bee Supply
  • Honeyville Colorado
  • Lanoix's Apiary (Lanoix's Bees)
  • Lockhart Honey Farms
  • Nimbus Road Apiary / Hep Farm Honey
  • Rocky Mountain Bee Supply
  • Wardle Feed & Pet Supply

CT (4)

  • Farmer Joe's Gardens LLC
  • Hilltop Apiaries
  • The Martin Hives Honey Co.
  • Waggle Dance Apiary

DE (2)

  • Highland Orchards Farm Market
  • Planting Hope Apiary (Douglas Bee Apiary)

FL (14)

  • Bee Friends Farm
  • Bee Serious LLC
  • Bee-Haven Honey Farm, Inc
  • Full Moon Apiaries / Full Moon Honey
  • Heritage Bee Farm
  • Honey Feast
  • Keez Beez
  • Lip SMAKin' Good Honey
  • Master Grafters of Florida
  • Old Florida Bee Company
  • Queen Bee Honey Miami
  • Register Family Farm
  • The Honey Truck Company
  • The Native Guy

GA (10)

  • Blue Ridge Honey Company
  • Capital Bee Company
  • Georgia Honey Farm
  • Honey Next Door
  • Mountain Sweet Honey
  • Noble Honey Company
  • Pop Pop's Apiaries
  • Savannah Bee Company
  • Sweetwater Creek Honey Farm
  • Weeks Honey Farm

HI (17)

  • Alchemy Farm Hawaii
  • Aloha Farms Wholesale
  • Big Island Bees
  • Big Island Meadery / Kilohana Honey Co.
  • Bird and Bee Hawaii
  • Honey Girl Organics
  • Kauai Farmacy
  • Kauai Juice Co (raw local honey)
  • Kumu Farms
  • Lahaina Honey Co.
  • Lydgate Farms (Upcountry Estate Honey, formerly Steelgrass Farm Honey)
  • Manoa Honey Company (Manoa Honey & Mead / Wahiawa Honey House & Meadery)
  • Maui Bees
  • McPhee's Bees
  • Rare Hawaiian Honey Co (formerly/aka Volcano Island Honey Company)
  • Snack Hawaii
  • Surfing Goat Dairy (Raw Maui Honey)

IA (4)

  • Bell Farm (iowabees.com)
  • Diamond Lake Honey & Bees (Steve Lende Apiary)
  • Ebert Honey
  • The Harvest Barn Marketplace

ID (6)

  • Boise Bees & Blossoms LLC
  • Cox's Honey
  • Provider Farms
  • Rocky Mountain Honey Co.
  • Steele Apiaries
  • Tubbs Berry Farm

IL (7)

  • Heaven's Honey Inc.
  • HillCo, LLC
  • HillCo, LLC
  • Honey Lake Bee Company
  • Meyer Bees
  • Riverview Road Apiary
  • Sweet Comb Chicago

IN (12)

  • Bohman Bee Company
  • Carter's Honey Bees
  • Earthling Bee Co.
  • Hidden Hollow Honey
  • Hoosier Heritage Farm
  • Hunter's Honey Farm
  • Loughrie's (of Boonville, IN)
  • McComBees Apiaries
  • My Bee's Needs
  • New Albany Honey & Apiary
  • Tree City Bee Company
  • Wheeler's Bees

KS (3)

  • Beekeepers.com (Jordy's Honey Company)
  • IOWAY Bee Farm
  • Prairie Blossom Nursery (honey retail, sourced from Reida Honey Farm)

KY (4)

  • A Taste of Kentucky
  • Bee Calm Naturals
  • Grandview Farm
  • Kentucky Nut Corporation

LA (4)

  • Capstone Honey (Capstone New Orleans)
  • Guidry Organic Farms
  • Red Stick Spice Company
  • What It Bees Like (New Orleans Honey, Shae Thomas)

MA (6)

  • Hampden County Beekeepers Association store (honey jars / Ross Round comb honey)
  • Merrimack Valley Apiaries / The B Farm
  • Summer Beez
  • The Colony MA (Honey Bees Mead & More)
  • They Keep Bees (Ang Roell)
  • Warm Colors Apiary (Dan Conlon)

MD (1)

  • Mission Beelieve

ME (4)

  • Barters Island Bees
  • Fresh Pickins Farm
  • Spicer Bees
  • The Honey Exchange

MI (14)

  • American Spoon
  • Bee Wise Farms
  • BeeFit Beekeeping
  • Bobilin Honey LLC
  • Cherry Republic
  • Cutler Supply
  • Deer Ridge Apiaries
  • Detroit Hives
  • Great Lakes Bee Company
  • Heffernan's Honey & Beekeeping Supply LLC
  • Hilbert's Honey Co.
  • Lam's Honeybees and Beekeeping Supplies
  • Local Buzz Bees and Honey
  • Sleeping Bear Farms

MN (10)

  • Ames Farm (Ames Farm Single Source Honey)
  • Bare Honey
  • Bolton Bees & Honeys
  • Nature's Nectar, LLC
  • Our Bright Acres
  • Super Bee Honey
  • Suzy's Bees (S & S Hives)
  • Sweet Local Honey Co
  • The Bee Shed
  • The Honey Hut

MO (9)

  • Honeysuckle Acres
  • Lucky Bee Honey
  • McKnight Bee Products
  • Mississippi Marketplace
  • Ozark Honey Bee Farm
  • Ozarkland General Stores (Ozarka Pure-Raw Honey)
  • Paul's Honey Farm, LLC
  • River View Supply LLC
  • Thies Farm and Greenhouses

MS (3)

  • Crooked Letter (MS-made goods shop)
  • Lady May Honey-Makers (May's Market)
  • Ol' Cappy's Bee Products

MT (4)

  • Arlee Apiaries
  • Bitterroot Buzz Bees
  • Huckleberry Haven
  • Montana Honey Bee Company

NC (5)

  • Haw Honey
  • King Cobra Apiary
  • Secret Garden Bees
  • Triad Bee Supply
  • Wehrloom Honey & Meadery

ND (1)

  • Little Apiary on the Prairie

NE (4)

  • Beauty and the Bees Honey
  • Lance Honey Farms
  • Urban Slicer Pizza Worx
  • West End Farm

NH (3)

  • Beekeeping Unlimited
  • Beeline Skin Care
  • Hall Apiaries

NJ (2)

  • Alstede Farms
  • Working Girls Meadows

NM (3)

  • Bear Canyon Honey Co
  • Happy Bees LLC
  • Tecabeja Ranch

NV (1)

  • Vegas Bees

NY (3)

  • Bee Country LLC
  • Catskill Provisions
  • Gil's Honey

OH (4)

  • Blue Sky Bee Supply
  • My Bee Supply LLC
  • Nature's Image Farm
  • Queen Right Colonies

OK (8)

  • Beekeeping Etc.
  • Beeman Creek Honey Farm
  • Little Creek Bee Ranch
  • Okie Dokie Mercantile & Co.
  • OkieSpice and Trade Co.
  • Roark Acres Honey Farms
  • Robinson Ranch
  • The Oil Tree

OR (6)

  • Apricot Apiaries
  • BG Bees LLC
  • Broadus Bees
  • Flying Bee Ranch
  • Hive and Garden (Bee Outside LLC)
  • StarrFarms Queens

PA (9)

  • Awckland's Sugar Shack & Apiary
  • Beeworks LLC (BeeWorks Supply Company)
  • Crisscross Road Bee Yard
  • Exton Bee Company
  • Firefly Meadows Farm
  • Hackenberg Apiaries LLC
  • Mark Antunes (Honey Hill Farm)
  • Meadow View Beekeeping, LLC
  • Walnut Farm Bees (Nicholson)

RI (4)

  • Aquidneck Honey
  • Legend's Creek Farm
  • Wood's Beekeeping Supply & Academy
  • Yucky Rivah Bee Fahm

SC (4)

  • Blythewood Bee Company
  • Bush-N-Vine Farm
  • Honey Top Bees (Ray)
  • Johnson's Bees and Supplies

SD (5)

  • A. H. Meyer & Sons, Inc.
  • Adee Honey Farms
  • Black Hills Honey Farm
  • Orland Honey Farm
  • USA Honey Company

TN (8)

  • Bearded Bee Works (Josh Hager)
  • Burton's Bee Farm (Chuck Burton)
  • Mercer Made Farms
  • Purple Valley Farm
  • Tennessee Grass Fed
  • The Apple Barn and Cider Mill
  • The Old Mill
  • Thistle & Bee Enterprises (Pure Memphis Honey)

TX (11)

  • Bee2Bee Honey Collective
  • Honey Bees Unlimited
  • Nielson Honey Farm Texas
  • Prime Bees
  • R.Weaver Apiaries (R Weaver)
  • Ross Creek Organic Farm
  • Round Rock Honey Company
  • Texas Honey Company
  • The Bee Supply (formerly Texas Bee Supply)
  • Two Hives Honey
  • Vandenberg Farm

UT (7)

  • Caputo's Market & Deli
  • Deseret Hive Supply
  • Desert Castle Bees
  • Homer's Honeybee and Supply
  • Knight Family Honey
  • L&P Bee Supply
  • The Honey Company

VA (7)

  • Back Forty Bees (Don Cole)
  • Honey and the Hive (Doug Anderson & Keith White)
  • Honey Brook Farms
  • Nalls Produce
  • Poor Valley Bee Farm
  • Sustainable Honeybee Program, Inc
  • The Battlefield Country Store

VT (6)

  • Adam Howe / Howe family - However Wild Honey
  • Champlain Valley Apiaries / Champlain Valley Honey
  • Mendon Mountain Orchards
  • Sheri Englert - Vermont Beekeeping Supply, LLC
  • Singing Cedar Apiaries
  • Tim McFarline - McFarline's Apiary / Mcfarline Apiaries

WA (12)

  • Apex Apiary
  • Beeline of Washington (Beeline Apiaries & Woodenware)
  • Chase Honey Company
  • Hungry Hollow Farm
  • North Home Bees (NHB Honey Farm)
  • Northwest Bee Supply
  • Outdoor Bee Company
  • Samco Honey
  • Snohomish Bee Company
  • Stanwood Bee Company
  • Sunny Honey Company
  • Woods Bee Company

WI (15)

  • Concord Farms
  • Dancing Bear Apiary
  • Fox Honey Farm
  • Hansen Honey Farm LLC (hansenhoneyfarm.com)
  • Heritage Honey Bee
  • Honey Acres
  • Kasper's Apiary (Hive & Hound Honey)
  • Kelly's Bees (Kelly Barnes)
  • Krings Family Farms
  • Lloyd Street Bees
  • One Eighty Farmstead
  • St. Croix Bee LLC
  • Tree-Ripe Fruit Co.
  • Wild Comb
  • Wisconsin Natural Acres

WV (3)

  • Earthway Primitives Apiary
  • Taylor's Farm Market
  • The Newbee Store (Newbees / OTHERWORLD Apiaries)

WY (1)

  • Queen Bee Gardens

Names are published so the panel's composition can be checked. No price on this page is attributed to any individual business.

Buying bees

Bee prices returned to their 2018 level in 2025, but never passed it

A nuc cost $130 in 2025 and a $110, both up sharply on 2024. In a nuc cost $141 in 2018 and a package $110, so 2025 is a rebound from a cheap 2023 and 2024, and no new high.

$130 / $110 / $222025 nuc / package / queenAll below 2018 in today's money

What it costs to buy bees, 2018 to 2025

Prices in today's money, so years are directly comparable.

In today's money, 2025 is roughly back to 2018 rather than above it.

US average price paid for nucs, packages and queens by year, 2018 to 2025, from USDA NASS
YearNuc USDPackage USDQueen USD
2018141.0305110.260223.0777
2019125.9275107.038422.667
2020130.6127104.490122.3907
2021148.5143108.118423.7623
2022141.91107.807624.2017
2023126.790296.149220.0751
2024111.868191.341918.4736
202513011022

The 2025 “record” disappears once inflation is removed

2018 against 2025 for each product, sticker price and today's money side by side. The faded bar is 2018.

On the sticker price every product costs more than it did in 2018. In today’s money every product costs less. The 2025 jump is a rebound from unusually cheap 2023 and 2024, not a record.

Queen, package and nuc prices in 2018 and 2025, as listed and in constant 2025 dollars
Product2018 nominal USD2025 nominal USD2018 constant 2025 USD2025 constant 2025 USD
Queen182223.0822
Package86110110.26110
Nuc110130141.03130

How much bee prices changed each year

Change from the year before, after inflation is removed.

Adjusted for inflation, the 2025 rise is smaller than the sticker price suggests.

Year-over-year percent change in US bee stock prices, after inflation
YearNuc %Package %Queen %
2019-10.7-2.9-1.8
20203.7-2.4-1.2
202113.73.56.1
2022-4.4-0.31.8
2023-10.7-10.8-17.1
2024-11.8-5-8
202516.220.419.1

Honey vs bees

Honey got dearer while the bees needed to make it got cheaper

A beekeeper buys bees and sells honey. Since 2018, in today's money, honey rose 7.6% a pound while a nuc fell 7.8% and a queen 4.7%. A package held level. The same honey buys more bees than it did in 2018.

honey +7.6%, nuc -7.8%Since 2018, in today's moneyThe same honey buys more bees

What bees cost, paid in honey

How many pounds of honey a beekeeper had to sell to buy a nuc. Each jar holds 2 lb. The dashed mark is how much honey an average colony made that year.

Priced in honey, inflation drops out: both prices are from the same year. The honey price is USDA's national average, which mixes jars sold at the door with drums sold to packers, so a beekeeper who sells only in bulk needs more honey than this.

Price of a nuc in pounds of honey, by year, from USDA NASS
YearPrice (USD)Honey paid to beekeepers (USD/lb)Pounds of honeyHoney per colony (lb)
20181102.2149.854.5
20191001.9950.355.8
20201052.15054.5
20211252.6547.247
20221293.0142.947
20231202.5547.155.1
20241092.4145.251.7
20251303.0542.648

Honey against the cost of bees, both starting at 100 in 2018

Both sides in today's money, each set to 100 in 2018 so they can be compared directly.

Over 8 years honey gained +7.6%in today’s money while the bees needed to produce it didn’t: nuc -7.8%, queen -4.7%, package -0.2%. The two sides still rise and fall together from year to year. What changed is the level: honey now buys more bees than it did in 2018.

Honey price against queen, package and nuc prices, each rebased to 100 in 2018, in both nominal and constant 2025 dollars
YearHoney nominalHoney realNuc nominalNuc realPackage nominalPackage realQueen nominalQueen real
2018100100100100100100100100
20199088.490.989.398.897.110098.2
20209592.295.592.697.794.810097
2021119.9111.1113.6105.3105.898.1111.1103
2022136.2116.9117.3100.611497.8122.2104.9
2023115.495.1109.189.9105.887.2105.687
202410987.399.179.3103.582.810080
2025138107.6118.292.2127.999.8122.295.3

Since 1873

Queens got cheap. Packages got dearer

A queen advertised in 1873 cost $108 in today's money. By 1928 she cost $23, and USDA puts her at $22 in 2025: a fifth of the 1873 price, and level for a century. Three-pound packages went the other way, $84 in 1928 against $110 now.

$108 to $22Queen, 1873 vs todayIn 2025 dollars. A 3 lb package went $84 to $110

What a queen cost, 1873 to today

Constant 2025 dollars. Ninety years in the middle that nobody recorded, drawn at their real width.

Both sides measure what a buyer paid, so the levels compare. Breeder advertisements stop in 1928 where the public domain does, and USDA began surveying stock prices in 2018.

Queen and package prices by year and source
YearCategorySourceReal $ (2025)
1873queenBreeder advertisements107.5
1874queenBreeder advertisements71.14
1875queenBreeder advertisements87.95
1876queenBreeder advertisements60.47
1877queenBreeder advertisements60.47
1878queenBreeder advertisements66.72
1879queenBreeder advertisements34.55
1880queenBreeder advertisements37.7
1881queenBreeder advertisements66.72
1882queenBreeder advertisements66.72
1883queenBreeder advertisements34.55
1884queenBreeder advertisements53.75
1885queenBreeder advertisements44.79
1886queenBreeder advertisements44.79
1887queenBreeder advertisements44.79
1888queenBreeder advertisements44.79
1889queenBreeder advertisements44.79
1890queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1891queenBreeder advertisements44.79
1892queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1893queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1894queenBreeder advertisements37.21
1895queenBreeder advertisements38.7
1896queenBreeder advertisements38.7
1897queenBreeder advertisements29.02
1898queenBreeder advertisements38.7
1899queenBreeder advertisements38.7
1900queenBreeder advertisements38.7
1901queenBreeder advertisements38.7
1902queenBreeder advertisements37.21
1903queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1904queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1905queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1906queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1907queenBreeder advertisements34.55
1908queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1909queenBreeder advertisements35.83
1910queenBreeder advertisements34.55
1911queenBreeder advertisements43.19
1912queenBreeder advertisements33.36
1913queenBreeder advertisements32.58
1914queenBreeder advertisements40.18
1915queenBreeder advertisements35.01
1916packageBreeder advertisements96.16
1916queenBreeder advertisements36.98
1917packageBreeder advertisements81.67
1917queenBreeder advertisements27.64
1918queenBreeder advertisements21.4
1919queenBreeder advertisements23.21
1920queenBreeder advertisements24.11
1921packageBreeder advertisements124.19
1921queenBreeder advertisements31.59
1922packageBreeder advertisements115.41
1922queenBreeder advertisements28.85
1923packageBreeder advertisements103.93
1923queenBreeder advertisements23.62
1924packageBreeder advertisements98.63
1924queenBreeder advertisements18.79
1925packageBreeder advertisements93.63
1925queenBreeder advertisements22.03
1926packageBreeder advertisements90.02
1926queenBreeder advertisements22.73
1927packageBreeder advertisements88.04
1927queenBreeder advertisements18.53
1928packageBreeder advertisements84.38
1928queenBreeder advertisements23.44
2018queenUSDA NASS23.0777
2018packageUSDA NASS110.2602
2019queenUSDA NASS22.667
2019packageUSDA NASS107.0384
2020queenUSDA NASS22.3907
2020packageUSDA NASS104.4901
2021queenUSDA NASS23.7623
2021packageUSDA NASS108.1184
2022queenUSDA NASS24.2017
2022packageUSDA NASS107.8076
2023queenUSDA NASS20.0751
2023packageUSDA NASS96.1492
2024queenUSDA NASS18.4736
2024packageUSDA NASS91.3419
2025queenUSDA NASS22
2025packageUSDA NASS110

New to beekeeping? The words on this page

Queen
The single egg-laying female that every colony depends on. Beekeepers buy a mated queen to start a new colony or to replace one that is failing.
Nuc
Short for nucleus colony: a small, working colony on about five frames of comb, with a laying queen, young bees and food. It is the quickest way to start a hive, which is why it costs the most.
Package
About three pounds of loose worker bees shipped in a screened box, with a queen in a small cage. Cheaper than a nuc, but the bees arrive with no comb and have to build from scratch.
Colony
One family of honey bees: a queen, tens of thousands of workers and the comb they live on. The hive is the box; the colony is what lives in it.
Asking price
The price a seller lists on their website. It is what they want, which is not always what a buyer ends up paying.
USDA figures
The US Department of Agriculture surveys commercial beekeepers, those with five or more colonies, once a year. Its prices are national averages for operations buying and selling at volume, so they run below what a hobbyist pays.
In today's money
Older prices converted into what the same money buys now, using the government's consumer price index. It is the only fair way to compare a price from 1987 with one from this year.

More findings

More from the data

The cross-checks and the detail behind the story above. Open any of them for the full finding and its charts.

Cross-check

Two ways of reading the market, and they agree

$164.50 / $200 / $40Hand-compiled snapshot: package / nuc / queen

513 prices read by hand in 48 states

A second reading took 513 prices by hand from 270 sellers in 48 states, sharing no sellers with the weekly panel. Packages come out +0.3% apart, nucs +6.9%, retail honey +9.1% and queens +12.5%.

Two independent reads of the same market

Our weekly read of storefronts, against a one-time hand-compiled survey of sellers in every state.

The snapshot was read by hand from association directories and seller pages, so it reaches sellers who never publish a catalog and the panel never sees. Agreement between two methods that select sellers differently is the point: it is evidence the panel's level is not an artifact of who happens to run a readable storefront. The snapshot was read once and is a check on the panel, never part of it.

Our weekly storefront panel against a hand-compiled national snapshot, as a percentage difference per product
ProductPanel USDSnapshot USDDifference %Snapshot observationsSnapshot sellersStates
Package165164.50.3563722
Nuc213.862006.91188629
Honey1614.679.11127737
Queen454012.5534824

Price lists

The only place a bee price can be followed like for like

-3.0%Typical season, in today's money

116 matched comparisons

Breeders who print a price list print the whole matrix, every quantity and grade, dated to the season. Matched across editions, the typical season reprices by -3.0% in today's money, over 116 comparisons.

What a breeder charged for bees, year by year

Published list prices by season, in constant 2025 dollars.

These come from 2 sellers, so they show how one breeder repriced rather than a national average. Shown in today's money, so inflation is already taken out.

Published list prices for packages and queens by season, from archived seller price lists, as printed and in constant dollars
SeasonPackage USDQueen USDPackage constant USDQueen constant USD
2018114.530146.838.47
2019122.533154.2641.55
202012734.5157.9842.92
202113234.5156.8340.99
202214035.5154.0139.05
202314238.5150.0340.68
202414738.5150.8739.52
202513234.513234.5
2026no datano datano datano data

Common questions

Straight answers on what bees cost

How much did a queen bee cost in the 1800s?

Breeders advertised queens at prices worth about $108 in today's money in 1873, when an Italian queen was an imported luxury. By 1928 the same queen cost about $23, and USDA puts a queen at $22 in 2025. Queen rearing industrialised and the real price has barely moved in a century.

How much does a queen bee cost?

Beekeeping storefronts ask $42.89 for a mated queen, read weekly from 61 sellers. USDA's national average paid by commercial operations was $22 in 2025, up 22% from $18 the year before.

How much does a nuc cost?

Beekeeping storefronts ask $210 for a nucleus colony, with listings from $90 to $285. USDA's national average was $130 in 2025, up from $109 in 2024, the largest single-year increase on record.

How much is a package of bees?

Beekeeping storefronts ask $159 for a package. USDA's national average was $110 in 2025, up 24% from $89 in 2024. A package is loose bees by weight plus a caged queen, so it costs less than a nuc, which is an established colony with a laying queen, brood, and drawn comb.

Are there state-by-state prices for queens, nucs, or packages?

USDA publishes one national average for queens, nucs and packages, and publishes honey prices state by state. For a regional read on bee stock, the live seller panel on this page carries asking prices by seller and state, which is the closest thing to a geographic breakdown that exists.