With back-to-school season in full swing, families across the country are continuing to feel the sting of high prices.

In May and June, before the latest round of the Trump administration’s tariffs , the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that tariffs on back-to-school items had risen to 18% (up from 5% a year earlier). A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that prices of educational books and supplies increased 9.4% from May 2024 to May 2025.

As costs pile up, over half of parents are planning to cut back on necessities to pay for school-related shopping, and 44% are planning to take on debt, according to a Credit Karma consumer survey. American families expect to spend an average of $570 per student on back-to-school shopping this year, according to a Deloitte

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