Burritos have long been a staple in the diet of many college students. They’re filling, relatively healthy, portable, and - until recently – budget friendly. Now though, with the price of basic burritos at $20 or more in some places, college students on a budget are having to look for new alternatives. Why has the lowly burrito gotten so expensive? It reflects what’s going on in the greater economy. And for buyers – affordability. Tariffs and skyrocketing gas prices mean that the ingredients going into producing a burrito cost more than they did not long ago. Add rising wages to that and it’s not hard to see why something that might have cost $15 not long ago – now costs $20. Food prices have risen about 4 percent since 2024. 

What does it mean for college students? It means that the burrito might no longer be a regular meal. Think about it for a minute. In a state like California, where it’s not hard to find $20 burritos, minimum wage for most fast food workers is $20.00 - meaning that you’d have to work for about an hour just to pay for a burrito – a meal that’s supposed to be cheap! If you worked a full day and ate burritos for every meal – you’d essentially only come home with 5 hours of pay. So, what’s a college student to do? Another college staple - instant noodles are still relatively cheap but lack the nutritional value of a burrito – and it would be pretty hard to carry a soupy cup of noodles across campus in your backpack. Tinned fish anyone?       

Discussion Questions:

  1.  Discuss the connection between prices and wages. Do prices and wages move together? Explain. What does this mean when it comes to working and buying burritos?
  2. What is your take on affordability? How do you think it will affect you as you enter the professional workforce?