About this dataset
Food is the fastest moving cost in most Nigerian households and the one where local variation is largest. The same item can differ by half between an open market and a supermarket two streets away, and by considerably more between states.
This dataset records what readers actually paid, with the item, the quantity, the type of outlet and the location. Submissions are anonymous, require no account and collect no personal information. Every entry is reviewed before it is published.
Because food prices move week to week, recent entries are far more useful than older ones. Each figure is shown with the date it was reported so you can weight it accordingly.
How to read these figures
We publish the median rather than the average. The median is the middle value, so it is not dragged around by one unusually high or low entry in the way an average is. Where a single luxury property or one exceptional salary appears in a small sample, the average moves a long way and the median barely shifts.
Alongside every median we show how many entries it is based on and the range between the lowest and highest. Those two numbers matter as much as the median itself. A median drawn from forty entries across a city tells you something real. A median drawn from two tells you what two people paid, and should be read that way.
Dates matter too. Every entry carries the month it was reported. In categories where prices move quickly, a figure from eighteen months ago is a historical record rather than a current one, and should be weighted accordingly.
Limits worth keeping in mind
- This is self reported data, not an audited statistic. We review every entry for plausibility but cannot verify any individual figure.
- The people who submit are not a representative sample of Nigeria. They are readers of this site, which skews the picture in ways we cannot fully measure.
- Local variation within a city can be larger than variation between states, and a city level location cannot capture that.
- Where a location has only a handful of entries, treat the figure as an anecdote rather than a market rate.
- Nothing here is a valuation, an offer or professional advice. Confirm anything important directly with the relevant party.
Add your own
Every entry makes the next person better informed. The form takes under a minute, needs no account, and collects no name, email address or anything else that identifies you. Submissions are reviewed before publication, which is what keeps the data usable.
Report what you pay for food and market prices, or see the other datasets.