Chick-fil-A has lifted its prices a staggering 21% over the past two years as Americans remain at mercy to stubbornly high inflation.
The chicken giant first hiked its prices by 15% in 2022, Newsweek reported, citing figures from Food Truck Empire, a blog about launching a food-focused business.
Then in January 2023, the chain — which boasts over 3,000 locations across the US — implemented another 6% menu-wide surge.
The increase means the average price of Chick-fil-A’s signature chicken sandwich and eight-piece chicken nuggets will run hungry patrons $5.79 and $5.95, respectively.
For reference, both popular menu items averaged under $5 in 2021, per Food Truck Empire.
However, prices vary and in New York City — where the cost of living is 30% higher than the national average, according to apartment-listing service RentCafe — a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich costs $6.99.
And an order of eight-piece nuggets will cost $7.09 in a Big Apple-based outpost of the chain.
The price hike comes at a time when the Federal Reserve has struggled to tamp inflation down to its 2% goal, a figure the US economy hasn’t seen since 2012.
The latest Consumer Price Index reading — which tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services — came in at 3.1% in November.
However, the food index rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, a slowdown from the 0.3% it experienced the previous month.
More specifically, the index for Chick-fil-A’s specialty — chicken — declined, according to the federal agency.
It wasn’t immediately clear if inflation was the reason for Chick-fil-A’s skyrocketing costs.
Representatives for Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, a minimum wage bump took effect in New York on Monday as the ball dropped and ushered in the new year.
The minimum wage in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County ticked $1 higher, from $15 to $16.
The state’s minimum wage is expected to increase every year until it reaches $17 in New York City and its suburbs, or $16 in the rest of the state by 2026 under an agreement between Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders announced last April.
Twenty-two states, including California and Connecticut, also recently lifted hourly earnings for minimum-wage workers.
The Golden State raised its rate 50 cents to $16, while the Nutmeg State implemented a 69-cent advance to $15.69.
Now, roughly 30 states have a minimum wage that’s higher than the United States’ federal minimum of $7.25 per hour, the going rate since 2009.
The minimum wage hikes were blamed for the soaring price of a McDonald’s Big Mac, which is set to climb to $15 in the states that implemented the earnings bump.
Brandon Arnold, executive vice president of the fiscally conservative think tank the National Taxpayers Union, pointed to California’s decision to mandate that employees at fast food restaurants be paid at least $20 an hour as a troubling sign.
Companies are “either gonna have to raise prices, start to reduce those labor costs or a combination of both,” Arnold told Fox News on Monday.
“And that’s not fair to those employees that are getting laid off, nor is it fair to the customers that are all of the sudden paying $12, $15 for a Big Mac.”
Last July, a McDonald’s location in Connecticut was criticized for charging $18 for a Big Mac combo meal.