Thanksgiving dinner is set to be the most affordable in decades.
The cost of this year’s holiday feast is estimated at $58.08 for a 10-person gathering, which equates to $5.81 a head. That figure has dropped 5% since last year, according to a nationwide survey of grocery prices by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
“If your dollar had the same overall purchasing power as a consumer in 1984 … this would be the least expensive Thanksgiving meal in the 39-year history of the AFBF Thanksgiving survey, other than the outlier of 2020,” according to the report.
While Thanksgiving food prices are up 19% since 2019, federal data show median household wages growing by about 25% during the same period. The drop in prices should be welcome news to many as 44% of people hosting Thanksgiving this year are concerned about the cost of the event, according to a recent Deloitte survey.
“The average American also has to work fewer hours to buy the same meal than in previous years,” the report stated. “Wages continued to grow faster following the COVID-19 pandemic, even as inflation cooled. Because average wages rose 4% from 2023 to 2024, it took 9% less work time for us to pay for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner.”
The cost of Thanksgiving dinner varies from region to region, according to the survey. For those celebrating the holiday in the West, the grocery bill for the dinner will be at least 14% steeper than the rest of the country, coming in at $67.05 for a party of 10. Dinners in the South will cost the least at $56.81, followed closely by the Northeast at $57.36 and $58.90 in the Midwest.
An entire Turkey bird is priced at around $1.40 per pound, down 16% from last year and the lowest it has been in the past five years. The turkey typically accounts for an average of 43% of the total dinner cost.
Turkey supply is down “significantly,” even though the price is down, according to CNBC. Farmers raised about 205 million turkeys in 2024, down 6% from 2023. It is the lowest figure since 1985. The decreased supply of turkeys is largely because of the impact of bird flu, which has contributed to the deaths of about 14 million turkeys since 2022.
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For Thanksgiving sides, some processed foods typically served during Thanksgiving appear to be more expensive than fresh foods. For example, dinner rolls and cubed stuffing are each selling for 8% more than a year ago, but sweet potatoes and whole milk have fallen 26% and 14%, respectively.
Several retail giants are also advertising their ready-made meal kits for Thanksgiving. Target is offering a $20 Thanksgiving meal for four, which includes a small turkey, canned vegetables, potatoes, and stuffing mix. Aldi has a $47 meal package for 10 people, which it has advertised as being priced lower than its 2019 prices. Walmart is prompting its “inflation-free Thanksgiving” meal of 29 items that can serve eight people for $56.