Thanksgiving dinner costs dip for second year

Thanksgiving dinner costs dipped for a second year in a row, according to a survey published on Wednesday, though remain at elevated levels.

The annual American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Thanksgiving dinner survey found the classic holiday meal for 10 people would cost $58.08, or less than $6 per person — a 5 percent drop from 2023. 

Last year, the cost for the same amount of people was around $6.12 per guest, or $61.17 total.

Prices have been elevated in recent years. In 2022, which clocked the highest prices ever in the survey, the meal’s total price tag was $64.05 compared to around $53.31 a year earlier. Prices had hovered around $50 for much of the previous decade.

This year, prices for some essential dinner items have dropped while others have increased. Seven items, including turkey, sweet potatoes, frozen peas, carrots and celery tray, pumpkin pie mix, pie crusts and whole milk, have seen a price decrease. 

On the other hand, dinner rolls, fresh cranberries, whipping cream and cubed stuffing went up in price. 

“The largest increases in your Thanksgiving dinner bill this year come from processed products. Dinner rolls and cubed stuffing both increased over 8% from 2023,” AFBF economists Bernt Nelson and Samantha Ayoub wrote. “Nonfood inflation and labor shortages have driven up costs for partners across the food supply chain.”

“Fresh cranberries had the next-largest price increase at 12%,” they added. “This is a stabilization of prices after a significant 18% drop in prices from 2022 to 2023.” 

Since the agriculture industry group started tracking the prices of turkey in 1986, the item would on average account for 43 percent of the total cost of the meal. It is comparable again this year, with a 16-pound turkey taking up 44.2 percent of the total meal’s cost for a 10-person dinner.  

When divided by region, those in the West are set to endure the highest cost. Their bill is set to be at least 15 percent more expensive, at around $67.81 for a 10-person feast, than the rest of the country. 

Midwest was second at $58.90, followed by Northeast at $57.36 while the Southern dinners will likely be the cheapest at at $56.81.