Thanksgiving dinner is historically affordable this year

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You may not know it by looking at sticker prices in grocery aisles, but Thanksgiving dinner is more affordable than it has been in years. The costs of this year’s holiday feast — estimated at $58.08 for a 10-person gathering, or $5.81 a head — dropped 5% since last year, the lowest level since 2021, according to a nationwide survey of grocery prices by the American Farm Bureau Federation, which represents millions of U.S. farmers. But the picture improves further when adjusted for inflation.

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“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,” the authors wrote.

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And indeed, while Thanksgiving food prices are up 19% since 2019, according to the AFBF, federal data shows median household wages growing by about 25% during the same period. What’s more, “the average American also has to work fewer hours to buy the same meal than in previous years,” the report added. “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.”

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Turkey, for instance, is 6% cheaper than last year, despite bird flu knocking out a portion of turkey inventories. Tighter availability usually drives up prices, but Americans are eating about 1 pound less of turkey per person each year, reducing demand by more than enough to offset the supply hit. Certain processed foods that may land on Thanksgiving tables are more expensive. Dinner rolls and cubed stuffing are each selling for 8% more than a year ago. On the flip side, sweet potatoes and whole milk have seen the steepest annual price drops, falling 26% and 14%, respectively. While fresh cranberry prices have climbed 12%, reversing an 18% decline the year before, they remain at their lowest level since 2015 — and when adjusted for inflation, they’re on par with prices back in 1987, the report said.

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