As families start grocery shopping for Thanksgiving dinner this week, they’ll be pleased to find that some staple items, like turkey and dinner rolls, are much cheaper than last year.
This year, a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost families $55.18, down 5% from last year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey.
The decrease in cost is mainly due to turkey prices dropping 16% from last year. Though turkey accounts for the largest share of the meal’s total cost, the prices of many side dishes increased from the previous year, including fresh vegetables and dairy products.
Will Thanksgiving dinner cost less this year?
The total price for the foods needed to host the typical holiday meal has decreased each year since 2022, which saw a record high of $64.05.
How much will my turkey cost this year?
The American Farm Bureau Federation has given the same shopping list to volunteer shoppers from all 50 states and Puerto Rico since 1986 to calculate the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner.
Along with turkey, the list includes cubed stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie mix and crusts, whipping cream and whole milk.
Four items from the survey dropped in price this year – the main turkey dish, cubed stuffing, fresh cranberries and dinner rolls.
The price of a 16-pound turkey dropped this year to $21.50 from $25.67 in 2024, its smallest price portion of Thanksgiving dinner since 2000.
Pumpkin pie mix and frozen pie crust prices largely remained the same over the past year.
But other side items – sweet potatoes, frozen green peas, carrots and celery, whole milk and whipping cream – rose in price, and fresh vegetables saw the sharpest increase.
The price increases in these items reflect the struggles farmers have faced over the past year with more expensive fertilizer, fuel, machinery, labor and land, according to the farm bureau federation.
Another notable setback is the damage caused by Hurricane Helene last fall in North Carolina, which produces about half the nation’s sweet potatoes.
SOURCES USA TODAY Network reporting and research; American Farm Bureau Federation
