Thanksgiving Dinner Is Cheaper in 2024 but Still More Expensive Than 2019

According to a new analysis, cooking a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people will cost about $58 in 2024.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently published its annual analysis of the average cost of cooking a Thanksgiving meal.
Nevertheless, the cost of putting on the Turkey Day spread is still considerably higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a Nov. 20 statement, the federation said overall costs are going up because of inflationary pressure exerted on overall food prices and the rising cost of doing business for America’s farmers.
A prolonged drop in the cost of whole turkeys is driving the decline in the price of Thanksgiving dinner.
According to Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service data, the price of an entire 16-pound turkey dropped by 6 percent to $1.60 per pound in 2024.
“The American turkey flock is the smallest it’s been since 1985 because of avian influenza, but overall demand has also fallen, resulting in lower prices,” AFBF economist Bernt Nelson said in a statement.
The AFBF is an advocacy organization working to support the interests of American farmers and ranchers.
According to the latest estimates published by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in September, the number of turkeys raised in the United States dropped to 205 million in 2024, the lowest in the past decade.
In a separate report published on Nov. 20, authored by Nelson and his colleagues Betty Resnick and Samantha Ayoub, the AFBF said the per capita demand for turkey is decreasing along with the supply, leading to overall lower prices.
The AFBF said in a statement that many retailers put whole frozen turkeys on special before Thanksgiving, so consumers who wait until the last minute to buy a bird may pay a lower price in the store.
In a Nov. 7 report, Brian Earnest, lead economist for animal protein at CoBank, said the turkey industry—among other challenges—is dealing with losing its perennial dominance at the center of the table for Thanksgiving and other holiday season family meals.
“Whether through supply-related issues, consumer desire for convenience, or changing preferences, the future of this tradition and the U.S. consumer support to the turkey industry has become less certain in recent years,” Earnest said.
CoBank, a private credit provider to the U.S. rural economy, specializes in providing loans, leases, and other financial services to agribusiness.
The 39th edition of the AFBF survey was conducted by volunteers who gauged the average price of 12 Thanksgiving staples—a whole turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, green peas, pre-made pie crusts, cubed stuffing, dinner rolls, pumpkin puree, milk, and heavy whipping cream—in grocery stores around the country.
According to the federation survey, if the Thanksgiving table also includes Russet potatoes, frozen green beans, and boneless ham, the price of a dinner for 10 people rises to $77.34.
The sharpest price increases come from processed products.
In their report, the AFBF economists said the price hike for packaged dinner rolls and stuffing mix can be attributed to “nonfood inflation and labor shortages,” which raise prices throughout the food supply chain.
While the price of the holiday dinner has dropped in the past two years, it is still significantly higher than it was in the past.
In their report, Nelson and his colleagues said the price of Thanksgiving dinner is 20 percent higher than it was in 2019.
“The long road to reduced inflation has exhausted many Americans, including farm families, who have been squeezed between falling prices for their output and higher prices for their inputs,” the AFBF economists said in their report.
According to the AFBF economists, just 9 cents out of every dollar spent on food goes back to the farmer.
Farmers receive more income on less processed goods, such as fresh vegetables, meat, and dairy.
As for overall inflation, the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), has risen sharply over the past five years.