The good news is that your Thanksgiving dinner next week won’t be the most expensive since the metrics have been kept.
However, it will be the second-most costly Thanksgiving.
The American Farm Bureau Federation released their annual report on the average cost of a Thanksgiving meal this week. This year, a full turkey dinner, with all the staples, should cost $61.17, which is down 4.5 percent from 2022. And still 25 percent higher than pre-pandemic.
Nationwide, it will cost about $6.12 per person, though here in the Midwest that lowers slightly to $5.87.
The AFBF uses 12 Thanksgiving staples for their estimates: stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and, of course, turkey.
“Traditionally, the turkey is the most expensive item on the Thanksgiving dinner table,” Veronica Nigh, AFBF Senior Economist, said in a press release. “Turkey prices have fallen thanks to a sharp reduction in cases of avian influenza, which have allowed production to increase in time for the holiday.”
The average price of a 16-pound turkey this year is $27.35, down 5.6 percent from last year.
