Thanksgiving Dinner Costs 5% Less: What's Behind The Decrease?

Turkey Dinner Is Cheaper in the South

What Is the Cost of the Turkey?

How Is the Thanksgiving Survey Conducted?

SHREVEPORT, LA - Have you started doing your shopping for groceries for your Thanksgiving meal? If not, let me share some good news with you. The cost of buying everything needed for this holiday meal is actually down this year.

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The American Farm Bureau says the classic feast for 10 will run you $58.08, down 5% from last year. But there's bad news too. This price tag is still 19% higher than what we were paying five years ago.

READ MORE: Order your meal already prepared.

How Is the Thanksgiving Survey Conducted?

Volunteer shoppers in all 50 states fan out to buy all the items needed for a typical Thanksgiving meal. This includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie mix and crusts, whipping cream and whole milk.

The Farm Bureau has been doing this survey every year since 1986. Each year, you might see some savings on a few specific items and higher prices for others. This year, turkey prices are down and that has helped drive the overall price down.

We will be paying more for some of the items this year. Dinner rolls, fresh cranberries, whipping cream and stuffing will cost you more in 2024.

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What Is the Cost of the Turkey?

The turkey typically amounts to about 43% of the full tab. But we have seen a drop in turkey prices this year of about 6%. Another big change this year is the demand for turkeys has dropped. Not as many families will be serving turkey this year.

Courtesy of Farm Bureau

Turkey Dinner Is Cheaper in the South

The Farm Bureau survey shows the cheapest place to buy the groceries for your Thanksgiving meal is in the south. We will be paying just under $57 dollars to feed a family of 10. It's most expensive in the west where folks are paying $67.81. Prices in the northeast are at $57.36 and $58.90 in the Midwest.