While cost of Thanksgiving dinner down slightly, it is still higher than pre-pandemic

In a continuing trend, Washingtonians will pay a little less for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner than they did last year, although the price tag for the traditional holiday meal is still higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to the American Farm Bureau’s 39th annual cost survey.

The Farm Bureau’s survey found that by region the West would pay the highest amount for Thanksgiving dinner, $67.05. The Midwest was the second most expensive at $58.90, followed by the Northeast at $57.36 and the South at $56.81.

This year, the Farm Bureau found that serving a turkey-centric feast for 10 people will cost about $58.08, a 5% decrease from last year's $61.17

“Despite the encouraging momentum, a Thanksgiving meal is still 19% higher than it was in 2019, which highlights the impact inflation has had on food prices – and farmers’ costs – since the pandemic,” a Farm Bureau news release said.

The Farm Bureau found the average price of a 16-pound turkey, the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner, was about $25.67, or $1.60 per pound, down 6% from last year’s $1.71 per pound.

Most of the food categories the Farm Bureau examined dropped in price from the previous year, including frozen peas, miscellaneous ingredients, pumpkin pie mix, whole milk, sweet potatoes, and vegetable trays.

Some items, however, cost more this year, including 14 ounces of cubed stuffing, which is $4.08, an increase of 8.2% over last year. Shoppers will have to fork over $1.81 for a half pint of whipping cream, up 4.7% from last year. A dozen dinner rolls cost $4.16, an increase of 8.4% over 2023.

A 12-ounce bag of cranberries topped the list in terms of a year-over-year price increase percentage – 11.8% – a dramatic change from last year.

“In 2023, cranberries had the second largest decrease in price of any products in our basket at 18%,” the Farm Bureau noted. “The increase this year puts cranberry prices closer to historic norms and, excluding last year, is the least expensive year since 2015."

Two surveys looking at holiday meal prices in Washington state produced mixed results.

Informational website FinanceBuzz examined turkey prices from grocery stores across the country to determine the average cost of a bird in each state. The average price of a 15-pound gobbler in America this year is $31.16, the company found. That’s an average of $2.09 per pound.

Washingtonians, however, can expect to pay a little bit less than that – $30.85 – for a bird, according to FinanceBuzz.

Personal finance website MoneyGeek focused on metro areas in its holiday food inflation analysis. Using data from the Council for Community and Economic Research and Instacart, MoneyGeek analyzed average retail prices of various grocery store items across 106 metro areas with a population of 250,000 or more.

MoneyGeek found that Yakima, Wash., is the second most expensive metro area in the country for a Thanksgiving meal. It estimated that shoppers in the Yakima metro area would have to spend $156.53 on a 10-pound turkey, side dishes, and drinks like beer and wine.

Only Honolulu, Hawaii, was more expensive, at $160.73.

Two other metro areas in Washington made Money Geek’s top five most expensive list: Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ranked No. 3 at $156.29 and Kennewick-Richland ranked No. 4 at $153.48.