Cost Of Thanksgiving Day Dinner Up $9 Since 2019

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 39th annual survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $58.08 or about $5.80 per person.

Cooking a Thanksgiving feast for your friends and family will cost less than last year but will still be more expensive than before the pandemic when it was $48.91 in 2019.

This is a 5% decrease from 2023, which was 4.5% lower than 2022. Two years of declines don’t erase dramatic increases that led to a record high cost of $64.06 in 2022. 

Despite the encouraging momentum, a Thanksgiving meal is still 19% higher than it was in 2019, which reflects the impact inflation has had on food prices – and farmers’ costs – since the pandemic.

The centerpiece on most Thanksgiving tables – the turkey – helped bring down the overall cost of dinner. The average price for a 16-pound turkey is $25.67. That is $1.60 per pound, down 6% from last year.