Thanksgiving Dinner Cost: Survey Shows Price For WA Families

WASHINGTON — Thanksgiving dinner costs in America are up 20 percent this year, according to the Farm Bureau’s 37th annual survey that showed a dinner for 10 will cost Washingtonians more than $70.

Nationally, the dinner will cost $64.05, a $10.74 increase over last year’s average cost of $53.31.

The estimated cost is still a pretty good bargain, costing about $6.50 a person nationally. The cost increases are driven in large part by the price of Thanksgiving turkeys, about $1.81 a pound, up 21 percent from last year. At that price, a 16-pound bird will cost about $28.96.

In Washington, you may be able to avoid the big price increases by shopping at stores like Walmart, which is among a handful of retailers rolling back Thanksgiving prices and offering other special deals.

There’s a catch to the high turkey prices — a good one that could mean you’ll spend less than estimated in the Farm Bureau survey. It’s based on the findings of “volunteer shoppers” who checked prices from Oct.18-31, before grocer chains started discounting turkey prices.

According to the most recent USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data, the average per-pound feature price for whole frozen turkeys was $1.11 the week of Nov. 3-9 and 95 cents the week of Nov. 10-16, a decline of 14 percent in just one week; and the share of stores offering feature prices rose from 29 percent to 60 percent.

The higher turkey prices are also a result of an avian flu outbreak that decimated U.S. turkey farms. Continuing supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine are also contributing to the higher Thanksgiving dinner costs, according to the Farm Bureau.

Even if Washington shoppers can find a cheaper bird, they’re likely to pay higher prices for the rest of the meal. Overall inflation cooled to 7.7 percent in October, but food prices still remain about 12 percent higher than they were this time last year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report. That number is even higher for the Seattle metro, where shoppers in October were still paying 8.9 percent more than a year ago.

Related: Puget Sound Thanksgiving Meals Among Nation's Most Expensive

Besides turkey, the Farm Bureau looked at the cost of stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a vegetable tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers.

According to the Farm Bureau’s year-over-year Thanksgiving dinner comparison. YOUR STATE residents can expect to pay about $1.59 more for cubed stuffing, but 41 cents less for fresh cranberries.

Other than the cranberries, every other grocery item on the Farm Bureau list increased by a few cents to nearly a dollar. Here’s the breakdown on prices nationwide:

• 16-pound turkey: $28.96 or $1.81 per pound (up 21 percent)
• 14-ounce bag of cubed stuffing mix: $3.88 (up 69 percent)
• 2 frozen pie crusts: $3.68 (up 26 percent)
• Half pint of whipping cream: $2.24 (up 26 percent)
• 1 pound of frozen peas: $1.90 (up 23 percent)
• 1 dozen dinner rolls: $3.73 (up 22 percent)
• Misc. ingredients to prepare the meal: $4.13 (up 20 percent)
• 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix: $4.28 (up 18 percent)
• 1 gallon of whole milk: $3.84 (up 16 percent)
• 3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $3.96 (up 11 percent)
• 1-pound veggie tray (carrots & celery): 88 cents (up 8 percent)
• 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.57 (down 14 percent)

More Ways To Save Money

There are some ways to save money on Thanksgiving dinner.

Check your pantry before you go to the grocery store. Do you already have on hand the broth, soups, canned green beans and other items you’ll need? If you use what you have on hand, you may find some room in your budget to allow some of the items that increased sharply over the past year.

Think “shrinkflation,” a tool food manufacturers use to raise prices on the sly without actually saying so. Buy a smaller turkey, limit other portion sizes, or consider the potluck approach and ask guests to bring side dishes, wine or dessert.

Also, if people aren’t eating side dishes, don’t prepare them just because it’s “tradition.” Americans throw away $240 billion worth of food every year — 39.1 percent of what they bring home from the grocery store, according to a study published two years ago in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. The most wasteful behaviors were found among people with healthier diets and higher incomes.

The Farm Bureau's national average cost was calculated using 224 surveys completed with pricing data from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The volunteer shoppers checked prices in person and online using grocery store apps and websites, searching for the best possible prices without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals.

The American Farm Bureau’s Thanksgiving dinner survey was first conducted in 1986. The menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.