Cities With The Most, Least Costly Dinner Prices

[ad_1] by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors November 24, 2025

However the precise price of vacation groceries is determined by just a few elements, together with how many individuals you’re anticipating and what they wish to eat and drink.

Grocery retailer costs have been on the rise lately, and lots of People really feel the monetary pinch on Thanksgiving — a vacation the place meals is the star of the present. In 2024, Thanksgiving hosts reportedly deliberate to spend 19% greater than they did the earlier yr, averaging $431 on meals, drinks, and decorations.

However the precise price of vacation groceries is determined by just a few elements, together with how many individuals you’re anticipating and what they wish to eat and drink. One other essential element to contemplate is the place you reside — that’s why Hers regarded on the 25 greatest American cities to seek out which of them had the most affordable purchasing checklist for Thanksgiving.

Researchers analyzed on-line costs from three totally different grocery chains in every metropolis for the next substances generally used on Thanksgiving Day:

Turkey Gravy Candy potatoes Inexperienced beans Cranberry sauce Dinner rolls Pumpkin pie

From there, they averaged the prices to seek out essentially the most reasonably priced cities for Thanksgiving dinner.

Key Findings Most reasonably priced total: Southern and southwestern cities, like Phoenix, Arizona; Fort Price, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Costliest total: Coastal cities, notably Seattle, Boston, and Los Angeles.

Entire turkey costs fluctuate dramatically by area: For instance, a fowl prices $1.20 per pound in Phoenix, however $2.82 in Los Angeles.

<img decoding="async" src="https://images.stacker.com/w/1280/images/stories/2025/11/20/hers-thanksgiving-dinner-1.jpg" alt="An infographic listing the top cities with the most affordable Thanksgiving dinners: 1. Phoenix, Arizona 2. Fort Worth, Texas 3. Charlotte, North Carolina 4. Indianapolis, Indiana 5. Dallas, Texas 6. Houston, Texas 7. Columbus, Ohio 8. Las Vegas, Nevada 9. Washington, D.C. 10. Detroit, Michigan."/> Hers 25 Cities Ranked by Thanksgiving Dinner Grocery Costs, Least to Most Costly

Phoenix, Arizona Fort Price, Texas Charlotte, North Carolina Indianapolis, Indiana Dallas, Texas Houston, Texas Columbus, Ohio Las Vegas, Nevada Washington, D.C. Detroit, Michigan Austin, Texas San Diego, California New York Metropolis, New York Oklahoma Metropolis, Oklahoma Jacksonville, Florida Nashville, Tennessee Denver, Colorado San Francisco, California San Antonio, Texas Chicago, Illinois El Paso, Texas San Jose, California Los Angeles, California Boston, Massachusetts Seattle, Washington

Thanksgiving Dinner Affordability By Metropolis: Developments and Insights Right here’s how every metropolis compares, in response to particular ingredient classes.

The place Is Turkey the Least Costly? Least Costly Cities for Turkey Costs

Phoenix: $1.20 per pound Fort Price: $1.53 per pound Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Washington, D.C. (tied): $1.58 per pound

Most Costly Cities for Turkey Costs

Los Angeles: $2.82 per pound San Jose and Seattle: $2.74 per pound Chicago: $2.68 per pound

The place Is Gravy the Least Costly? Least Costly Cities for Gravy Costs

Phoenix: $0.85 per ounce Dallas: $1.17 per ounce Houston: $1.23 per ounce

Most Costly Cities for Gravy Costs

Boston: $2.66 per ounce Seattle: $2.31 per ounce El Paso: $1.90 per ounce

The place Are Candy Potatoes the Least Costly? Least Costly Cities for Candy Potato Costs

Dallas and Fort Price (tied): $1.11 per pound New York Metropolis: $1.63 per pound Charlotte, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, and Washington, D.C. (tied): $1.67 per pound

Most Costly Cities for Candy Potato Costs

Seattle: $2.42 per pound Boston: $1.91 per pound Denver: $1.81 per pound

The place Are Inexperienced Beans the Least Costly? Least Costly Cities for Inexperienced Bean Costs

Dallas: $0.117 per ounce Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Phoenix (tied): $0.123 per ounce Austin and San Antonio (tied): $0.127 per ounce

Most Costly Cities for Inexperienced Bean Costs

San Jose: $0.25 per ounce Seattle: $0.20 per ounce Detroit: $0.17 per ounce

The place Is Cranberry Sauce the Least Costly? Least Costly Cities for Cranberry Sauce Costs

San Francisco: $0.143 per ounce Columbus, Detroit, and Indianapolis (tied): $0.147 per ounce San Diego: $0.15 per ounce

Most Costly Cities for Cranberry Sauce Costs

Seattle: $0.22 per ounce Oklahoma Metropolis: $0.187 per ounce Austin, Jacksonville, and San Antonio (tied): $0.183 per ounce

The place Are Dinner Rolls the Least Costly? Least Costly Cities for Dinner Roll Costs

New York Metropolis: $0.29 per roll Phoenix: $0.30 per roll Columbus: $0.31 per roll

Most Costly Cities for Dinner Roll Costs

Boston: $0.59 per roll Jacksonville and Nashville (tied): $0.56 per roll Seattle: $0.54 per roll

The place Is Pumpkin Pie the Least Costly? Least Costly Cities for Pumpkin Pie Costs

Jacksonville, Las Vegas, and Oklahoma Metropolis (tied): $0.21 per ounce Charlotte: $0.235 per ounce Phoenix: $0.24 per ounce

Most Costly Cities for Pumpkin Pie Costs

El Paso and Nashville: $0.42 per ounce Boston: $0.415 per ounce Houston: $0.415 per ounce

3 Suggestions for a Price range-Pleasant Thanksgiving Dinner Hold your Thanksgiving funds on monitor, irrespective of the place you reside, with the assistance of those three ideas.

Host a potluck celebration: Ask friends to deliver a Thanksgiving facet dish to unfold out the fee (and the trouble) of meal-prepping. Ship out a sign-up sheet prematurely to keep away from duplicates, then depart your self to deal with the turkey and any lacking staples that friends didn’t declare. Store a number of grocery shops: Comparability purchasing successfully lowers your grocery spending earlier than Turkey Day. When you finalize your purchasing checklist, evaluate gross sales costs at close by grocery shops that will help you discover the very best value for every ingredient. Make a plan for leftovers: Make sure to embody leftovers in your Thanksgiving weekend plans. By consuming every part in your fridge, you’ll keep away from meals waste and cut back your total grocery spending.

Methodology: How Scores Had been Calculated The researchers analyzed 25 of the biggest U.S. cities primarily based on on-line grocery costs at three chains in every space. They checked out seven in style Thanksgiving meals classes: turkey, gravy packets, candy potatoes, frozen inexperienced beans, canned cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and contemporary pumpkin pie.

For consistency, every grocery merchandise was in contrast by unit value: per pound, ounce, or depend (for dinner rolls). These unit costs had been then averaged throughout the three grocery shops in every metropolis, and all of the classes had been mixed to calculate total affordability for Thanksgiving dinner throughout the 25 cities.