The cost of firing up the grill this Fourth of July hit an all-time high. Yet the pain at the checkout counter felt about the same as the broader economy's price hikes. That's small comfort when a single cookout now costs more than a full tank of gas in many places.
The American Farm Bureau Federation's Summer Cookout Cost Survey puts the price of a classic meal for 10 at $73.82. That works out to $7.38 per person, up $2.90 from a year ago. The 4% increase from a year ago roughly matched the 4.2% overall U.S. inflation rate over the 12 months ending in May 2026.
"While this year's total is the highest since Farm Bureau began conducting the summer cookout survey in 2016, the increase closely reflects broader inflation," the organization said. In other words, your grocery bill is rising at the same pace as everything else - but that doesn't make the dollar amount easier to swallow.
To put the record in perspective, the same basket of foods cost $22.03 when adjusted for 1982-84 dollars. That's nearly identical to the $22.06 inflation-adjusted cost last year. So the real burden hasn't changed much, even though the sticker price has never been higher.
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Most of the cookout staples cost more this year. Beef led the way: two pounds of ground beef hit $14.06, up 5.5% from a year ago and the highest price in the survey's history. A drought has shrunk the national cattle herd to a 70-year low, and ranchers face higher costs for feed, fuel, and labor.
Chicken breasts climbed 3.5% to $8.06 for two pounds. Pork chops rose 4.7% to $14.79 for three pounds. The biggest jumps came from sides: two pints of strawberries surged 12.4% to $5.27 after a damaging frost in Florida hurt young plants.
A 32-ounce can of pork and beans jumped 13.8% to $3.06, partly because aluminum cans cost more. A half-gallon of ice cream rose 5.3% to $5.99, and a pack of chocolate chip cookies went up 6.3% to $4.25.
Two items bucked the trend. Potato salad dropped 17.8% from a year ago to $2.91. A bag of potato chips fell 0.8% from a year ago to $4.76. The reason: egg prices tumbled as egg-laying flocks recovered from avian flu, and potato prices also declined.
The national average hides big gaps across the country. Cookout costs ranged from $71.35 in the Northeast to $80 in the West. The Midwest came in at $71.45, and the South at $72.08. That spread means a family in the West could spend $6 above the national average for the same meal.
The record $73.82 cookout is a vivid snapshot of how persistent inflation still squeezes household budgets, even when the percentage increase looks modest.
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