Thanksgiving In Idaho Is A Startling 14% More Than The U.S.

I don't know about you, but Thanksgiving feels so much later this year, and well, that's because it is. With Thanksgiving around the corner, families in Idaho will be pleased to see some relief at the checkout counter this year. The American Farm Bureau Federation has released its annual Thanksgiving dinner cost survey.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Let's go with the bad news first: the overall cost remains 19% higher than just five years ago when it comes to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for ten people. More bad news: Thanksgiving meals in the Western U.S. can cost approximately $67.05, 14% higher than the rest of the nation.

The good news.

The good news is that the price of a classic Thanksgiving meal has dropped 5%. The turkey accounts for nearly half of the total meal cost. This year, turkey prices show a 6% decrease from last year. It had the lowest production level since 1985 due to challenges such as highly pathogenic avian influenza.

It's not just the turkey.

The price of sweet potatoes, whole milk, and eggs has seen a significant cut this year, along with frozen peas and pumpkin pie mix. A 14% decrease in milk cost has been due to favorable dairy farming conditions. Unfortunately, those cranberries though are going to cost 12% more. Even with an overall 5% decrease, we still pay about 20% more for our Thanksgiving meals than in 2019, with food prices increasing 1.1% from 2023 to 2024.

I hope you and your family can have a great Thanksgiving!