Americans should expect to spend about the same amount of money on this year's Fourth of July cookout as they did in 2024, according to a new report from the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The AFBF estimates that a cookout with standard fare for 10 people should cost about $70.92, which is down slightly from $71.22 a year ago. In 2023, a standard Fourth of July cookout for 10 cost $67.73.
Most cookout staples are around the same price as last year, despite overall food costs being up about 2.2% compared to a year ago, according to the latest consumer price index released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Items such as pork and beans, ground beef, potato salad, and lemonade are a little more expensive this year. Potato chips, pork chops, and hamburger buns are somewhat cheaper.
Despite prices largely being the same as a year ago, the AFBF says high food costs remain a top concern for American consumers.
“Inflation and lower availability of some food items continue to keep prices stubbornly high for America’s families,” said AFBF associate economist Samantha Ayoub. “High prices don’t mean more money for farmers, however. Farmers are price takers, not price makers. Their share of the food retail dollar is just 15%. The cost of running their farm is up, from labor and transportation, to taxes.”
Those in the western U.S. will pay the most on average for July Fourth staples, with a cookout for 10 costing about $73.50. Americans in the Northeast have the lowest cost for a cookout, with a meal for 10 averaging $63.79.
Those in the Midwest and South will pay $69.87 and $68.93, respectively.
The AFBF uses volunteer shoppers across the country to audit grocery stores in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Here is what they found:
Individual Prices, AFBF 2025 Summer Cookout:
- 2 pounds ground beef: $13.33 (+4.4%)
- 2 pounds chicken breasts: $7.79 (-0.5%)
- 3 pounds pork chops: $14.13 (-8.8%)
- 1 pound cheese: $3.54 (-0.9%)
- 1 package hamburger buns: $2.35 (-2.6%)
- 2½ pounds homemade potato salad: $3.54 (+6.6%)
- 32 ounces pork and beans: $2.69 (+8.2%)
- 16-ounce bag potato chips: $4.80 (-2.1%)
- 13-ounce package chocolate chip cookies: $4.00 (+0.3%)
- ½ gallon ice cream: $5.69 (+0.7%)
- 2 pints strawberries: $4.69 (+1.7%)
- 2½ quarts lemonade: $4.37 (+4.2%)
