If burgers on the grill and potato salad are on your July Fourth holiday cookout menu, expect those items to cost more this year and others about the same as last year, when prices hit record highs.
An annual survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation found that a typical market basket of items for a July Fourth cookout cost $70.92 for 10 people, or $7.09 per person. That amount is down only 30 cents from last year’s record high of $71.22. Each year, volunteers survey a dozen items, including ground beef, hamburger buns, bags of chips and vanilla ice cream.
Based on its survey, the group said in a news release that consumers “continue to find high prices at the grocery stores.”
This year’s cost marks the second-highest since 2013, when the federation began its annual July Fourth survey.
The survey is a snapshot of the cost of cookout favorites, including cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries, ice cream and other items.
“Inflation and lower availability of some food items continue to keep prices stubbornly high for America’s families,” said federation associate economist Samantha Ayoub in a news release.
“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.
”While some prices are stabilizing, prices, particularly for proteins, the federation says, remain volatile because of labor costs.
What will cost more? Ground beef
Among the July Fourth foods that increased are meat prices, with the retail cost of 2 pounds of ground beef at $13.33, up 50 cents from last year.
The federation says that the cost of ground beef is the highest price ever recorded for its survey. Potato salad was up nearly 7% and canned pork and beans increased 20 cents from 2024 prices.
Fueling the increase, the federation said, are fewer cattle available for processing, steel and aluminum tariffs increasing prices on canned goods, and the cost of eggs used in potato salad, although egg prices are lower than earlier this year.
What will cost less? Pork chops, buns
The survey found six of its staples decreased in price. A 3-pound package of pork chops is down nearly 9%, a bag of chips is 10 cents less than in 2024, and hamburger buns are less expensive this year.The group attributes these decreases to more pork available to stores, less demand for potatoes, and lower wheat prices, decreasing the cost of hamburger buns.
Who will have the most expensive cookouts?
In certain areas of the U.S., the average costs of feeding 10 people vary.
In Michigan, and other states in the Midwest, the cost is about $7 per person.
Here are the breakdowns:
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What’s in store for the holiday weekend? Here’s what 4th of July food will cost in 2025
Reporting by Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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