Fourth of July cookout costs hit record high as inflation rises 4%

June 30, 2026:

Fourth of July cookout costs hit record high as inflation rises 4%

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Americans preparing to hold a Fourth of July barbecue this weekend will face higher costs for their burgers and hot dogs amid stubborn inflation, a new report finds.

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s Summer Cookout Cost Survey finds that in 2026, a classic Fourth of July cookout for 10 people will cost $73.82, or about $7.38 per person. That amounts to an increase of $2.90, or 4% compared with a year ago.

The basket of goods used to measure the cost year to year includes cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, potato chips, pork and beans, fresh strawberries, ingredients for homemade potato salad and fresh-squeezed lemonade, as well as chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.

“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 group wrote.

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Blue Marsh Lake During Fourth of July Saturday

The cost of a Fourth of July barbecue rose to the highest level since the American Farm Bureau Federation began tracking. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

“The cost of the cookout basket rose about 4%, while overall inflation in the United States increased 4.2% over the 12 months ending in May,” the Farm Bureau said. “That means families are seeing higher prices at the grocery store, but this year’s cookout cost is generally moving in line with the broader economy.”

The report noted that the cost of the basket is little changed from a year ago when deflating the value using the consumer price index (CPI) inflation metric, with the cost of this year’s basket at $22.03 in 1982–84 dollars, slightly lower than the $22.06 observation using last year’s data.

That means that “while families are paying more dollars at checkout, the purchasing-power cost of the basket is nearly flat from last year,” the Farm Bureau added.

Among the food items in the basket, the report noted that several of the main proteins cost more, as the two pounds of ground beef are up 5.5% to $14.06, which is the highest beef price recorded in the survey’s history. Drought has caused the size of the national cattle herd to trend to a 70-year low, while ranchers also face higher operating costs.

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The rise in beef prices has contributed to the rise in the cost of the Fourth of July cookout. (iStock)

Chicken breasts are also 3.5% more expensive than last year, with two pounds now costing $8.06. Pork chop costs also rose 4.7% to $14.79 for three pounds, though they remain below the 2024 price despite this year’s rise.

Strawberries had some of the largest price increases in the basket of goods, with two pints costing $5.27, an increase of 12.4% from last year. The Farm Bureau attributed part of that to a damaging frost in Florida that impacted young plants this spring, as well as higher costs of labor, fuel, refrigeration and transportation.

Lemonade costs have risen 3.9% in the last year to $4.54 for 2.5 quarts, mainly due to the rise in the price of lemons, given sugar prices holding steady.

The largest increase of any item in the basket was pork and beans, which rose 13.8% to $3.06 for 32 ounces. The Farm Bureau noted higher aluminum costs contributed to the rise.

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Ice cream costs have risen over 5% from a year ago. (Getty Images )

Desserts were also more expensive than a year ago. The price of a pack of chocolate chip cookies rose 6.3% to $4.25, while a half-gallon of ice cream rose 5.3% to $5.99 from a year ago.

Two items tracked by the Farm Bureau declined in price, with potato salad dropping 17.8% from a year ago to $2.91 amid the decline in egg prices with the recovery of egg-laying flocks from an avian flu outbreak.

Potato prices have also contributed to a decline in both the cost of potato salad and bags of potato chips, which are down 0.8% from a year ago to $4.76 apiece.

The Farm Bureau’s analysis also noted that the cookout cost varies by region, with Americans in the West facing the highest cost at an even $80 this year, a figure which is $6 above the national average.

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The other three regions in the analysis were below the national average of $73.82, with the Northeast the cheapest at $71.35, followed by the Midwest at $71.45 and the South at $72.08.

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