Fourth of July cookout cost remains near record high

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) released findings from its annual marketbasket survey, which indicated a Fourth of July cookout in 2025 will cost $70.92 for 10 guests.

Those celebrating Independence Day will face higher prices at the grocery store, with this year’s total cookout cost down by only 30¢ from last year’s record-high cost.

At $7.09 per person, 2025 will be the second-highest cost since AFBF began the survey in 2013.

“Inflation and lower availability of some food items continue to keep prices stubbornly high for America’s families,” said Samantha Ayoub, AFBF associate economist. “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.”

The AFBF survey showed cookout favorites include traditional items like cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream, among other products.

Not all these crowd favorites will see an uptick in prices. AFBF reported drops in the cost of pork chops, chips and hamburger buns. However, expect to see an increase in the cost of beef, potato salad and canned pork and beans.

The retail price for 2 lbs of ground beef increased 4.4% to $13.33. Pork and beans will cost $2.69, up 20¢ from last year. Potato salad is up 6.6% to $3.54.

Several factors have influenced these price increases, including herd contraction affecting the beef supply and tariffs on steel and aluminum leading to increased prices for canned goods. Additionally, the cost of eggs is still elevated despite the US Department of Agriculture’s efforts to bring them back down, which is affecting items like potato salad that often rely on eggs as an important ingredient. However, egg prices are notably lower than record highs earlier this year.