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$983.3 million to be spent on turkeys for Thanksgiving 2024

Research shows 293.5 million Americans will eat turkey this year.

Richard Laycock's headshot

By

Richard Laycock

Edited by

Holly Jennings

Updated

Fact checked

Americans aren’t the only ones riding the train to Gravy Town and getting stuffed this Thanksgiving. 87% of Americans hosting Thanksgiving plan to serve turkey, according to the 2024 Butterball Togetherness Report(1).

This means roughly 293.5 million people will eat turkey on Thanksgiving in 2024.

Finder crunched the numbers to find out how much Americans are expected to spend on turkey this coming Thanksgiving compared to last year.

In 2024, Americans will spend an estimated $983.3 million on festive fowls, a decrease of roughly $185.9 million from the $1.2 billion paid for Thanksgiving turkeys in 2023.

While the projected price per pound for a bird is up year-on-year, from $27.90 in 2023 to $30.15 in 2024, the number of people being hosted for Thanksgiving also rose from 7 to 9, bringing down the number of Americans who will actually be buying a Turkey in 2024.

The cost of turkeys this Thanksgiving

  • 33 million: Number of turkeys expected to be consumed on Thanksgiving Day
  • 293.5 million: Number of Americans likely to be eating a turkey dinner
  • 87%: Proportion of Americans to be feasting on Thanksgiving turkey
  • $983.3 million: Spend on turkeys this Thanksgiving

Comparing the cost of a turkey over time

Let’s take a closer look

The average price of a turkey is expected to increase by just 8% in 2024, jumping from $27.9 in 2023 to $30.15 in 2024 for a bird. This 8% increase is well below the current inflation rate, which sits at 2.99%.

Quick tips from Finder’s personal finance expert, Laura Adams, MBA, on how to save money on your Thanksgiving meal:

Many ways to save money begin by having a plan, and Thanksgiving dinner is no different. Create your menu as soon as possible so you can shop early and take advantage of grocery discounts. Also, frozen turkeys are usually less expensive than fresh ones, but they take days to thaw. So, don’t make the mistake of waiting to shop for your holiday meal. Otherwise, you’ll pay the most for it.

Other ways to save include purchasing your dinner with a rewards credit card that pays cashback at grocery stores. You might also share the cost of your Thanksgiving meal with family or friends. If everyone chips in and brings a delicious dish, it can make the holiday more affordable for everyone you celebrate with this year.

Fun Thanksgiving turkey facts

  • In 2021, the average American ate 15.3 pounds of turkey.
  • Turkey hens (female) are usually sold as whole birds. Toms (male) are processed into turkey sausage, turkey franks, tenderloins, cutlets and deli meats.
  • The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.
  • Male turkeys gobble; hens do not. Female turkeys make a clicking noise.
  • In 2021, 5.1 billion pounds of turkey were consumed in the United States.

Methodology

To estimate this cost we used weekly retail price data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agricultural Marketing Service to project the weekly price of a whole frozen turkey during Thanksgiving, gathering data back to 2010. In conjunction with this, we looked at the percentage of people that will be serving turkey in 2024 and how many guests they’ll be hosting.

The number of turkeys eaten each Thanksgiving was sourced from the University of Illinois Extension. The percentage of Americans who eat turkey each Thanksgiving was sourced from the State of Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets.

To calculate the total spend on turkeys this Thanksgiving, finder.com projected the average cost of a turkey this November based on the weekly price of frozen, whole turkeys from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. We forecast the price per pound of turkey based on weekly turkey prices since January 2011 using the ratio-to-moving average method to account for the seasonality in turkey prices.

We multiplied the projected cost of a turkey by the estimated number of turkeys eaten each Thanksgiving to find the total expected to be spent on Thanksgiving turkeys this year.

Holly Jennings's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.
Richard Laycock's headshot
Editorial & PR Lead

Richard Laycock is Finder’s NYC-based lead editor & insights editor, spending the last decade data diving, writing and editing articles about all things personal finance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University, including a semester abroad at The Missouri School of Journalism (MIZZOU). See full bio

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