(NEXSTAR) — Thanksgiving is fast approaching and so too are Thanksgiving dinner meal preparations. But did you know, on average, Americans will spend about $31.16 for a 15-pound turkey in 2024 — about 12% less than last year.
Recently, personal finance outlet FinanceBuzz combed through prices for multiple grocery stores across the U.S. to determine how much residents can expect to pay for a bird this year. But prices vary by state.
The state with the least expensive Thanksgiving turkeys is Oklahoma, which costs $19.75 for a 15-pound turkey, on average, according to FinanceBuzz. And while turkeys in both Hawaii and Alaska are the most expensive, on average, that’s to be expected for the U.S.’ non-contiguous states. The next-most-expensive turkeys can be found in California, where a 15-pound bird costs $39.85 on average.
So where does that leave Texas?
Turns out, the Lone Star State is one of the states where turkeys are least expensive to buy this year. Texas ranked fourth-lowest (a good thing, in this case) on FinanceBuzz’s list, with 15-pound turkeys costing $22.60 on average.
The other states making up the “bottom” of the list, with the cheapest turkeys in 2024 are Mississippi, at $22.30 per-15-pound turkey, and Louisiana, at $19.90 per-15-pound turkey.
All-in-all, the average prices for turkeys were down in 2024 over both 2022 and 2023, according to FinanceBuzz’s analysis.
The average nationwide price for a 15-pound turkey in 2022 was $35.15 ($2.28/lb) and $35.40 ($2.36/lb) in 2023. FinanceBuzz says this reflects a 12% reduction year-over-year.
Each year, American Farm Bureau Federation releases its Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner report — and while 2024’s hasn’t been released yet as of publication time, its 2022-2023 data reflect similar figures to FinanceBuzz’s. Per AFBF, an average Thanksgiving dinner decreased in price from 2022 ($64.05) to 2023 ($61.17).
Whatever you spend on Thanksgiving dinner this year, we hope the memories are priceless.