Inflation: How much will your Thanksgiving meal in the Bay Area cost?

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) — It’s no surprise to any of us that this year your Thanksgiving meal will cost more.

According to the American Farm Bureau, the cost of holiday meals has been rising for years. But with inflation, this year it has increased even more – 20% more than in 2021.

The bureau says the national average cost of a Thanksgiving meal for 10 people this year is $64.05, up from $53.31 last year.

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This year’s average for those living on the West Coast is $71.37.

But does this reflect the reality in the Bay Area? We went to a grocery store to find out.

Location: Safeway in San Rafael, California.

Grocery list : From the American Farm Bureau. Includes 11 standard Thanksgiving items.

Our first stop was for a turkey. The farm office says the average cost for a 16-pound bird is $29.96. At Safeway it was much higher – the price was $47.84.

Even with a gallon of milk. They say the average is $3.84. Here it was $5.99.

But not everything was more expensive.

The agricultural office says 12 buns cost an average of $3.73. We found Hawaiian rolls for $3.50.

The other things that were cheaper than average were the sweet potatoes and a box of stuffing.

The things that cost more were fresh celery and carrots, frozen green peas, cranberries, heavy whipping cream, pie crusts, and pumpkin pie mix.

By then, we had checked everything off the list. But remember, it didn’t include things like butter and other dinner essentials (what’s Thanksgiving dinner without some wine?)

Vino aside, we added up our costs.

Our total: $88.55.

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That’s about $25 more than the national average for a Thanksgiving meal and about $17 more than the West Coast average.

But for most of us, that won’t come as a surprise. This is the reality of life in the Bay Area.

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