Jun 25, 2025
The national average cost of this year’s cookout for 10 is $70.92, down from 2024’s record high average of $71.22.
Families celebrating the 4th of July holiday will continue to find stubbornly high prices at the grocery store. An Independence Day cookout will cost, on average, $70.92 for 10 guests this year, based on the 2025 American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual marketbasket survey, which is roughly 30 cents less than 2024.
The national average cost of this year’s cookout for 10 is $70.92, down from 2024’s record high average of $71.22. At $7.09 per person, 2025 will be the second-highest cost since the American Farm Bureau Federation began the survey in 2013. In Colorado, the average cost for the meal will be $76.42, which breaks down to $7.64 per person. The cookout favorites include cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream, among other products.
The national average retail price for 2 pounds of ground beef increased 4.4% to $13.33. Pork and beans will cost $2.69, up 20 cents from 2024. Potato salad is up 6.6% to $3.54. Several factors influence these increases, reflecting the sort of challenges farmers regularly face. Fewer cattle are available for processing, which is affecting supplies; steel and aluminum tariffs mean increased prices on canned goods; and the cost of eggs - used in potato salad - is still elevated, although they are much lower than record highs earlier this year as egg-laying chicken populations are recovering from avian influenza.
“Inflation and lower availability of some food items continue to keep prices stubbornly high for America’s families,” said AFBF Associate Economist Samantha Ayoub. “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.”
In the Northeast, Midwest, and South, the average ranges from $63.79 to $69.87 for 10 guests, which has increased since 2024. In the West, the average is $80.88, which is $7.38 less than 2024.
The July 4th cookout survey is part of the Farm Bureau marketbasket series, which also includes the popular annual Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey of common food staples Americans use to prepare a holiday meal at home.
Volunteer shoppers across the country, including Farm Bureau members and others, collected data from stores in every state and Puerto Rico.
Individual Prices in Colorado, Compared to (National Averages), per AFBF 2025 Summer Cookout Survey:
2 pounds of ground beef, $14.41 ($13.33)
2 pounds of chicken breasts, $6.32 ($7.79)
3 pounds of pork chops, $18.33 ($14.13)
1 pound of cheese, $3.52 ($3.54)
1 package of hamburger buns, $1.87 ($2.35)
2 ½ pounds of homemade potato salad, $4.67 ($3.54)
32 ounces of pork and beans, $2.65 ($2.69)
16 ounces of potato chips, $5.66 ($4.80)
13-ounce package of chocolate chip cookies, $3.69 ($4.00)
½ gallon of ice cream, $7.00 ($5.69)
2 pints of strawberries, $4.36 ($4.69)
2 ½ quarts of lemonade, $3.94 ($4.37)
To read the national release from the American Farm Bureau Federation, click here.