AFBF Says Our 4th of July Cookout Will Be Cheaper in 2025

The American Farm Bureau Federation has just released its highly anticipated annual report on the cost of an average Fourth of July cookout. It’s the Met Gala of barbecue budgeting. Everyone's looking, watching, and following trends. And guess what? The grand total is actually down a bit from last year!

By how much, you ask? A whopping 30 cents. As my Grandmother, Virginia would say... don’t spend it all in one place. And don't take any wooden nickels.

This year, the “average” backyard cookout for ten people will set you back $70.92. It's a minor drop from the 2024 price tag ($71.22 if you don't want to math). That breaks down to about $7.09 per person, which is roughly the cost of a single sad airport sandwich, or a keyboard for kids. Or whatever.  I'm not here to tell you how to spend your money. I'll tell ya how much it costs, though.

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Of course, this all hinges on you serving up a very specific menu. If you're just throwing burgers and hot dogs on the grill, you're golden — you might even come in under budget. But if you’ve got your heart set on ribeyes, lobster tails, or anything that requires a white tablecloth, a sommelier or your pinky to be extended, be prepared to blow past that average like a bottle rocket in a wind tunnel.

Now, the Farm Bureau says inflation is still doing its annoying thing, keeping prices "stubbornly high.” Which is a polite way of saying, “Don’t get too excited about that 30 cents. It doesn’t even buy you a ketchup packet these days.”

Their cost estimate is based on a menu of 12 iconic cookout items, the MVPs of Independence Day dining, which can include:

• Ground beef (aka the burger , the star of the show)
• Chicken (you know, you've "got a rub for that")
• Pork chops (for the fancy uncles)
• Buns (because meat needs it...unless you're keto?)
• Cheese (obligatory, unless you hate happiness)
• Potato salad (the great picnic gamble: will it be amazing or will someone add raisins?)
• Potato chips (mandatory crunch factor)
• Cookies (the easy party contribution)
• Ice cream (that someone always gets out of the freezer just a schosh bit too early)
• And of course, lemonade

So this year, as you gather with friends, wave sparklers around like toddlers with lightsabers, and wonder whether fireworks are legal in your state (they're not, but do wonder about it anyway), rest easy knowing your classic cookout won’t break the bank— just maybe a lawn chair or two.

Happy Fourth, Sedalia. Grill responsibly.

Barbecuingly yours,
Behka