Thanksgiving dinner is going to gobble up more of New Yorkers’ money this year as the cost of a holiday feast has surged 15% to $184.43 from last year, according to The Post’s survey of holiday staples at grocery chains across the five boroughs.
A year-over-year price comparison of 18 items at six popular supermarkets found a cornucopia of sticker shock, including the star of the Thanksgiving table — turkey — which jumped 17% to $79.80 for a 20-pound Bell & Evans young bird at popular chain Morton Williams.
“The meat is outrageous,” said Carole Miller, 89, while shopping at Morton Williams on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. “There’s almost more pork than you can eat.”
Apple cider recorded the sharpest price increase among this year’s Thanksgiving staples, soaring 75% from $3.99 last year to $6.99.
The jump followed a spring freeze that devastated apple crops across upstate and western New York. According to the governor’s office, growers have suffered an estimated $30 million in losses so far in 2026.
“Milk, bread, fruit and meat have all gone up,” said Angelo Hernandez, 66, while shopping at Whole Foods in Union Square.
“It’s difficult, especially when you’re retired. If you’re working, you have an income every week. When you’re retired, it comes just once a month,” said Hernandez, a retired industrial mechanic. He added that he and his wife are depending on their son to provide the turkey.
“My son is getting the turkey — he works, so he buys it,” Hernandez said.
The average turkey price nationwide has climbed 30% to $1.76 per pound, nearly 88% higher than the 94-cent-per-pound average recorded in 2024, according to the Farm Bureau.
New York has the nation’s most expensive Thanksgiving dinner on a per-person basis, costing 20% more than the national average and 9% more than in neighboring Northeastern states, the Farm Bureau reported.
Several other staples also posted significant increases. Whole milk jumped 50%, with a half-gallon of Farmland rising from $5.99 to $8.99, while Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin climbed 43% to $4.29.
The price of a nine-inch pumpkin pie at Whole Foods locations across the city rose 19%, from as little as $11.75 last year to $13.99 this year.
At least eight products held steady compared with last year.
Idahoan boxed mashed potatoes were the only item to become cheaper, dropping by 50 cents, or 10%.
Even so, soaring grocery prices are not expected to keep New Yorkers from gathering around traditional Thanksgiving dishes.
“I’m going to buy it no matter what it costs,” Miller said with a laugh.