US Average Chicken Price Adjusted for Inflation

This page shows historical chicken prices adjusted for inflation, offering a clearer view of how the real purchasing power needed to buy chicken has evolved over time.

The prices represent fresh, whole boiler/fryer chickens sold by the pound (453.6 grams) in urban areas across the United States. This includes both organic and non-organic options, as well as chickens with various marketing claims.

Adjusted prices are shown in "today’s dollars", meaning they are benchmarked to the purchasing power of June 2025 (our latest available CPI data baseline).

Key Takeaways
  • The latest average price for a pound of chicken was $2.086, in June 2025.
  • In January 1980, the nominal price was $0.699, which is equivalent to $2.898 in today's dollars.
  • Since January 1980, the inflation-adjusted price has fallen 28.02%, an average decline of -0.72% per year.
  • The peak inflation-adjusted price was $3.037, reached in September 1980.

Chicken is one of the most widely consumed proteins in the United States. Its price is tracked as part of the broader effort to monitor food costs and their economic impact.

This historical data reveals how chicken prices have fluctuated over time due to factors such as feed costs, production efficiencies, disease outbreaks and changing consumer preferences. Despite these fluctuations, the inflation-adjusted price declined significantly from the 1980s to the early 1990s, and has remained relatively stable since then.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

By examining the inflation-adjusted price over time, consumers and analysts can better understand the underlying purchasing power cost of chicken, separate from the general rise in the cost of living.

The following table provides a month-by-month breakdown.

Month Nominal Inflation-Adjusted
Jun 2025 2.086 2.086
May 2025 2.061 2.068
Apr 2025 2.059 2.07
Mar 2025 2.064 2.082
Feb 2025 2.051 2.073
Jan 2025 2.061 2.093
Dec 2024 2.061 2.106
Nov 2024 2.076 2.123
Oct 2024 1.987 2.03
Sep 2024 1.979 2.025
Aug 2024 1.988 2.037
Jul 2024 1.988 2.039
Jun 2024 2.007 2.061
May 2024 2.013 2.067
Apr 2024 1.953 2.009
Mar 2024 1.991 2.056
Feb 2024 1.951 2.028
Jan 2024 1.987 2.078
Dec 2023 1.955 2.056
Nov 2023 1.976 2.076
Oct 2023 1.926 2.019
Sep 2023 1.901 1.992
Aug 2023 1.958 2.057
Jul 2023 1.891 1.995
Jun 2023 1.953 2.065
May 2023 1.92 2.036
Apr 2023 1.873 1.992
Mar 2023 1.868 1.996
Feb 2023 1.894 2.031
Jan 2023 1.855 2
Dec 2022 1.83 1.989
Nov 2022 1.843 1.997
Oct 2022 1.863 2.016
Sep 2022 1.891 2.055
Aug 2022 1.879 2.046
Jul 2022 1.88 2.047
Jun 2022 1.826 1.988
May 2022 1.824 2.013
Apr 2022 1.794 2.002
Mar 2022 1.724 1.934
Feb 2022 1.632 1.855
Jan 2022 1.622 1.861
Dec 2021 1.606 1.858
Nov 2021 1.583 1.837
Oct 2021 1.523 1.776
Sep 2021 1.504 1.769
Aug 2021 1.472 1.736
Jul 2021 1.435 1.695
Jun 2021 1.474 1.75
May 2021 1.486 1.781
Apr 2021 1.515 1.83
Mar 2021 1.543 1.879
Feb 2021 1.583 1.941
Jan 2021 1.595 1.967
Dec 2020 1.621 2.007
Nov 2020 1.639 2.032
Oct 2020 1.58 1.957
Sep 2020 1.542 1.911
Aug 2020 1.609 1.997
Jul 2020 1.712 2.131
Jun 2020 1.747 2.186
Apr 2020 1.571 1.976
Mar 2020 1.4 1.75
Feb 2020 1.362 1.698
Jan 2020 1.409 1.762
Dec 2019 1.45 1.82
Nov 2019 1.43 1.793
Oct 2019 1.538 1.928
Sep 2019 1.487 1.868
Aug 2019 1.514 1.903
Jul 2019 1.562 1.964
Jun 2019 1.59 2.002
May 2019 1.479 1.863
Apr 2019 1.463 1.847
Mar 2019 1.468 1.863
Feb 2019 1.486 1.896
Jan 2019 1.473 1.888
Dec 2018 1.466 1.882
Nov 2018 1.501 1.921
Oct 2018 1.444 1.842
Sep 2018 1.487 1.9
Aug 2018 1.511 1.933
Jul 2018 1.519 1.944
Jun 2018 1.514 1.938
May 2018 1.523 1.953
Apr 2018 1.511 1.945
Mar 2018 1.502 1.941
Feb 2018 1.478 1.915
Jan 2018 1.509 1.964
Dec 2017 1.47 1.923
Nov 2017 1.451 1.897
Oct 2017 1.484 1.941
Sep 2017 1.48 1.934
Aug 2017 1.489 1.956
Jul 2017 1.496 1.971
Jun 2017 1.497 1.971
May 2017 1.499 1.976
Apr 2017 1.444 1.905
Mar 2017 1.462 1.934
Feb 2017 1.473 1.95
Jan 2017 1.418 1.884
Dec 2016 1.463 1.955
Nov 2016 1.478 1.975
Oct 2016 1.502 2.004
Sep 2016 1.487 1.987
Aug 2016 1.426 1.91
Jul 2016 1.445 1.937
Jun 2016 1.408 1.884
May 2016 1.489 1.999
Apr 2016 1.496 2.017
Mar 2016 1.463 1.982
Feb 2016 1.478 2.011
Jan 2016 1.429 1.946
Dec 2015 1.437 1.96
Nov 2015 1.484 2.017
Oct 2015 1.43 1.939
Sep 2015 1.415 1.918
Aug 2015 1.428 1.933
Jul 2015 1.487 2.01
Jun 2015 1.515 2.048
May 2015 1.483 2.012
Apr 2015 1.539 2.098
Mar 2015 1.545 2.111
Feb 2015 1.55 2.13
Jan 2015 1.546 2.134
Dec 2014 1.541 2.117
Nov 2014 1.533 2.094
Oct 2014 1.549 2.104
Sep 2014 1.543 2.091
Aug 2014 1.572 2.132
Jul 2014 1.495 2.024
Jun 2014 1.503 2.034
May 2014 1.556 2.11
Apr 2014 1.53 2.082
Mar 2014 1.544 2.108
Feb 2014 1.504 2.066
Jan 2014 1.529 2.108
Dec 2013 1.52 2.104
Nov 2013 1.518 2.101
Oct 2013 1.543 2.131
Sep 2013 1.528 2.105
Aug 2013 1.489 2.054
Jul 2013 1.484 2.049
Jun 2013 1.509 2.085
May 2013 1.466 2.03
Apr 2013 1.473 2.043
Mar 2013 1.471 2.038
Feb 2013 1.456 2.023
Jan 2013 1.497 2.097
Dec 2012 1.482 2.082
Nov 2012 1.512 2.118
Oct 2012 1.53 2.134
Sep 2012 1.455 2.028
Aug 2012 1.433 2.006
Jul 2012 1.454 2.047
Jun 2012 1.39 1.954
May 2012 1.347 1.891
Apr 2012 1.401 1.964
Mar 2012 1.372 1.929
Feb 2012 1.356 1.921
Jan 2012 1.334 1.898
Dec 2011 1.34 1.915
Nov 2011 1.304 1.859
Oct 2011 1.312 1.869
Sep 2011 1.294 1.84
Aug 2011 1.296 1.845
Jul 2011 1.306 1.865
Jun 2011 1.305 1.865
May 2011 1.302 1.859
Apr 2011 1.261 1.809
Mar 2011 1.269 1.832
Feb 2011 1.266 1.845
Jan 2011 1.241 1.818
Dec 2010 1.28 1.884
Nov 2010 1.277 1.883
Oct 2010 1.302 1.92
Sep 2010 1.276 1.884
Aug 2010 1.254 1.853
Jul 2010 1.28 1.894
Jun 2010 1.239 1.834
May 2010 1.259 1.861
Apr 2010 1.23 1.82
Mar 2010 1.231 1.825
Feb 2010 1.265 1.883
Jan 2010 1.265 1.883
Dec 2009 1.267 1.893
Nov 2009 1.256 1.873
Oct 2009 1.244 1.856
Sep 2009 1.258 1.879
Aug 2009 1.287 1.923
Jul 2009 1.261 1.889
Jun 2009 1.282 1.917
May 2009 1.304 1.967
Apr 2009 1.296 1.96
Mar 2009 1.301 1.973
Feb 2009 1.29 1.961
Jan 2009 1.292 1.974
Dec 2008 1.305 2.002
Nov 2008 1.304 1.98
Oct 2008 1.205 1.795
Sep 2008 1.214 1.79
Aug 2008 1.223 1.801
Jul 2008 1.191 1.747
Jun 2008 1.181 1.741
May 2008 1.194 1.778
Apr 2008 1.176 1.766
Mar 2008 1.168 1.764
Feb 2008 1.159 1.766
Jan 2008 1.163 1.777
Dec 2007 1.166 1.791
Nov 2007 1.161 1.782
Oct 2007 1.135 1.752
Sep 2007 1.142 1.767
Aug 2007 1.145 1.776
Jul 2007 1.13 1.75
Jun 2007 1.134 1.756
May 2007 1.118 1.734
Apr 2007 1.115 1.74
Mar 2007 1.064 1.671
Feb 2007 1.039 1.647
Jan 2007 1.033 1.646
Dec 2006 1.057 1.69
Nov 2006 1.049 1.679
Oct 2006 1.038 1.659
Sep 2006 1.063 1.69
Aug 2006 1.048 1.658
Jul 2006 1.04 1.648
Jun 2006 1.055 1.677
May 2006 1.034 1.647
Apr 2006 1.054 1.687
Mar 2006 1.047 1.69
Feb 2006 1.045 1.696
Jan 2006 1.062 1.727
Dec 2005 1.061 1.739
Nov 2005 1.059 1.729
Oct 2005 1.062 1.72
Sep 2005 1.056 1.713
Aug 2005 1.042 1.711
Jul 2005 1.067 1.761
Jun 2005 1.075 1.783
May 2005 1.052 1.746
Apr 2005 1.07 1.774
Mar 2005 1.061 1.77
Feb 2005 1.038 1.746
Jan 2005 1.026 1.735
Dec 2004 1.03 1.746
Nov 2004 1.039 1.755
Oct 2004 1.078 1.821
Sep 2004 1.078 1.831
Aug 2004 1.092 1.859
Jul 2004 1.077 1.834
Jun 2004 1.06 1.802
May 2004 1.039 1.772
Apr 2004 1.12 1.922
Mar 2004 1.1 1.893
Feb 2004 1.06 1.836
Jan 2004 1.062 1.85
Dec 2003 1.05 1.838
Nov 2003 1.068 1.867
Oct 2003 1.022 1.782
Sep 2003 1.022 1.78
Aug 2003 1.023 1.788
Jul 2003 1.027 1.801
Jun 2003 1.033 1.814
May 2003 1.031 1.812
Apr 2003 1.053 1.848
Mar 2003 1.049 1.837
Feb 2003 1.031 1.816
Jan 2003 1.004 1.782
Dec 2002 1.048 1.869
Nov 2002 1.044 1.857
Oct 2002 1.027 1.827
Sep 2002 1.074 1.914
Aug 2002 1.035 1.848
Jul 2002 1.077 1.929
Jun 2002 1.066 1.911
May 2002 1.094 1.963
Apr 2002 1.11 1.991
Mar 2002 1.11 2.002
Feb 2002 1.111 2.016
Jan 2002 1.091 1.987
Dec 2001 1.109 2.024
Nov 2001 1.133 2.06
Oct 2001 1.115 2.024
Sep 2001 1.107 2.003
Aug 2001 1.11 2.017
Jul 2001 1.102 2.003
Jun 2001 1.106 2.004
May 2001 1.095 1.988
Apr 2001 1.101 2.008
Mar 2001 1.103 2.019
Feb 2001 1.09 2
Jan 2001 1.091 2.01
Dec 2000 1.078 1.998
Nov 2000 1.065 1.973
Oct 2000 1.09 2.021
Sep 2000 1.087 2.019
Aug 2000 1.086 2.027
Jul 2000 1.089 2.033
Jun 2000 1.069 2
May 2000 1.052 1.979
Apr 2000 1.069 2.013
Mar 2000 1.064 2.005
Feb 2000 1.046 1.987
Jan 2000 1.059 2.024
Dec 1999 1.053 2.018
Nov 1999 1.078 2.066
Oct 1999 1.055 2.023
Sep 1999 1.08 2.075
Aug 1999 1.043 2.013
Jul 1999 1.045 2.022
Jun 1999 1.041 2.02
May 1999 1.026 1.991
Apr 1999 1.057 2.051
Mar 1999 1.057 2.066
Feb 1999 1.064 2.086
Jan 1999 1.072 2.105
Dec 1998 1.06 2.086
Nov 1998 1.084 2.132
Oct 1998 1.076 2.116
Sep 1998 1.074 2.118
Aug 1998 1.059 2.091
Jul 1998 1.033 2.042
Jun 1998 1.016 2.011
May 1998 1.032 2.045
Apr 1998 1.029 2.043
Mar 1998 1.032 2.052
Feb 1998 1.007 2.006
Jan 1998 1.022 2.04
Dec 1997 1.001 2.002
Nov 1997 1.018 2.033
Oct 1997 0.984 1.964
Sep 1997 0.992 1.985
Aug 1997 0.988 1.982
Jul 1997 1.005 2.02
Jun 1997 0.993 1.998
May 1997 1.007 2.029
Apr 1997 1.002 2.018
Mar 1997 1.009 2.034
Feb 1997 1.008 2.037
Jan 1997 1.016 2.06
Dec 1996 1.002 2.038
Nov 1996 1.003 2.04
Oct 1996 1.021 2.08
Sep 1996 1.006 2.056
Aug 1996 0.99 2.03
Jul 1996 0.972 1.997
Jun 1996 0.968 1.993
May 1996 0.949 1.955
Apr 1996 0.947 1.954
Mar 1996 0.933 1.933
Feb 1996 0.94 1.957
Jan 1996 0.941 1.966
Dec 1995 0.939 1.973
Nov 1995 0.948 1.991
Oct 1995 0.93 1.952
Sep 1995 0.939 1.977
Aug 1995 0.908 1.916
Jul 1995 0.919 1.944
Jun 1995 0.908 1.921
May 1995 0.891 1.888
Apr 1995 0.911 1.935
Mar 1995 0.917 1.954
Feb 1995 0.893 1.909
Jan 1995 0.897 1.925
Dec 1994 0.895 1.928
Nov 1994 0.904 1.948
Oct 1994 0.889 1.918
Sep 1994 0.901 1.945
Aug 1994 0.905 1.959
Jul 1994 0.92 2
Jun 1994 0.918 2.001
May 1994 0.902 1.973
Apr 1994 0.899 1.967
Mar 1994 0.891 1.952
Feb 1994 0.888 1.953
Jan 1994 0.899 1.983
Dec 1993 0.91 2.013
Nov 1993 0.918 2.031
Oct 1993 0.893 1.977
Sep 1993 0.897 1.994
Aug 1993 0.896 1.996
Jul 1993 0.89 1.988
Jun 1993 0.891 1.99
May 1993 0.888 1.986
Apr 1993 0.874 1.958
Mar 1993 0.879 1.974
Feb 1993 0.871 1.963
Jan 1993 0.875 1.979
Dec 1992 0.879 1.998
Nov 1992 0.885 2.01
Oct 1992 0.865 1.968
Sep 1992 0.881 2.011
Aug 1992 0.882 2.019
Jul 1992 0.878 2.016
Jun 1992 0.861 1.981
May 1992 0.854 1.972
Apr 1992 0.861 1.991
Mar 1992 0.859 1.989
Feb 1992 0.849 1.976
Jan 1992 0.878 2.051
Dec 1991 0.864 2.021
Nov 1991 0.857 2.006
Oct 1991 0.878 2.061
Sep 1991 0.874 2.055
Aug 1991 0.869 2.052
Jul 1991 0.888 2.103
Jun 1991 0.878 2.082
May 1991 0.883 2.1
Apr 1991 0.885 2.111
Mar 1991 0.899 2.148
Feb 1991 0.903 2.161
Jan 1991 0.886 2.123
Dec 1990 0.858 2.068
Nov 1990 0.88 2.121
Oct 1990 0.883 2.133
Sep 1990 0.907 2.205
Aug 1990 0.912 2.235
Jul 1990 0.917 2.268
Jun 1990 0.928 2.304
May 1990 0.902 2.252
Apr 1990 0.897 2.245
Mar 1990 0.928 2.326
Feb 1990 0.896 2.258
Jan 1990 0.882 2.233
Dec 1989 0.883 2.259
Nov 1989 0.879 2.252
Oct 1989 0.91 2.337
Sep 1989 0.942 2.431
Aug 1989 0.954 2.47
Jul 1989 0.964 2.5
Jun 1989 0.982 2.552
May 1989 0.961 2.504
Apr 1989 0.932 2.442
Mar 1989 0.913 2.408
Feb 1989 0.899 2.385
Jan 1989 0.905 2.411
Dec 1988 0.885 2.369
Nov 1988 0.892 2.392
Oct 1988 0.932 2.501
Sep 1988 0.975 2.625
Aug 1988 0.961 2.605
Jul 1988 0.937 2.551
Jun 1988 0.868 2.373
May 1988 0.796 2.185
Apr 1988 0.76 2.093
Mar 1988 0.753 2.085
Feb 1988 0.745 2.072
Jan 1988 0.74 2.063
Dec 1987 0.736 2.057
Nov 1987 0.756 2.113
Oct 1987 0.791 2.213
Sep 1987 0.793 2.224
Aug 1987 0.785 2.213
Jul 1987 0.755 2.14
Jun 1987 0.771 2.191
May 1987 0.782 2.23
Apr 1987 0.792 2.267
Mar 1987 0.804 2.313
Feb 1987 0.832 2.405
Jan 1987 0.821 2.381
Dec 1986 0.865 2.525
Nov 1986 0.878 2.565
Oct 1986 0.9 2.632
Sep 1986 0.91 2.664
Aug 1986 0.958 2.817
Jul 1986 0.889 2.619
Jun 1986 0.795 2.342
May 1986 0.769 2.278
Apr 1986 0.752 2.234
Mar 1986 0.767 2.274
Feb 1986 0.771 2.275
Jan 1986 0.766 2.254
Dec 1985 0.776 2.29
Nov 1985 0.778 2.302
Oct 1985 0.749 2.223
Sep 1985 0.762 2.27
Aug 1985 0.757 2.261
Jul 1985 0.753 2.253
Jun 1985 0.761 2.281
May 1985 0.745 2.24
Apr 1985 0.764 2.305
Mar 1985 0.769 2.331
Feb 1985 0.772 2.349
Jan 1985 0.773 2.363
Dec 1984 0.753 2.307
Nov 1984 0.771 2.362
Oct 1984 0.764 2.34
Sep 1984 0.79 2.427
Aug 1984 0.788 2.432
Jul 1984 0.829 2.569
Jun 1984 0.817 2.541
May 1984 0.811 2.53
Apr 1984 0.844 2.641
Mar 1984 0.848 2.666
Feb 1984 0.867 2.731
Jan 1984 0.839 2.656
Dec 1983 0.812 2.586
Nov 1983 0.766 2.442
Oct 1983 0.737 2.354
Sep 1983 0.769 2.463
Aug 1983 0.74 2.382
Jul 1983 0.724 2.338
Jun 1983 0.699 2.266
May 1983 0.687 2.234
Apr 1983 0.676 2.211
Mar 1983 0.698 2.3
Feb 1983 0.699 2.303
Jan 1983 0.689 2.272
Dec 1982 0.682 2.254
Nov 1982 0.694 2.284
Oct 1982 0.7 2.299
Sep 1982 0.713 2.349
Aug 1982 0.717 2.367
Jul 1982 0.74 2.448
Jun 1982 0.732 2.434
May 1982 0.72 2.424
Apr 1982 0.712 2.42
Mar 1982 0.715 2.441
Feb 1982 0.726 2.475
Jan 1982 0.712 2.435
Dec 1981 0.7 2.402
Nov 1981 0.702 2.417
Oct 1981 0.712 2.459
Sep 1981 0.728 2.52
Aug 1981 0.752 2.628
Jul 1981 0.767 2.701
Jun 1981 0.717 2.553
May 1981 0.706 2.536
Apr 1981 0.734 2.657
Mar 1981 0.755 2.752
Feb 1981 0.759 2.785
Jan 1981 0.749 2.777
Dec 1980 0.76 2.841
Nov 1980 0.766 2.89
Oct 1980 0.792 3.013
Sep 1980 0.791 3.037
Aug 1980 0.751 2.908
Jul 1980 0.71 2.769
Jun 1980 0.64 2.496
May 1980 0.628 2.476
Apr 1980 0.638 2.541
Mar 1980 0.655 2.638
Feb 1980 0.673 2.751
Jan 1980 0.699 2.898

About the Data

The US Average Chicken Price represents the average cost of a pound of fresh, whole chicken in urban areas across the United States, collected and published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

We have adjusted these prices for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). While a specific CPI for "Food" exists, using the broader CPI-U allows us to compare chicken prices against the overall cost of goods and services typically purchased by households, revealing whether chicken has become relatively more or less expensive compared to general inflation over time.

This data allows consumers and policymakers to understand trends in protein costs and their impact on household budgets. By adjusting for inflation, this page provides insights into the real cost of chicken over time, helping users make informed decisions and analyses.