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 August 2026 (our latest available CPI data baseline).

Key Takeaways
  • The latest average price for a pound of chicken was $2.012, in August 2026.
  • In January 1980, the nominal price was $0.699, which is equivalent to $3.01 in today's dollars.
  • Since January 1980, the inflation-adjusted price has fallen 33.15%, an average decline of -0.86% per year.
  • The peak inflation-adjusted price was $3.154, 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
Aug 2026 2.012 2.012
Jul 2026 2.005 2.011
Jun 2026 2.044 2.05
May 2026 2.036 2.035
Apr 2026 2.026 2.038
Mar 2026 2.033 2.062
Feb 2026 2.049 2.1
Jan 2026 2.041 2.102
Dec 2025 2.02 2.088
Nov 2025 2.044 2.112
Sep 2025 2.061 2.126
Aug 2025 2.076 2.147
Jul 2025 2.078 2.155
Jun 2025 2.086 2.166
May 2025 2.061 2.148
Apr 2025 2.059 2.15
Mar 2025 2.064 2.162
Feb 2025 2.051 2.153
Jan 2025 2.061 2.173
Dec 2024 2.061 2.188
Nov 2024 2.076 2.204
Oct 2024 1.987 2.109
Sep 2024 1.979 2.103
Aug 2024 1.988 2.115
Jul 2024 1.988 2.117
Jun 2024 2.007 2.14
May 2024 2.013 2.147
Apr 2024 1.953 2.086
Mar 2024 1.991 2.135
Feb 2024 1.951 2.106
Jan 2024 1.987 2.158
Dec 2023 1.955 2.135
Nov 2023 1.976 2.156
Oct 2023 1.926 2.097
Sep 2023 1.901 2.069
Aug 2023 1.958 2.136
Jul 2023 1.891 2.072
Jun 2023 1.953 2.144
May 2023 1.92 2.115
Apr 2023 1.873 2.068
Mar 2023 1.868 2.073
Feb 2023 1.894 2.109
Jan 2023 1.855 2.077
Dec 2022 1.83 2.065
Nov 2022 1.843 2.074
Oct 2022 1.863 2.094
Sep 2022 1.891 2.134
Aug 2022 1.879 2.125
Jul 2022 1.88 2.126
Jun 2022 1.826 2.064
May 2022 1.824 2.09
Apr 2022 1.794 2.079
Mar 2022 1.724 2.009
Feb 2022 1.632 1.927
Jan 2022 1.622 1.933
Dec 2021 1.606 1.93
Nov 2021 1.583 1.908
Oct 2021 1.523 1.845
Sep 2021 1.504 1.837
Aug 2021 1.472 1.802
Jul 2021 1.435 1.761
Jun 2021 1.474 1.817
May 2021 1.486 1.849
Apr 2021 1.515 1.9
Mar 2021 1.543 1.951
Feb 2021 1.583 2.016
Jan 2021 1.595 2.043
Dec 2020 1.621 2.085
Nov 2020 1.639 2.11
Oct 2020 1.58 2.033
Sep 2020 1.542 1.985
Aug 2020 1.609 2.074
Jul 2020 1.712 2.213
Jun 2020 1.747 2.27
Apr 2020 1.571 2.053
Mar 2020 1.4 1.817
Feb 2020 1.362 1.764
Jan 2020 1.409 1.83
Dec 2019 1.45 1.89
Nov 2019 1.43 1.862
Oct 2019 1.538 2.002
Sep 2019 1.487 1.94
Aug 2019 1.514 1.977
Jul 2019 1.562 2.039
Jun 2019 1.59 2.079
May 2019 1.479 1.935
Apr 2019 1.463 1.918
Mar 2019 1.468 1.934
Feb 2019 1.486 1.969
Jan 2019 1.473 1.96
Dec 2018 1.466 1.955
Nov 2018 1.501 1.995
Oct 2018 1.444 1.913
Sep 2018 1.487 1.973
Aug 2018 1.511 2.007
Jul 2018 1.519 2.019
Jun 2018 1.514 2.013
May 2018 1.523 2.028
Apr 2018 1.511 2.02
Mar 2018 1.502 2.016
Feb 2018 1.478 1.988
Jan 2018 1.509 2.039
Dec 2017 1.47 1.997
Nov 2017 1.451 1.97
Oct 2017 1.484 2.015
Sep 2017 1.48 2.009
Aug 2017 1.489 2.032
Jul 2017 1.496 2.047
Jun 2017 1.497 2.047
May 2017 1.499 2.052
Apr 2017 1.444 1.978
Mar 2017 1.462 2.009
Feb 2017 1.473 2.026
Jan 2017 1.418 1.956
Dec 2016 1.463 2.03
Nov 2016 1.478 2.051
Oct 2016 1.502 2.081
Sep 2016 1.487 2.063
Aug 2016 1.426 1.983
Jul 2016 1.445 2.012
Jun 2016 1.408 1.957
May 2016 1.489 2.076
Apr 2016 1.496 2.094
Mar 2016 1.463 2.058
Feb 2016 1.478 2.088
Jan 2016 1.429 2.02
Dec 2015 1.437 2.035
Nov 2015 1.484 2.095
Oct 2015 1.43 2.014
Sep 2015 1.415 1.992
Aug 2015 1.428 2.007
Jul 2015 1.487 2.087
Jun 2015 1.515 2.127
May 2015 1.483 2.089
Apr 2015 1.539 2.179
Mar 2015 1.545 2.192
Feb 2015 1.55 2.212
Jan 2015 1.546 2.216
Dec 2014 1.541 2.198
Nov 2014 1.533 2.175
Oct 2014 1.549 2.185
Sep 2014 1.543 2.171
Aug 2014 1.572 2.214
Jul 2014 1.495 2.102
Jun 2014 1.503 2.112
May 2014 1.556 2.191
Apr 2014 1.53 2.162
Mar 2014 1.544 2.189
Feb 2014 1.504 2.146
Jan 2014 1.529 2.19
Dec 2013 1.52 2.185
Nov 2013 1.518 2.182
Oct 2013 1.543 2.213
Sep 2013 1.528 2.186
Aug 2013 1.489 2.133
Jul 2013 1.484 2.128
Jun 2013 1.509 2.165
May 2013 1.466 2.108
Apr 2013 1.473 2.122
Mar 2013 1.471 2.117
Feb 2013 1.456 2.101
Jan 2013 1.497 2.178
Dec 2012 1.482 2.162
Nov 2012 1.512 2.2
Oct 2012 1.53 2.216
Sep 2012 1.455 2.106
Aug 2012 1.433 2.084
Jul 2012 1.454 2.126
Jun 2012 1.39 2.029
May 2012 1.347 1.963
Apr 2012 1.401 2.04
Mar 2012 1.372 2.004
Feb 2012 1.356 1.995
Jan 2012 1.334 1.971
Dec 2011 1.34 1.989
Nov 2011 1.304 1.931
Oct 2011 1.312 1.941
Sep 2011 1.294 1.91
Aug 2011 1.296 1.916
Jul 2011 1.306 1.936
Jun 2011 1.305 1.937
May 2011 1.302 1.93
Apr 2011 1.261 1.878
Mar 2011 1.269 1.902
Feb 2011 1.266 1.916
Jan 2011 1.241 1.888
Dec 2010 1.28 1.956
Nov 2010 1.277 1.955
Oct 2010 1.302 1.994
Sep 2010 1.276 1.957
Aug 2010 1.254 1.924
Jul 2010 1.28 1.967
Jun 2010 1.239 1.904
May 2010 1.259 1.933
Apr 2010 1.23 1.89
Mar 2010 1.231 1.895
Feb 2010 1.265 1.955
Jan 2010 1.265 1.956
Dec 2009 1.267 1.965
Nov 2009 1.256 1.945
Oct 2009 1.244 1.928
Sep 2009 1.258 1.951
Aug 2009 1.287 1.997
Jul 2009 1.261 1.961
Jun 2009 1.282 1.991
May 2009 1.304 2.043
Apr 2009 1.296 2.036
Mar 2009 1.301 2.049
Feb 2009 1.29 2.036
Jan 2009 1.292 2.05
Dec 2008 1.305 2.079
Nov 2008 1.304 2.056
Oct 2008 1.205 1.864
Sep 2008 1.214 1.859
Aug 2008 1.223 1.87
Jul 2008 1.191 1.814
Jun 2008 1.181 1.808
May 2008 1.194 1.846
Apr 2008 1.176 1.834
Mar 2008 1.168 1.832
Feb 2008 1.159 1.834
Jan 2008 1.163 1.846
Dec 2007 1.166 1.86
Nov 2007 1.161 1.85
Oct 2007 1.135 1.82
Sep 2007 1.142 1.835
Aug 2007 1.145 1.845
Jul 2007 1.13 1.817
Jun 2007 1.134 1.823
May 2007 1.118 1.801
Apr 2007 1.115 1.807
Mar 2007 1.064 1.736
Feb 2007 1.039 1.71
Jan 2007 1.033 1.71
Dec 2006 1.057 1.755
Nov 2006 1.049 1.744
Oct 2006 1.038 1.723
Sep 2006 1.063 1.755
Aug 2006 1.048 1.722
Jul 2006 1.04 1.712
Jun 2006 1.055 1.742
May 2006 1.034 1.71
Apr 2006 1.054 1.752
Mar 2006 1.047 1.755
Feb 2006 1.045 1.762
Jan 2006 1.062 1.794
Dec 2005 1.061 1.806
Nov 2005 1.059 1.795
Oct 2005 1.062 1.786
Sep 2005 1.056 1.779
Aug 2005 1.042 1.777
Jul 2005 1.067 1.829
Jun 2005 1.075 1.851
May 2005 1.052 1.813
Apr 2005 1.07 1.842
Mar 2005 1.061 1.839
Feb 2005 1.038 1.813
Jan 2005 1.026 1.802
Dec 2004 1.03 1.813
Nov 2004 1.039 1.822
Oct 2004 1.078 1.892
Sep 2004 1.078 1.902
Aug 2004 1.092 1.93
Jul 2004 1.077 1.905
Jun 2004 1.06 1.872
May 2004 1.039 1.841
Apr 2004 1.12 1.996
Mar 2004 1.1 1.966
Feb 2004 1.06 1.907
Jan 2004 1.062 1.921
Dec 2003 1.05 1.908
Nov 2003 1.068 1.939
Oct 2003 1.022 1.851
Sep 2003 1.022 1.849
Aug 2003 1.023 1.856
Jul 2003 1.027 1.871
Jun 2003 1.033 1.884
May 2003 1.031 1.882
Apr 2003 1.053 1.919
Mar 2003 1.049 1.908
Feb 2003 1.031 1.886
Jan 2003 1.004 1.851
Dec 2002 1.048 1.941
Nov 2002 1.044 1.929
Oct 2002 1.027 1.898
Sep 2002 1.074 1.988
Aug 2002 1.035 1.919
Jul 2002 1.077 2.003
Jun 2002 1.066 1.985
May 2002 1.094 2.038
Apr 2002 1.11 2.068
Mar 2002 1.11 2.08
Feb 2002 1.111 2.093
Jan 2002 1.091 2.064
Dec 2001 1.109 2.102
Nov 2001 1.133 2.139
Oct 2001 1.115 2.102
Sep 2001 1.107 2.08
Aug 2001 1.11 2.095
Jul 2001 1.102 2.08
Jun 2001 1.106 2.081
May 2001 1.095 2.064
Apr 2001 1.101 2.085
Mar 2001 1.103 2.097
Feb 2001 1.09 2.077
Jan 2001 1.091 2.087
Dec 2000 1.078 2.075
Nov 2000 1.065 2.049
Oct 2000 1.09 2.098
Sep 2000 1.087 2.096
Aug 2000 1.086 2.105
Jul 2000 1.089 2.111
Jun 2000 1.069 2.077
May 2000 1.052 2.055
Apr 2000 1.069 2.09
Mar 2000 1.064 2.082
Feb 2000 1.046 2.064
Jan 2000 1.059 2.102
Dec 1999 1.053 2.096
Nov 1999 1.078 2.146
Oct 1999 1.055 2.101
Sep 1999 1.08 2.155
Aug 1999 1.043 2.091
Jul 1999 1.045 2.1
Jun 1999 1.041 2.098
May 1999 1.026 2.068
Apr 1999 1.057 2.13
Mar 1999 1.057 2.146
Feb 1999 1.064 2.167
Jan 1999 1.072 2.186
Dec 1998 1.06 2.166
Nov 1998 1.084 2.214
Oct 1998 1.076 2.198
Sep 1998 1.074 2.199
Aug 1998 1.059 2.171
Jul 1998 1.033 2.12
Jun 1998 1.016 2.088
May 1998 1.032 2.123
Apr 1998 1.029 2.121
Mar 1998 1.032 2.131
Feb 1998 1.007 2.084
Jan 1998 1.022 2.118
Dec 1997 1.001 2.079
Nov 1997 1.018 2.112
Oct 1997 0.984 2.04
Sep 1997 0.992 2.061
Aug 1997 0.988 2.058
Jul 1997 1.005 2.098
Jun 1997 0.993 2.075
May 1997 1.007 2.107
Apr 1997 1.002 2.095
Mar 1997 1.009 2.112
Feb 1997 1.008 2.116
Jan 1997 1.016 2.139
Dec 1996 1.002 2.116
Nov 1996 1.003 2.118
Oct 1996 1.021 2.161
Sep 1996 1.006 2.136
Aug 1996 0.99 2.108
Jul 1996 0.972 2.074
Jun 1996 0.968 2.069
May 1996 0.949 2.03
Apr 1996 0.947 2.03
Mar 1996 0.933 2.007
Feb 1996 0.94 2.033
Jan 1996 0.941 2.042
Dec 1995 0.939 2.049
Nov 1995 0.948 2.067
Oct 1995 0.93 2.027
Sep 1995 0.939 2.053
Aug 1995 0.908 1.989
Jul 1995 0.919 2.019
Jun 1995 0.908 1.995
May 1995 0.891 1.961
Apr 1995 0.911 2.009
Mar 1995 0.917 2.029
Feb 1995 0.893 1.982
Jan 1995 0.897 1.999
Dec 1994 0.895 2.003
Nov 1994 0.904 2.023
Oct 1994 0.889 1.992
Sep 1994 0.901 2.02
Aug 1994 0.905 2.035
Jul 1994 0.92 2.077
Jun 1994 0.918 2.078
May 1994 0.902 2.048
Apr 1994 0.899 2.043
Mar 1994 0.891 2.028
Feb 1994 0.888 2.028
Jan 1994 0.899 2.06
Dec 1993 0.91 2.091
Nov 1993 0.918 2.109
Oct 1993 0.893 2.053
Sep 1993 0.897 2.071
Aug 1993 0.896 2.073
Jul 1993 0.89 2.065
Jun 1993 0.891 2.067
May 1993 0.888 2.063
Apr 1993 0.874 2.033
Mar 1993 0.879 2.05
Feb 1993 0.871 2.039
Jan 1993 0.875 2.055
Dec 1992 0.879 2.075
Nov 1992 0.885 2.088
Oct 1992 0.865 2.043
Sep 1992 0.881 2.089
Aug 1992 0.882 2.097
Jul 1992 0.878 2.093
Jun 1992 0.861 2.057
May 1992 0.854 2.048
Apr 1992 0.861 2.068
Mar 1992 0.859 2.066
Feb 1992 0.849 2.052
Jan 1992 0.878 2.13
Dec 1991 0.864 2.099
Nov 1991 0.857 2.083
Oct 1991 0.878 2.141
Sep 1991 0.874 2.134
Aug 1991 0.869 2.131
Jul 1991 0.888 2.184
Jun 1991 0.878 2.163
May 1991 0.883 2.181
Apr 1991 0.885 2.193
Mar 1991 0.899 2.231
Feb 1991 0.903 2.244
Jan 1991 0.886 2.205
Dec 1990 0.858 2.148
Nov 1990 0.88 2.203
Oct 1990 0.883 2.216
Sep 1990 0.907 2.29
Aug 1990 0.912 2.321
Jul 1990 0.917 2.356
Jun 1990 0.928 2.393
May 1990 0.902 2.339
Apr 1990 0.897 2.331
Mar 1990 0.928 2.415
Feb 1990 0.896 2.345
Jan 1990 0.882 2.319
Dec 1989 0.883 2.346
Nov 1989 0.879 2.339
Oct 1989 0.91 2.427
Sep 1989 0.942 2.524
Aug 1989 0.954 2.565
Jul 1989 0.964 2.596
Jun 1989 0.982 2.651
May 1989 0.961 2.6
Apr 1989 0.932 2.536
Mar 1989 0.913 2.501
Feb 1989 0.899 2.477
Jan 1989 0.905 2.503
Dec 1988 0.885 2.46
Nov 1988 0.892 2.484
Oct 1988 0.932 2.597
Sep 1988 0.975 2.726
Aug 1988 0.961 2.705
Jul 1988 0.937 2.649
Jun 1988 0.868 2.464
May 1988 0.796 2.269
Apr 1988 0.76 2.174
Mar 1988 0.753 2.165
Feb 1988 0.745 2.151
Jan 1988 0.74 2.142
Dec 1987 0.736 2.136
Nov 1987 0.756 2.194
Oct 1987 0.791 2.298
Sep 1987 0.793 2.31
Aug 1987 0.785 2.299
Jul 1987 0.755 2.222
Jun 1987 0.771 2.276
May 1987 0.782 2.316
Apr 1987 0.792 2.354
Mar 1987 0.804 2.403
Feb 1987 0.832 2.497
Jan 1987 0.821 2.473
Dec 1986 0.865 2.622
Nov 1986 0.878 2.664
Oct 1986 0.9 2.733
Sep 1986 0.91 2.766
Aug 1986 0.958 2.925
Jul 1986 0.889 2.72
Jun 1986 0.795 2.432
May 1986 0.769 2.365
Apr 1986 0.752 2.32
Mar 1986 0.767 2.361
Feb 1986 0.771 2.363
Jan 1986 0.766 2.341
Dec 1985 0.776 2.378
Nov 1985 0.778 2.391
Oct 1985 0.749 2.308
Sep 1985 0.762 2.357
Aug 1985 0.757 2.348
Jul 1985 0.753 2.34
Jun 1985 0.761 2.369
May 1985 0.745 2.326
Apr 1985 0.764 2.394
Mar 1985 0.769 2.421
Feb 1985 0.772 2.44
Jan 1985 0.773 2.454
Dec 1984 0.753 2.395
Nov 1984 0.771 2.453
Oct 1984 0.764 2.43
Sep 1984 0.79 2.52
Aug 1984 0.788 2.526
Jul 1984 0.829 2.668
Jun 1984 0.817 2.639
May 1984 0.811 2.627
Apr 1984 0.844 2.742
Mar 1984 0.848 2.769
Feb 1984 0.867 2.836
Jan 1984 0.839 2.758
Dec 1983 0.812 2.685
Nov 1983 0.766 2.536
Oct 1983 0.737 2.444
Sep 1983 0.769 2.558
Aug 1983 0.74 2.474
Jul 1983 0.724 2.428
Jun 1983 0.699 2.353
May 1983 0.687 2.32
Apr 1983 0.676 2.297
Mar 1983 0.698 2.388
Feb 1983 0.699 2.392
Jan 1983 0.689 2.36
Dec 1982 0.682 2.341
Nov 1982 0.694 2.372
Oct 1982 0.7 2.388
Sep 1982 0.713 2.44
Aug 1982 0.717 2.458
Jul 1982 0.74 2.542
Jun 1982 0.732 2.528
May 1982 0.72 2.518
Apr 1982 0.712 2.513
Mar 1982 0.715 2.535
Feb 1982 0.726 2.571
Jan 1982 0.712 2.529
Dec 1981 0.7 2.495
Nov 1981 0.702 2.51
Oct 1981 0.712 2.554
Sep 1981 0.728 2.617
Aug 1981 0.752 2.729
Jul 1981 0.767 2.805
Jun 1981 0.717 2.651
May 1981 0.706 2.634
Apr 1981 0.734 2.76
Mar 1981 0.755 2.858
Feb 1981 0.759 2.892
Jan 1981 0.749 2.884
Dec 1980 0.76 2.95
Nov 1980 0.766 3.001
Oct 1980 0.792 3.129
Sep 1980 0.791 3.154
Aug 1980 0.751 3.02
Jul 1980 0.71 2.876
Jun 1980 0.64 2.592
May 1980 0.628 2.572
Apr 1980 0.638 2.638
Mar 1980 0.655 2.739
Feb 1980 0.673 2.857
Jan 1980 0.699 3.01

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.