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 February 2026 (our latest available CPI data baseline).

Key Takeaways
  • The latest average price for a pound of chicken was $2.049, in February 2026.
  • In January 1980, the nominal price was $0.699, which is equivalent to $2.936 in today's dollars.
  • Since January 1980, the inflation-adjusted price has fallen 30.21%, an average decline of -0.78% per year.
  • The peak inflation-adjusted price was $3.077, 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
Feb 2026 2.049 2.049
Jan 2026 2.041 2.051
Dec 2025 2.02 2.037
Nov 2025 2.044 2.061
Sep 2025 2.061 2.074
Aug 2025 2.076 2.094
Jul 2025 2.078 2.102
Jun 2025 2.086 2.113
May 2025 2.061 2.095
Apr 2025 2.059 2.097
Mar 2025 2.064 2.109
Feb 2025 2.051 2.101
Jan 2025 2.061 2.12
Dec 2024 2.061 2.134
Nov 2024 2.076 2.15
Oct 2024 1.987 2.057
Sep 2024 1.979 2.051
Aug 2024 1.988 2.064
Jul 2024 1.988 2.065
Jun 2024 2.007 2.088
May 2024 2.013 2.095
Apr 2024 1.953 2.035
Mar 2024 1.991 2.083
Feb 2024 1.951 2.054
Jan 2024 1.987 2.105
Dec 2023 1.955 2.083
Nov 2023 1.976 2.103
Oct 2023 1.926 2.046
Sep 2023 1.901 2.018
Aug 2023 1.958 2.084
Jul 2023 1.891 2.021
Jun 2023 1.953 2.092
May 2023 1.92 2.063
Apr 2023 1.873 2.018
Mar 2023 1.868 2.022
Feb 2023 1.894 2.057
Jan 2023 1.855 2.026
Dec 2022 1.83 2.015
Nov 2022 1.843 2.023
Oct 2022 1.863 2.043
Sep 2022 1.891 2.082
Aug 2022 1.879 2.073
Jul 2022 1.88 2.074
Jun 2022 1.826 2.014
May 2022 1.824 2.039
Apr 2022 1.794 2.028
Mar 2022 1.724 1.96
Feb 2022 1.632 1.88
Jan 2022 1.622 1.885
Dec 2021 1.606 1.882
Nov 2021 1.583 1.861
Oct 2021 1.523 1.799
Sep 2021 1.504 1.792
Aug 2021 1.472 1.758
Jul 2021 1.435 1.718
Jun 2021 1.474 1.773
May 2021 1.486 1.804
Apr 2021 1.515 1.854
Mar 2021 1.543 1.904
Feb 2021 1.583 1.967
Jan 2021 1.595 1.993
Dec 2020 1.621 2.034
Nov 2020 1.639 2.058
Oct 2020 1.58 1.983
Sep 2020 1.542 1.936
Aug 2020 1.609 2.023
Jul 2020 1.712 2.159
Jun 2020 1.747 2.215
Apr 2020 1.571 2.002
Mar 2020 1.4 1.772
Feb 2020 1.362 1.721
Jan 2020 1.409 1.785
Dec 2019 1.45 1.844
Nov 2019 1.43 1.817
Oct 2019 1.538 1.953
Sep 2019 1.487 1.893
Aug 2019 1.514 1.928
Jul 2019 1.562 1.989
Jun 2019 1.59 2.029
May 2019 1.479 1.887
Apr 2019 1.463 1.871
Mar 2019 1.468 1.887
Feb 2019 1.486 1.921
Jan 2019 1.473 1.912
Dec 2018 1.466 1.907
Nov 2018 1.501 1.946
Oct 2018 1.444 1.866
Sep 2018 1.487 1.925
Aug 2018 1.511 1.958
Jul 2018 1.519 1.97
Jun 2018 1.514 1.963
May 2018 1.523 1.978
Apr 2018 1.511 1.971
Mar 2018 1.502 1.967
Feb 2018 1.478 1.94
Jan 2018 1.509 1.989
Dec 2017 1.47 1.949
Nov 2017 1.451 1.922
Oct 2017 1.484 1.966
Sep 2017 1.48 1.959
Aug 2017 1.489 1.982
Jul 2017 1.496 1.997
Jun 2017 1.497 1.997
May 2017 1.499 2.002
Apr 2017 1.444 1.93
Mar 2017 1.462 1.96
Feb 2017 1.473 1.976
Jan 2017 1.418 1.908
Dec 2016 1.463 1.98
Nov 2016 1.478 2.001
Oct 2016 1.502 2.031
Sep 2016 1.487 2.013
Aug 2016 1.426 1.935
Jul 2016 1.445 1.962
Jun 2016 1.408 1.909
May 2016 1.489 2.025
Apr 2016 1.496 2.043
Mar 2016 1.463 2.008
Feb 2016 1.478 2.037
Jan 2016 1.429 1.971
Dec 2015 1.437 1.985
Nov 2015 1.484 2.043
Oct 2015 1.43 1.965
Sep 2015 1.415 1.943
Aug 2015 1.428 1.958
Jul 2015 1.487 2.036
Jun 2015 1.515 2.075
May 2015 1.483 2.038
Apr 2015 1.539 2.126
Mar 2015 1.545 2.138
Feb 2015 1.55 2.158
Jan 2015 1.546 2.162
Dec 2014 1.541 2.145
Nov 2014 1.533 2.121
Oct 2014 1.549 2.132
Sep 2014 1.543 2.118
Aug 2014 1.572 2.16
Jul 2014 1.495 2.051
Jun 2014 1.503 2.061
May 2014 1.556 2.137
Apr 2014 1.53 2.109
Mar 2014 1.544 2.135
Feb 2014 1.504 2.093
Jan 2014 1.529 2.136
Dec 2013 1.52 2.131
Nov 2013 1.518 2.128
Oct 2013 1.543 2.159
Sep 2013 1.528 2.133
Aug 2013 1.489 2.081
Jul 2013 1.484 2.076
Jun 2013 1.509 2.112
May 2013 1.466 2.057
Apr 2013 1.473 2.07
Mar 2013 1.471 2.065
Feb 2013 1.456 2.049
Jan 2013 1.497 2.124
Dec 2012 1.482 2.109
Nov 2012 1.512 2.146
Oct 2012 1.53 2.161
Sep 2012 1.455 2.055
Aug 2012 1.433 2.033
Jul 2012 1.454 2.074
Jun 2012 1.39 1.979
May 2012 1.347 1.915
Apr 2012 1.401 1.99
Mar 2012 1.372 1.955
Feb 2012 1.356 1.946
Jan 2012 1.334 1.923
Dec 2011 1.34 1.94
Nov 2011 1.304 1.884
Oct 2011 1.312 1.894
Sep 2011 1.294 1.864
Aug 2011 1.296 1.869
Jul 2011 1.306 1.889
Jun 2011 1.305 1.889
May 2011 1.302 1.883
Apr 2011 1.261 1.832
Mar 2011 1.269 1.856
Feb 2011 1.266 1.869
Jan 2011 1.241 1.841
Dec 2010 1.28 1.908
Nov 2010 1.277 1.907
Oct 2010 1.302 1.945
Sep 2010 1.276 1.909
Aug 2010 1.254 1.877
Jul 2010 1.28 1.919
Jun 2010 1.239 1.858
May 2010 1.259 1.886
Apr 2010 1.23 1.844
Mar 2010 1.231 1.848
Feb 2010 1.265 1.907
Jan 2010 1.265 1.908
Dec 2009 1.267 1.917
Nov 2009 1.256 1.897
Oct 2009 1.244 1.88
Sep 2009 1.258 1.903
Aug 2009 1.287 1.949
Jul 2009 1.261 1.914
Jun 2009 1.282 1.942
May 2009 1.304 1.993
Apr 2009 1.296 1.986
Mar 2009 1.301 1.999
Feb 2009 1.29 1.987
Jan 2009 1.292 2
Dec 2008 1.305 2.029
Nov 2008 1.304 2.006
Oct 2008 1.205 1.818
Sep 2008 1.214 1.813
Aug 2008 1.223 1.824
Jul 2008 1.191 1.769
Jun 2008 1.181 1.764
May 2008 1.194 1.801
Apr 2008 1.176 1.789
Mar 2008 1.168 1.788
Feb 2008 1.159 1.789
Jan 2008 1.163 1.801
Dec 2007 1.166 1.814
Nov 2007 1.161 1.805
Oct 2007 1.135 1.775
Sep 2007 1.142 1.79
Aug 2007 1.145 1.8
Jul 2007 1.13 1.773
Jun 2007 1.134 1.779
May 2007 1.118 1.757
Apr 2007 1.115 1.763
Mar 2007 1.064 1.693
Feb 2007 1.039 1.668
Jan 2007 1.033 1.668
Dec 2006 1.057 1.712
Nov 2006 1.049 1.701
Oct 2006 1.038 1.681
Sep 2006 1.063 1.712
Aug 2006 1.048 1.68
Jul 2006 1.04 1.67
Jun 2006 1.055 1.699
May 2006 1.034 1.669
Apr 2006 1.054 1.709
Mar 2006 1.047 1.712
Feb 2006 1.045 1.719
Jan 2006 1.062 1.75
Dec 2005 1.061 1.762
Nov 2005 1.059 1.751
Oct 2005 1.062 1.742
Sep 2005 1.056 1.736
Aug 2005 1.042 1.734
Jul 2005 1.067 1.784
Jun 2005 1.075 1.806
May 2005 1.052 1.768
Apr 2005 1.07 1.797
Mar 2005 1.061 1.794
Feb 2005 1.038 1.769
Jan 2005 1.026 1.758
Dec 2004 1.03 1.769
Nov 2004 1.039 1.778
Oct 2004 1.078 1.845
Sep 2004 1.078 1.855
Aug 2004 1.092 1.883
Jul 2004 1.077 1.858
Jun 2004 1.06 1.826
May 2004 1.039 1.796
Apr 2004 1.12 1.947
Mar 2004 1.1 1.918
Feb 2004 1.06 1.86
Jan 2004 1.062 1.874
Dec 2003 1.05 1.862
Nov 2003 1.068 1.892
Oct 2003 1.022 1.805
Sep 2003 1.022 1.803
Aug 2003 1.023 1.811
Jul 2003 1.027 1.825
Jun 2003 1.033 1.838
May 2003 1.031 1.836
Apr 2003 1.053 1.872
Mar 2003 1.049 1.861
Feb 2003 1.031 1.84
Jan 2003 1.004 1.806
Dec 2002 1.048 1.893
Nov 2002 1.044 1.882
Oct 2002 1.027 1.851
Sep 2002 1.074 1.939
Aug 2002 1.035 1.872
Jul 2002 1.077 1.954
Jun 2002 1.066 1.936
May 2002 1.094 1.988
Apr 2002 1.11 2.017
Mar 2002 1.11 2.029
Feb 2002 1.111 2.042
Jan 2002 1.091 2.013
Dec 2001 1.109 2.051
Nov 2001 1.133 2.087
Oct 2001 1.115 2.05
Sep 2001 1.107 2.029
Aug 2001 1.11 2.044
Jul 2001 1.102 2.029
Jun 2001 1.106 2.03
May 2001 1.095 2.014
Apr 2001 1.101 2.034
Mar 2001 1.103 2.046
Feb 2001 1.09 2.026
Jan 2001 1.091 2.036
Dec 2000 1.078 2.025
Nov 2000 1.065 1.999
Oct 2000 1.09 2.047
Sep 2000 1.087 2.045
Aug 2000 1.086 2.054
Jul 2000 1.089 2.059
Jun 2000 1.069 2.026
May 2000 1.052 2.005
Apr 2000 1.069 2.039
Mar 2000 1.064 2.031
Feb 2000 1.046 2.013
Jan 2000 1.059 2.05
Dec 1999 1.053 2.045
Nov 1999 1.078 2.093
Oct 1999 1.055 2.05
Sep 1999 1.08 2.102
Aug 1999 1.043 2.04
Jul 1999 1.045 2.049
Jun 1999 1.041 2.047
May 1999 1.026 2.017
Apr 1999 1.057 2.078
Mar 1999 1.057 2.093
Feb 1999 1.064 2.114
Jan 1999 1.072 2.132
Dec 1998 1.06 2.113
Nov 1998 1.084 2.16
Oct 1998 1.076 2.144
Sep 1998 1.074 2.145
Aug 1998 1.059 2.118
Jul 1998 1.033 2.068
Jun 1998 1.016 2.037
May 1998 1.032 2.072
Apr 1998 1.029 2.069
Mar 1998 1.032 2.079
Feb 1998 1.007 2.033
Jan 1998 1.022 2.067
Dec 1997 1.001 2.028
Nov 1997 1.018 2.06
Oct 1997 0.984 1.99
Sep 1997 0.992 2.011
Aug 1997 0.988 2.008
Jul 1997 1.005 2.046
Jun 1997 0.993 2.024
May 1997 1.007 2.055
Apr 1997 1.002 2.044
Mar 1997 1.009 2.061
Feb 1997 1.008 2.064
Jan 1997 1.016 2.087
Dec 1996 1.002 2.065
Nov 1996 1.003 2.067
Oct 1996 1.021 2.108
Sep 1996 1.006 2.083
Aug 1996 0.99 2.057
Jul 1996 0.972 2.023
Jun 1996 0.968 2.019
May 1996 0.949 1.98
Apr 1996 0.947 1.98
Mar 1996 0.933 1.958
Feb 1996 0.94 1.983
Jan 1996 0.941 1.992
Dec 1995 0.939 1.999
Nov 1995 0.948 2.017
Oct 1995 0.93 1.977
Sep 1995 0.939 2.003
Aug 1995 0.908 1.941
Jul 1995 0.919 1.969
Jun 1995 0.908 1.946
May 1995 0.891 1.913
Apr 1995 0.911 1.96
Mar 1995 0.917 1.979
Feb 1995 0.893 1.934
Jan 1995 0.897 1.95
Dec 1994 0.895 1.954
Nov 1994 0.904 1.973
Oct 1994 0.889 1.943
Sep 1994 0.901 1.971
Aug 1994 0.905 1.985
Jul 1994 0.92 2.026
Jun 1994 0.918 2.027
May 1994 0.902 1.998
Apr 1994 0.899 1.993
Mar 1994 0.891 1.978
Feb 1994 0.888 1.978
Jan 1994 0.899 2.009
Dec 1993 0.91 2.04
Nov 1993 0.918 2.058
Oct 1993 0.893 2.003
Sep 1993 0.897 2.02
Aug 1993 0.896 2.022
Jul 1993 0.89 2.014
Jun 1993 0.891 2.016
May 1993 0.888 2.012
Apr 1993 0.874 1.983
Mar 1993 0.879 2
Feb 1993 0.871 1.989
Jan 1993 0.875 2.005
Dec 1992 0.879 2.024
Nov 1992 0.885 2.037
Oct 1992 0.865 1.993
Sep 1992 0.881 2.037
Aug 1992 0.882 2.046
Jul 1992 0.878 2.042
Jun 1992 0.861 2.007
May 1992 0.854 1.998
Apr 1992 0.861 2.017
Mar 1992 0.859 2.015
Feb 1992 0.849 2.002
Jan 1992 0.878 2.078
Dec 1991 0.864 2.047
Nov 1991 0.857 2.032
Oct 1991 0.878 2.088
Sep 1991 0.874 2.082
Aug 1991 0.869 2.079
Jul 1991 0.888 2.131
Jun 1991 0.878 2.11
May 1991 0.883 2.128
Apr 1991 0.885 2.139
Mar 1991 0.899 2.176
Feb 1991 0.903 2.189
Jan 1991 0.886 2.151
Dec 1990 0.858 2.096
Nov 1990 0.88 2.149
Oct 1990 0.883 2.161
Sep 1990 0.907 2.234
Aug 1990 0.912 2.265
Jul 1990 0.917 2.298
Jun 1990 0.928 2.335
May 1990 0.902 2.281
Apr 1990 0.897 2.274
Mar 1990 0.928 2.356
Feb 1990 0.896 2.287
Jan 1990 0.882 2.262
Dec 1989 0.883 2.288
Nov 1989 0.879 2.282
Oct 1989 0.91 2.368
Sep 1989 0.942 2.463
Aug 1989 0.954 2.502
Jul 1989 0.964 2.532
Jun 1989 0.982 2.586
May 1989 0.961 2.537
Apr 1989 0.932 2.474
Mar 1989 0.913 2.44
Feb 1989 0.899 2.416
Jan 1989 0.905 2.442
Dec 1988 0.885 2.4
Nov 1988 0.892 2.423
Oct 1988 0.932 2.534
Sep 1988 0.975 2.66
Aug 1988 0.961 2.639
Jul 1988 0.937 2.584
Jun 1988 0.868 2.404
May 1988 0.796 2.214
Apr 1988 0.76 2.121
Mar 1988 0.753 2.112
Feb 1988 0.745 2.099
Jan 1988 0.74 2.09
Dec 1987 0.736 2.084
Nov 1987 0.756 2.141
Oct 1987 0.791 2.242
Sep 1987 0.793 2.253
Aug 1987 0.785 2.242
Jul 1987 0.755 2.168
Jun 1987 0.771 2.22
May 1987 0.782 2.259
Apr 1987 0.792 2.296
Mar 1987 0.804 2.344
Feb 1987 0.832 2.436
Jan 1987 0.821 2.413
Dec 1986 0.865 2.558
Nov 1986 0.878 2.599
Oct 1986 0.9 2.666
Sep 1986 0.91 2.698
Aug 1986 0.958 2.854
Jul 1986 0.889 2.653
Jun 1986 0.795 2.373
May 1986 0.769 2.308
Apr 1986 0.752 2.263
Mar 1986 0.767 2.304
Feb 1986 0.771 2.305
Jan 1986 0.766 2.284
Dec 1985 0.776 2.32
Nov 1985 0.778 2.332
Oct 1985 0.749 2.252
Sep 1985 0.762 2.299
Aug 1985 0.757 2.291
Jul 1985 0.753 2.283
Jun 1985 0.761 2.311
May 1985 0.745 2.269
Apr 1985 0.764 2.335
Mar 1985 0.769 2.362
Feb 1985 0.772 2.38
Jan 1985 0.773 2.394
Dec 1984 0.753 2.337
Nov 1984 0.771 2.393
Oct 1984 0.764 2.371
Sep 1984 0.79 2.459
Aug 1984 0.788 2.464
Jul 1984 0.829 2.602
Jun 1984 0.817 2.575
May 1984 0.811 2.563
Apr 1984 0.844 2.675
Mar 1984 0.848 2.701
Feb 1984 0.867 2.767
Jan 1984 0.839 2.691
Dec 1983 0.812 2.619
Nov 1983 0.766 2.473
Oct 1983 0.737 2.385
Sep 1983 0.769 2.496
Aug 1983 0.74 2.413
Jul 1983 0.724 2.368
Jun 1983 0.699 2.296
May 1983 0.687 2.263
Apr 1983 0.676 2.24
Mar 1983 0.698 2.33
Feb 1983 0.699 2.333
Jan 1983 0.689 2.302
Dec 1982 0.682 2.283
Nov 1982 0.694 2.314
Oct 1982 0.7 2.329
Sep 1982 0.713 2.38
Aug 1982 0.717 2.398
Jul 1982 0.74 2.48
Jun 1982 0.732 2.466
May 1982 0.72 2.456
Apr 1982 0.712 2.452
Mar 1982 0.715 2.473
Feb 1982 0.726 2.508
Jan 1982 0.712 2.467
Dec 1981 0.7 2.434
Nov 1981 0.702 2.448
Oct 1981 0.712 2.491
Sep 1981 0.728 2.553
Aug 1981 0.752 2.662
Jul 1981 0.767 2.736
Jun 1981 0.717 2.586
May 1981 0.706 2.569
Apr 1981 0.734 2.692
Mar 1981 0.755 2.788
Feb 1981 0.759 2.822
Jan 1981 0.749 2.813
Dec 1980 0.76 2.878
Nov 1980 0.766 2.928
Oct 1980 0.792 3.052
Sep 1980 0.791 3.077
Aug 1980 0.751 2.946
Jul 1980 0.71 2.806
Jun 1980 0.64 2.529
May 1980 0.628 2.509
Apr 1980 0.638 2.574
Mar 1980 0.655 2.672
Feb 1980 0.673 2.787
Jan 1980 0.699 2.936

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.