Thanksgiving dinner gobbles up NYC wallets as holiday feast prices soar 15%

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 so much pork you can eat.”

The biggest price increase this year is for the turkey table favorite apple cider, which has rocketed 75% from $3.99 last year to $6.99.

The spike comes after a spring freeze devastated the apple harvest in upstate and western New York, with growers suffering an estimated $30 million in losses so far in 2026, according to the governor’s office.

“The milk, the bread, the fruits, meats all went up,” said Union Square Whole Foods shopper Angelo Hernandez, 66.

“It’s hard, especially if you’re retired. If you’re working, you have an income every week. Now, if you’re retired, it’s once a month,” said the retired industrial mechanic, adding that he and his wife are relying on their son to bring the bird.

“My son gets the turkey — he works so he buys it,” Hernandez said.

The average turkey price across the country is up 30% to $1.76 per pound, nearly 88% above the 94 cents per pound average in 2024, according to the Farm Bureau.

New York has the highest per-person Thanksgiving dinner cost in the country — 20% above the national average and 9% higher than in neighboring Northeastern states, the Farm Bureau reported.

Other items saw steep price hikes, including whole milk, which soared 50%, with a half-gallon of Farmland brand rising from $5.99 to $8.99, and Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin, which jumped 43% to $4.29.

A nine-inch pumpkin pie at Whole Foods across the city shot up from as low as $11.75 last year to $13.99 this year, a 19% increase.

Prices for at least eight products remained flat year over year.

Only Idahoan boxed mashed potatoes saw a price drop — falling 50 cents from last year, a 10% decrease.

Still, the sky-high prices won’t stop New Yorkers from celebrating with Thanksgiving staples.

“I’m gonna buy it regardless of what the price is,” Miller said with a laugh.