Chicken Prices Price History
1950–2025 · Bureau of Labor Statistics / USDA
The average retail price per pound of a whole chicken (fryer) in the United States, tracked from 1950 to 2025. Chicken is the great American protein bargain. Thanks to massive gains in farming efficiency — better breeds, automated processing, and vertically integrated supply chains — a pound of whole chicken actually got cheaper in real terms for most of the late twentieth century. Even now, at roughly $2.00 a pound, it remains one of the most affordable sources of animal protein you can buy at the grocery store.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics / USDA1950–2025
Price in 1950
$0.43
Price in 2025
$2.02
Total Change
+369.8%
Years Tracked
75
Chicken Prices Over Time
1950Year Range2025
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- Whole chicken cost $0.43 per pound in 1950 and actually fell to $0.29 by 1964, one of the rare grocery items that got nominally cheaper during a period of general inflation — a testament to the industrialization of poultry farming.
- Prices barely budged throughout the 1990s, hovering right around $1.00 per pound for nearly a decade. In inflation-adjusted terms, that made the 1990s the cheapest era ever to buy chicken.
- Even the post-pandemic price spike was modest by grocery standards: chicken went from $1.53 in 2020 to $2.02 in 2025, a 32% increase that pales next to the jumps seen in beef, eggs, and coffee.
- At $2.02 per pound in 2025, whole chicken remains one of the cheapest animal proteins available — roughly a third the cost of beef and half the price of pork chops.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD per pound) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | $0.43 | — |
| 1951 | $0.46 | +7.0% |
| 1952 | $0.44 | -4.3% |
| 1953 | $0.42 | -4.5% |
| 1954 | $0.37 | -11.9% |
| 1955 | $0.39 | +5.4% |
| 1956 | $0.36 | -7.7% |
| 1957 | $0.34 | -5.6% |
| 1958 | $0.38 | +11.8% |
| 1959 | $0.35 | -7.9% |
| 1960 | $0.33 | -5.7% |
| 1961 | $0.30 | -9.1% |
| 1962 | $0.31 | +3.3% |
| 1963 | $0.30 | -3.2% |
| 1964 | $0.29 | -3.3% |
| 1965 | $0.30 | +3.4% |
| 1966 | $0.33 | +10.0% |
| 1967 | $0.31 | -6.1% |
| 1968 | $0.33 | +6.5% |
| 1969 | $0.36 | +9.1% |
| 1970 | $0.35 | -2.8% |
| 1971 | $0.34 | -2.9% |
| 1972 | $0.36 | +5.9% |
| 1973 | $0.52 | +44.4% |
| 1974 | $0.45 | -13.5% |
| 1975 | $0.53 | +17.8% |
| 1976 | $0.51 | -3.8% |
| 1977 | $0.50 | -2.0% |
| 1978 | $0.54 | +8.0% |
| 1979 | $0.57 | +5.6% |
| 1980 | $0.63 | +10.5% |
| 1981 | $0.66 | +4.8% |
| 1982 | $0.64 | -3.0% |
| 1983 | $0.65 | +1.6% |
| 1984 | $0.73 | +12.3% |
| 1985 | $0.75 | +2.7% |
| 1986 | $0.79 | +5.3% |
| 1987 | $0.77 | -2.5% |
| 1988 | $0.83 | +7.8% |
| 1989 | $0.86 | +3.6% |
| 1990 | $0.86 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | $0.86 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | $0.84 | -2.3% |
| 1993 | $0.88 | +4.8% |
| 1994 | $0.89 | +1.1% |
| 1995 | $0.94 | +5.6% |
| 1996 | $1.00 | +6.4% |
| 1997 | $1.05 | +5.0% |
| 1998 | $1.05 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | $1.05 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | $1.08 | +2.9% |
| 2001 | $1.11 | +2.8% |
| 2002 | $1.10 | -0.9% |
| 2003 | $1.06 | -3.6% |
| 2004 | $1.12 | +5.7% |
| 2005 | $1.08 | -3.6% |
| 2006 | $1.12 | +3.7% |
| 2007 | $1.22 | +8.9% |
| 2008 | $1.33 | +9.0% |
| 2009 | $1.25 | -6.0% |
| 2010 | $1.29 | +3.2% |
| 2011 | $1.41 | +9.3% |
| 2012 | $1.47 | +4.3% |
| 2013 | $1.52 | +3.4% |
| 2014 | $1.59 | +4.6% |
| 2015 | $1.54 | -3.1% |
| 2016 | $1.44 | -6.5% |
| 2017 | $1.42 | -1.4% |
| 2018 | $1.45 | +2.1% |
| 2019 | $1.48 | +2.1% |
| 2020 | $1.53 | +3.4% |
| 2021 | $1.61 | +5.2% |
| 2022 | $1.91 | +18.6% |
| 2023 | $1.93 | +1.0% |
| 2024 | $1.98 | +2.6% |
| 2025 | $2.02 | +2.0% |
Year1950
Price (USD per pound)$0.43
YoY Change—
Year1951
Price (USD per pound)$0.46
YoY Change+7.0%
Year1952
Price (USD per pound)$0.44
YoY Change-4.3%
Year1953
Price (USD per pound)$0.42
YoY Change-4.5%
Year1954
Price (USD per pound)$0.37
YoY Change-11.9%
Year1955
Price (USD per pound)$0.39
YoY Change+5.4%
Year1956
Price (USD per pound)$0.36
YoY Change-7.7%
Year1957
Price (USD per pound)$0.34
YoY Change-5.6%
Year1958
Price (USD per pound)$0.38
YoY Change+11.8%
Year1959
Price (USD per pound)$0.35
YoY Change-7.9%
Year1960
Price (USD per pound)$0.33
YoY Change-5.7%
Year1961
Price (USD per pound)$0.30
YoY Change-9.1%
Year1962
Price (USD per pound)$0.31
YoY Change+3.3%
Year1963
Price (USD per pound)$0.30
YoY Change-3.2%
Year1964
Price (USD per pound)$0.29
YoY Change-3.3%
Year1965
Price (USD per pound)$0.30
YoY Change+3.4%
Year1966
Price (USD per pound)$0.33
YoY Change+10.0%
Year1967
Price (USD per pound)$0.31
YoY Change-6.1%
Year1968
Price (USD per pound)$0.33
YoY Change+6.5%
Year1969
Price (USD per pound)$0.36
YoY Change+9.1%
Year1970
Price (USD per pound)$0.35
YoY Change-2.8%
Year1971
Price (USD per pound)$0.34
YoY Change-2.9%
Year1972
Price (USD per pound)$0.36
YoY Change+5.9%
Year1973
Price (USD per pound)$0.52
YoY Change+44.4%
Year1974
Price (USD per pound)$0.45
YoY Change-13.5%
Year1975
Price (USD per pound)$0.53
YoY Change+17.8%
Year1976
Price (USD per pound)$0.51
YoY Change-3.8%
Year1977
Price (USD per pound)$0.50
YoY Change-2.0%
Year1978
Price (USD per pound)$0.54
YoY Change+8.0%
Year1979
Price (USD per pound)$0.57
YoY Change+5.6%
Year1980
Price (USD per pound)$0.63
YoY Change+10.5%
Year1981
Price (USD per pound)$0.66
YoY Change+4.8%
Year1982
Price (USD per pound)$0.64
YoY Change-3.0%
Year1983
Price (USD per pound)$0.65
YoY Change+1.6%
Year1984
Price (USD per pound)$0.73
YoY Change+12.3%
Year1985
Price (USD per pound)$0.75
YoY Change+2.7%
Year1986
Price (USD per pound)$0.79
YoY Change+5.3%
Year1987
Price (USD per pound)$0.77
YoY Change-2.5%
Year1988
Price (USD per pound)$0.83
YoY Change+7.8%
Year1989
Price (USD per pound)$0.86
YoY Change+3.6%
Year1990
Price (USD per pound)$0.86
YoY Change+0.0%
Year1991
Price (USD per pound)$0.86
YoY Change+0.0%
Year1992
Price (USD per pound)$0.84
YoY Change-2.3%
Year1993
Price (USD per pound)$0.88
YoY Change+4.8%
Year1994
Price (USD per pound)$0.89
YoY Change+1.1%
Year1995
Price (USD per pound)$0.94
YoY Change+5.6%
Year1996
Price (USD per pound)$1.00
YoY Change+6.4%
Year1997
Price (USD per pound)$1.05
YoY Change+5.0%
Year1998
Price (USD per pound)$1.05
YoY Change+0.0%
Year1999
Price (USD per pound)$1.05
YoY Change+0.0%
Year2000
Price (USD per pound)$1.08
YoY Change+2.9%
Year2001
Price (USD per pound)$1.11
YoY Change+2.8%
Year2002
Price (USD per pound)$1.10
YoY Change-0.9%
Year2003
Price (USD per pound)$1.06
YoY Change-3.6%
Year2004
Price (USD per pound)$1.12
YoY Change+5.7%
Year2005
Price (USD per pound)$1.08
YoY Change-3.6%
Year2006
Price (USD per pound)$1.12
YoY Change+3.7%
Year2007
Price (USD per pound)$1.22
YoY Change+8.9%
Year2008
Price (USD per pound)$1.33
YoY Change+9.0%
Year2009
Price (USD per pound)$1.25
YoY Change-6.0%
Year2010
Price (USD per pound)$1.29
YoY Change+3.2%
Year2011
Price (USD per pound)$1.41
YoY Change+9.3%
Year2012
Price (USD per pound)$1.47
YoY Change+4.3%
Year2013
Price (USD per pound)$1.52
YoY Change+3.4%
Year2014
Price (USD per pound)$1.59
YoY Change+4.6%
Year2015
Price (USD per pound)$1.54
YoY Change-3.1%
Year2016
Price (USD per pound)$1.44
YoY Change-6.5%
Year2017
Price (USD per pound)$1.42
YoY Change-1.4%
Year2018
Price (USD per pound)$1.45
YoY Change+2.1%
Year2019
Price (USD per pound)$1.48
YoY Change+2.1%
Year2020
Price (USD per pound)$1.53
YoY Change+3.4%
Year2021
Price (USD per pound)$1.61
YoY Change+5.2%
Year2022
Price (USD per pound)$1.91
YoY Change+18.6%
Year2023
Price (USD per pound)$1.93
YoY Change+1.0%
Year2024
Price (USD per pound)$1.98
YoY Change+2.6%
Year2025
Price (USD per pound)$2.02
YoY Change+2.0%
Sources & Methodology
BLS average retail price for fresh whole chicken per pound. Pre-1980 figures from USDA Economic Research Service.
Primary source: Bureau of Labor Statistics / USDA
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.