America has a long list of favorite foods for the Fourth of July, including hot dogs, cheeseburgers, pork spare ribs, potato salad, baked beans, lemonade, and watermelon, among others. A cookout of the traditional Fourth of July favorites will cost just a few cents more this year, coming in at less than six dollars per person.
The American Farm Bureau’s survey reveals the average cost of a summer cookout for 10 people is $52.80, or $5.28 per person. The overall cost is just 11 cents higher than in 2018.
“Strong consumer demand for beef and higher U.S. meat production has led to higher ground beef prices, but lower pork spare ribs for the Fourth of July,” says AFB Chief Economist John Newton. “Increased pork supplies and competition in the meat case at the grocery store contributed to lower spare rib prices.”
Consumers will see lower cheese prices in time for the grilling season. A brand-new item on the list that Farm Bureau tracked is ice cream. Including 1.5 quarts of vanilla ice cream brings the total cost of the cookout to $56.38, still less than six dollars per person.