How Much Does the Average American Spend on Thanksgiving? 15+ A-Maize-Ing Statistics

Kicking off the holiday season with some turkey, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, corn pudding, and pumpkin pie on the table, accompanied with a little bit of wine, while surrounded by family and friends, sounds like a typical Thanksgiving Day to many.

Some may splurge a bit more on this yearly feast, while others prefer to keep it simple.

Key Thanksgiving Statistics for 2026 - Editor’s Choice

• Americans spent over $983.3 million on Thanksgiving turkeys in 2024.
• In 2025, Americans spent a whopping average of $952 on the Thanksgiving season.
• 52% of holiday shoppers were projected to take on debt to finance the 2025 season.
• In 2025, Baby Boomers were the only generation to increase spending (up 5%), while Gen Z planned a 23% cut.
• Americans purchase approximately 80 million pounds of cranberries during Thanksgiving week.

A 16-pound turkey cost an average of $21.50 in 2025.

(American Farm Bureau Information)

The price has gone down 16% compared to the year before, marking a significant relief for consumers. For example, in 2024, the same turkey cost $25.67. While prices are stabilizing, they remain higher than the 2018 average of $13.46.

Americans spent more than $983.3 million on Thanksgiving turkeys in 2024.

(Finder)

This represents a significant decrease compared to previous few years. For example, in 2023, Americans spent more than $1.2 billion on turkeys for this holiday alone.

During Thanksgiving Day 2025, people spent a record-breaking $6.4 billion on online shopping.

(Forbes)

This comes as no surprise, given that statistics indicate that more than 60% of Americans prefer to shop for holiday gifts online. What’s more, Thanksgiving week overlaps with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when online shopping typically reaches its peak. The overall spending increased by 5.3% compared to 2024, as shoppers leaned into early "Cyber Week" deals.

In 2025, Americans spent a whopping average of $952 on the Thanksgiving season.

(Lending Tree)

This reflects the total cost of the holiday expenses, including: $175 on food, $110 on drinks, $83 on decor, and $293 on travel. While food prices stabilized, miscellaneous costs like fixing appliances or buying new outfits kept the total high.

Only 6% of Americans planned to skip Thanksgiving completely in 2025.

(Lending Tree)

Traditional celebrations saw a resurgence, as 94% of Americans planned to celebrate in 2025, with 87% making turkey the star of the table and 71% hosting gatherings of three to ten guests.

In 2025, 52% of holiday shoppers were projected to take on debt to finance the season.

(Lending Tree)

While 2024 saw 36% of hosts taking on debt, the broader 2025 holiday season saw over half of shoppers relying on credit. 17% of those debtors expect it will take over six months to pay off their holiday balances.

In 2025, Baby Boomers were the generation expected to increase spending the most.

(Yahoo!)

In a major shift, Gen Z planned to slash their holiday budgets by 23% in 2025 due to economic anxiety. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers planned a 5% increase in spending, and Millennials remained nearly flat with a 1% dip.

Americans purchase approximately 80 million pounds of cranberries during Thanksgiving week.

(Agricultural Marketing Resource Center)

Americans buy around 400 million pounds of cranberries over the course of a year, 20% of which during Thanksgiving week.

Around 40% of sales of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup go toward making the green bean casserole.

(Smithsonian Mag) 

The green bean casserole is another signature Thanksgiving dish. That’s why it comes as no surprise that the sale of its ingredients, including Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, increase during that time of the year.

The recipe, which includes a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, green beans, milk,  fried onions, black pepper, and soy sauce, dates back to 1955. That’s when a woman by the name of Dorcas Reilly, a supervisor for Campbell’s test kitchen, was asked to create a recipe for an Associated Press feature, and she came up with this now-famous dish.

Thanksgiving travel budgets dropped by 18% in late 2025.

(Silive)

While more people (54%) intended to travel for the 2025 holidays, their average budget fell to $2,334 (down from 2024). High-income travelers were among those cutting back most significantly.

The most expensive Thanksgiving dinner ever cost $181,000.

(CNBC)

In 2019, Old Homestead Steakhouse, a Manhattan restaurant, was offering what was termed the “world’s most expensive Thanksgiving dinner.” But what did this offer include? As is to be expected, this was a turkey dinner. It included two 20-pound free-range turkeys covered in edible gold flakes. 

The turkeys were served along with seafood bread stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and cranberry sauce. For dessert, there was a range of pies, namely, pumpkin, coconut custard, pecan, and apple pies. When it comes to drinks, this package included Cristal champagne.

Those who decided to cash out for this luxurious dinner also received four tickets to the Super Bowl LIV in Miami, two tickets to “The Voice,” two iPhone 11 Pro Maxes, a SeaDream Yacht Club Cruise for two, and more.

48% of Thanksgiving hosts asked guests to bring a dish to help offset costs in 2025.

(Lending Tree)

This cost-sharing trend surged as families looked for ways to manage budgets. Guests contributed an average of $47 in food and drinks to the gatherings they attended.

Cranberry sauce and Green Bean Casserole are the most disliked Thanksgiving foods in 2025.

(Dallas Observer / Savings.com)

The tide has turned against the sides: 35% of respondents rejected cranberry sauce, and 40% voted to ban green bean casserole. Turkey remains divisive, with roughly 27% still listing it as their least favorite.

The total "Classic" 10-person meal cost fell to $55.18 in November 2025.

(American Farm Bureau Federation)

This was a 5% decrease from 2024, driven largely by the 16% drop in turkey prices, though vegetable trays saw a price "skyrocket" of 61% due to hurricane damage in crop regions.

AI-driven traffic to retail sites increased by 693% during the 2025 holiday season.

(Adobe Analytics)

Shoppers utilized Generative AI at record rates to find deals; 32% of consumers specifically used AI tools to aid their gift searching and budget management.

"Second Proteins" appeared on 43% of Thanksgiving tables in 2025.

(Deloitte)

As tastes evolve, nearly half of Americans served an additional main dish alongside the turkey, such as brisket, fish, or vegan substitutes.