July 4th cookout costs: This meat is cheaper than last year

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FILE-People gather for a Fourth of July cookout. (Photo by Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

Consumers are preparing for the Fourth of July as they search their local grocery aisles to find the best foods for their holiday menu.

And if you're planning to grill, meat products will likely be in demand at stores, and although it can get pricey, accounting for half of the total cookout cost, there is one meat you can find for a bargain.

This year, chicken is cheaper than burgers and pork chops.

Two pounds of chicken breast will cost an average of $7.83, down 4% since 2023 and down over 13% from the record high set in 2022 amid a bird flu outbreak, according to a 2024 cookout survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

However, two pounds of ground beef costs $12.77 on average and three pounds of pork chops cost $15.49 on average, and $19.91 in California, where the state banned in-state meat sales from animals whose production didn't meet California animal welfare standards, regardless of where the cattle is raised, the AFBF noted.

To gather the prices for meats for the survey, the AFBF received assistance from volunteer shoppers nationwide to collect data on those items, including meat, chips, buns, and cheese.

This story was reported from Washington, D.C.