The Price Of Grocery Store Chicken In 2000 Vs 2025

Regarding grocery prices, it's hard not to recall one of Howard Beale's speeches from the 1976 film "Network": "I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everyone knows things are bad." The food inflation crisis has been going strong for years now. According to the Pew Research Center, every single food the government monitors has increased in price since 2020. This includes traditionally cheap meats like chicken.

Let's take a look at how chicken prices today compare to 2000. Roughly a quarter of a century ago, chicken was about $1.07 a pound at the grocery store. Thanks to inflation, it's about twice as much today at $2.08 a pound. While this might seem like a relatively modest (and expected) increase for a 25 year time gap, much of this uptick came in recent years.

In March of 2020 — which was also around the time states started shutting down businesses and schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic  – prices began to increase steeply. There were some ups and downs in the cost of chicken beforehand, with October 2013 seeing a mild surge. However, it was not until 2020 that prices began to rise significantly. While chicken prices have gone down some since 2022, they remain significantly higher on average than their pre-pandemic levels. This tracks with national trends. Nearly all grocery store staples cost a lot more in 2025. Since 2021, food prices across the board have jumped 25% (via Forbes).

It might help to take a look at some factors causing spikes in grocery costs. COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions started the upward trend, but additional factors came into play over the past five years. The Russian-Ukraine War impacted the cost of food across the globe. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's tariffs resulted in price hikes for popular imported items. In terms of eggs and poultry specifically, Avian flu had a notable effect.

To put it briefly, we're living through some wild times on an international scale. But when things settle down, prices will go back to normal, right? Sadly, experts feel this is unlikely. While the prices of individual items may drop sporadically, as a whole, grocery costs are unlikely to trend downward. This is simply part of how for-profit companies operate. If corporations find an acceptable excuse to hike prices, they're unlikely to lower them – and potentially decrease their own gains – once consumers have adjusted, even after circumstances improve.

If it's any consolation, the inflation of chicken prices may be coming to an end. Grocery costs are still a huge issue for consumers, but the inflation rate slowed slightly in the summer of 2025. While costs are still rising as of fall of 2025, the inflation rate is less severe than many experts originally predicted. So, prices may, at the very least, hold steady for the time being.