Prices for meals at McDonald’s have outpaced the rate of inflation over the past decade, a new study has found.
While prices have risen for everyday goods – including basic groceries – no other fast-food giant has jacked up the cost to eat more than McDonald’s.
According to a study updated this month by FinanceBuzz, prices at Golden Arches locations have increased by 100 percent for popular items since 2014.
The study asked a simple question when seeking answers for its report: “Is Fast Food Affordable Anymore?”
At McDonald’s locations nationwide, the answer of course depends on the budget of the buyer.
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But for people who keep price in mind when choosing where to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner, McDonald’s might no longer be a friendly place to grab a quick meal while they are trying to save a few bucks.
FinanceBuzz noted an actual inflation rate of 31 percent over the last decade, beginning in 2014, when Barack Obama was in his second term as president.
During the past decade, prices at Subway have increased by 39 percent while costs at Burger King, Arby’s and Wendy’s went up by 55 percent.
Jimmy John’s increased its prices by an average of 62 percent during the decade while Chipotle customers paid an average of 75 percent more.
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One iconic brand – Taco Bell – asked for an additional 81 percent form customers while Popeyes had price increase of 86 percent.
But no other fast-food giant asked for more from hungry eaters on the go from 2014 until this year than McDonald’s, according to FinanceBuzz.
The outlet noted:
“The worst offender for dramatic price increases is McDonald’s — a chain that recently went viral for all the wrong reasons. An $18 Big Mac combo garnered so much attention online that the McDonald’s CEO promised affordability on a recent earnings call.
“According to our data, prices at McDonald’s have doubled since 2014, with an average price increase of 100%.”
Some menu items – such as medium soft drinks and Big Macs – experienced reasonable price increases during the 10-year period. But other items are much more expensive.
A McDouble that cost $1.19 in 2014 now costs an average of $3.19, while the price for a medium order of fries rose from $1.59 to an average of $3.79.
The worst offender in overall price found by FinanceBuzz was a Quarter Pounder with Cheese with a drink and fries. The meal was $5.39 in 2014 but now is going for an average of $11.99.
FinanceBuzz spoke to several experts about the price jumps, and one of them had good news.
Kind of.
Dr. Shubhranshu Singh of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School was asked a number of questions about the data that was compiled – including whether he thought the price of fast food would continue to outpace the rate of inflation.
Singh replied:
“Fast food menu prices are expected to outpace inflation in the near term. However, the rate of increase is expected to slow down going forward. It appears that, if food price inflation and wage inflation continue to decrease, we can expect fast food prices to follow the overall inflation rate by the end of year.”
FinanceBuzz compared menu prices over the past decade using only items that were available for the entirety of the 10-year period and also used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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