The City You'll Find The Most Expensive Fast Food Burger Combo In 2022
The overall inflation rate in the United States peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). As of September 2022, the overall inflation rate decreased to 8.2% — but the inflation rate specifically for food in September 2022 was at 11.2%, per BLS. The rise in inflation for food affects not only products that are available in grocery stores, but also the price of food offered at dine-in and fast-food restaurants. According to MoneyGeek, from 2021 to 2022, the price of a basic burger combo meal (which includes a burger, fries, and a soda) increased by an overall average of 9%.
More specifically, the cost of a burger combo in 2021 at McDonald's was about $5.57 and is around $6.19 in 2022, which is an 11.3% price increase, per MoneyGeek. While Five Guys is a pricier fast food option, the same rings true. In 2021, you could get a Five Guys burger meal for about $17.59, whereas the same meal would cost you about $19.95 in 2022 (an estimated 13.5% price increase). Surprisingly, Burger King had the highest change in prices from 2021 to 2022 with a 21% increase, meaning a burger combo in 2021 that cost $6.76 would ring up as $8.18 in 2022.
Of course, fast food prices greatly depend on location. Here's the city with the most expensive burger combo in 2022.
The West coast has the most expensive fast food burger combos
According to MoneyGeek, the city in the United States with the most expensive fast food burger combo in 2022 is San Francisco, California, with a typical meal ringing up at around $15.30 at major fast food chains. Los Angeles came in second with an average meal costing $14.59, and New York is in third place with an average cost for a burger combo being about $14.22. Rounding out the top five cities, Long Beach is in fourth with an average meal costing $13.08, and Washington, D.C. is in fifth place with a meal being priced, on average, at $12.94.
On the flip side, the United States city with the least expensive fast food burger, fries, and soda combo meal is Tulsa, Oklahoma, with an average meal costing $6.55, about half the average in San Francisco. The second and third least expensive U.S. cities for a burger combo in 2022 are Wichita (with an average meal costing $7.22) and El Paso (with an average meal costing $7.79), respectively. In New Orleans, you can get a burger combo meal for $7.93, and Detroit finishes the list of top five cities with the least expensive fast food burger combos, with a typical meal costing just $8.79.