Average Price Data, AP (APU0000706212) · Chicken legs, bone-in, per lb. (453.6 gm), U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted

What does a pound of chicken legs cost in the US?

The average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs was $1.747 in the month ended .

Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, each month

January 1980 to October 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as published

Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, each month (January 1980 to October 2026), recessions shaded
Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, each month (October 2016 to October 2026), recessions shaded
Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, each month (October 2024 to October 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)

January 1980 to October 2026Ours, from the published values

Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (January 1980 to October 2026), recessions shaded
Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (October 2016 to October 2026), recessions shaded
Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (October 2024 to October 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Each point is one month of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

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Inspect and compare dates

The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. Every month since January 1980 is in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".

Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average: the newest month beside earlier ones
MeasureLatestThe month beforeA year earlierFive years earlierTen years earlier
Month
Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average$1.747$1.739$1.796$1.709$1.509
Change over a yearn/a−3.2%−4.1%+10.2%−6.3%

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

Observed .

Right now

The average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs was $1.747 in October 2026, the highest since May 2026.

See every month since 1980

ChangeOurs

The average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs at the start of each period, and the change since then (ours)
PeriodThenChange
One month$1.739 in +0.5%
Three months$1.723 in +1.4%
Twelve monthsNo value for
Five years$1.709 in +2.2%
Ten years$1.509 in +15.8%

In historyOurs

The average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs of $1.747 in was higher than in 513 of the 559 other months since , the same in 0 and lower in 46.

Highest since : $2.031 in . Lowest since : $0.967 in .

AverageOurs

Average since : $1.3544 (ours, a plain mean of the 560 months).

Understanding the average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs

Where it stands today

The average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs was $1.747 in October 2026.

What does the average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs measure?

This is the average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs in the United States: a series of the average price data of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), for the U.S. city average and not seasonally adjusted. BLS publishes it each month, with the Consumer Price Index, in dollars to three decimals.

Read more

BLS names the item "Chicken legs, bone-in, per lb. (453.6 gm)" and the series APU0000706212.

What 500metrics adds: the change over one month, three months, a year and five years, the highest and lowest price since the series begins, how the change over a year ranks among the items in its group on the average prices page, and every month of the series in a table by year.

The numbers behind the chart

What was the average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs in each month?One row for each year since 1980, newest first

Each row is a year and each column a month. A dash is a month with no price: before the series began, after its newest month, or a month BLS published no price for (the limits name those). The highest and lowest prices of the whole series are in bold.

Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, by month and year, newest year first (US dollars per pound; the highest and lowest prices in bold)
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
20261.7351.7071.7391.7121.7861.6881.7231.6701.7391.747––
20251.7911.7921.8051.7891.7851.8151.7991.7971.796–1.7951.725
20241.8251.7521.8211.8151.8331.7711.7861.8351.8731.8301.7701.781
20231.8691.8431.8581.9351.9191.9982.0252.031 (highest price)1.8991.9171.8511.856
20221.7311.7971.8341.8861.8611.8821.8351.9931.9752.0132.0241.945
20211.6001.5531.5691.5791.5931.6111.6151.7061.7231.7091.7331.729
20201.4511.4791.5381.5981.5811.6021.5791.5681.5571.5511.5501.543
20191.3811.4171.3921.4351.4421.4151.4121.4141.4251.4291.4881.505
20181.3271.4021.3941.4501.4471.4271.4311.4391.4261.4601.3851.404
20171.4621.4841.4801.4921.4541.4361.4181.4531.4391.4361.4371.461
Show 37 more rows
Average price of a pound of bone-in chicken legs, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, by month and year, newest year first (US dollars per pound; the highest and lowest prices in bold) (continued)
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
20161.5791.4851.5091.5651.5281.5621.5471.5701.5481.5091.5101.432
20151.5841.5811.5881.6091.5521.6221.5911.6121.5951.6101.6051.573
20141.5361.5791.5541.5381.5591.5481.5531.5641.5751.6201.6291.609
20131.5831.6251.5251.5381.6091.6491.6501.6501.6581.6831.5781.591
20121.5851.5151.6431.5941.5881.6121.6101.5841.4921.4641.6001.651
20111.4221.5211.5071.4811.4831.4521.4991.5251.5611.4961.4701.457
20101.4361.4711.3571.3851.4331.4911.5081.4681.5211.4801.5021.483
20091.5061.5121.4921.5271.5531.5651.4761.4761.4301.4701.4721.455
20081.3551.3911.3871.3581.3881.4111.4171.4351.4811.4671.4781.497
20071.2221.2661.2941.2801.2981.3321.3341.3041.3561.3041.3721.360
20061.2951.2701.2901.2531.2311.1831.2051.2281.2421.2221.2101.233
20051.2931.3471.2911.3221.2991.3571.3111.3151.3501.3361.3731.326
20041.2831.3051.2991.2681.3781.3161.3331.3511.3681.3981.3021.368
20031.2381.2231.2491.2591.2481.2261.2621.2421.2541.3251.2751.274
20021.3611.3291.3191.3071.2821.3111.2701.2951.3391.3131.2851.275
20011.2711.2821.2931.2941.2821.3011.3511.3561.3061.3411.3551.339
20001.2731.2551.2551.2601.2621.2861.2931.2981.2971.2871.2091.264
19991.2741.2801.2811.2531.2371.2831.3161.2841.2691.2741.2681.168
19981.2801.2711.2491.2561.2601.2791.2521.2911.2551.3001.3011.261
19971.2651.2391.2311.2151.2211.2431.2551.2161.2271.2361.2461.217
19961.2181.2321.2171.2121.2341.2051.2391.2521.2991.2851.2351.256
19951.1121.1461.1531.1521.1411.1341.1301.1501.1951.1761.2091.201
19941.1171.1141.0871.1181.1341.1551.1591.1211.1631.1441.1341.123
19931.0951.0841.0991.1271.1471.1001.1061.0691.0941.1161.0771.130
19921.1471.0921.0661.1131.1041.1311.1471.1441.1161.1121.1251.139
19911.1951.1821.1591.1521.1541.1571.1641.1631.1361.1201.1311.141
19901.1251.1681.2231.1591.1821.2301.2331.2321.2251.2011.1551.165
19891.1761.1751.1701.1961.2571.3011.2681.2541.1821.2081.1431.141
19881.0290.9951.0201.0261.0521.1421.2711.2971.2561.2371.1991.168
1987–1.1381.1241.1191.0781.0621.0531.0981.0851.0701.0541.050
19861.1151.0891.0371.0671.0611.1081.1941.3201.2711.2211.2681.251
19851.1311.0901.0791.0481.0651.0661.0941.0611.0601.0311.0511.142
19841.1781.2591.2361.1911.1551.1691.1731.1091.1371.0921.0651.084
19831.0211.0421.0521.0481.0691.0201.0671.0461.0501.0171.0061.075
19821.1121.0991.0621.0291.0741.0721.1021.0821.0621.0611.0341.042
19811.1501.1471.1281.0461.1051.1011.1561.1371.1241.1261.1091.099
19801.0601.0240.9850.967 (lowest price)0.9851.0051.0671.1271.1641.1451.1301.141

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • The price is an average of the retail prices that BLS collects from a sample of sellers, for the U.S. city average. It is not a price index. BLS measures the change of prices with the Consumer Price Index, and the change over a year on this page, worked out from the averages, can differ from the change of the index.
  • BLS did not collect prices for October 2025 because of the lapse in appropriations, so the page has no price for that month and the chart shows a gap.
  • BLS published no price for 1 other month: January 1987.
  • The changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest prices are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes. A change is in percent.
  • BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.

Observed . Checked .

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price Data, Chicken legs, bone-in, per lb. (453.6 gm), U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, through October 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What does a pound of chicken legs cost in the US?", https://500metrics.com/average-prices/chicken-legs.

Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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