Turkey Troubles: What Could Be Driving Up the Cost of Thanksgiving in Massachusetts?

Over 400 years after the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, families across Massachusetts have a lot to be thankful for as they prepare to gather once more.

But lately, the cost of living in Massachusetts may be putting a damper on this festive holiday. You may have seen recent stories that ranked Massachusetts as one of the more costly states to celebrate Thanksgiving in the nation. We looked at some of the things that could be working against Massachusetts residents and driving up costs.

When you consider the inflation of grocery prices that affect Thanksgiving meals, Massachusetts’ grocery costs have skyrocketed past many other states in the nation.

The Boston metropolitan area has seen one of the greatest increases in food bought at grocery stores (called “food at home” by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) compared to others across the country. 

In fact, Boston topped many other metro areas in grocery inflation since 2000: 3 percentage points above the national average and five to ten percentage points more than areas in Georgia, Texas, and Illinois.

It’s not just the cost of groceries that’s making Thanksgiving expensive for Massachusetts residents. Here are a couple of items that may be driving up food prices this holiday season:

1. Taxes on Dining Out: Massachusetts imposes a 6.25 percent sales tax on meals, and local municipalities can add their own taxes on top of this. This can make dining out with a large group of people for the holidays particularly pricey.
2. High Sales Tax on Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages are also subject to the state’s sales tax, which can add up quickly as people often purchase more alcohol during the holiday season.

Some of our policies are working to keep costs in check. A huge upside for Massachusetts is our lack of grocery taxes. By exempting groceries from the 6.25 percent sales tax, Massachusetts policy offers residents a small reprieve during the holiday season as grocery bills continue to rise. Massachusetts’ tax exemption for groceries parallels the policies of Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, which all have sales tax exemptions for groceries. Notably, New Hampshire does not have any sales tax at all. 

It's no wonder that 70 percent of surveyed Massachusetts residents believe Thanksgiving will be more expensive this year.

This is of particular concern for people in Massachusetts as 84 percent of surveyed residents are planning to stay in the Bay State for the holiday.

Unfortunately, the state still boasts one of the highest Thanksgiving dinner costs in the country – an illustration of how expensive living in Massachusetts still is. While Turkey Day comes once a year, residents need year-round relief on some of the state’s most pressing cost concerns.