Walking through the crowded aisles of a Reno Raley’s, a wall of frozen turkeys fills the shelves, stacked high and ready to become the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner.
But this year, the price tags stand out just as much as the birds themselves.
Last Thanksgiving, the national average for a frozen turkey was $2.08 per pound. In 2025, that price climbed more than 11 percent to $2.31 per pound, according to FinanceBuzz.
For a typical 15-pound turkey, that comes out to roughly $32 for Nevada families.
Depending on the store, shoppers will notice wide differences in price:
- Walmart: $0.97 per pound
- Save Mart: $1.99 per pound
- Raley’s: $2.79 per pound
Side dishes are not offering much relief. Idahoan instant mashed potatoes range from three for $5 at Raley’s, to two for $3 at Save Mart, to just over $1 each at Walmart.
Cranberries saw one of the biggest jumps of any Thanksgiving staple this year. A standard 12-ounce can of cranberry sauce rose 46 percent, increasing from $2.34 to $3.41 nationwide.
Experts point to supply chain issues along with higher packaging and processing costs.
These increases add up quickly for families planning a full holiday spread.
Frank Fossen, an economics professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, says several global and domestic factors are pushing prices higher. He also noted one way the federal government could help ease the burden.
“And so that's something that could be done by decreasing the tariffs, to lower the cost of imports and goods that need imports to be produced,” Fossen says.
Lower tariffs, he explained, could reduce costs on products that rely on imported materials, including canned goods, packaging, and ingredients used in many holiday staples.
Back at the grocery store, the shelves remain full and the turkeys are still waiting for their moment in the oven.
For many Nevadans, however, preparing a budget-friendly Thanksgiving meal this year may require more comparison shopping than usual.
