Chick-fil-A Prices Rise More Than 20 Percent in 2 Years

Craving some Chick-fil-A? It will cost you 21% more than it did two years ago, according to new figures. 

The national chicken restaurant first raised its prices by 15% in 2022, and then in January 2023, the chain's menu-wide prices at more than 3,000 locations increased another 6% as minimum-wage increases and other economic factors came into play, reported Newsweek, citing figures from the food business blog Food Truck Empire.

That means that patrons are paying an average price of $5.79 for Chick-fil-A's signature chicken sandwich, or $5.95 for an eight-piece order of chicken nuggets, where the prices for both of the menu items averaged less than $5 in 2022, Food Truck Empire reported. 

But those prices are higher in some locations, depending on where customers are eating. In New York City, the cost of living is 30% higher than in the rest of the country, so a Chick-fil-A sandwich costs $6.99; nuggets ring up at $7.09, noted The New York Post.

The rising prices come while the Federal Reserve has been struggling to bring inflation back to a goal of 2%, which the economy has not had since 2012. The latest Consumer Price Index tracked the costs of services and goods at 3.1% this past November. 

The food index slowed slightly in November, when it was at 0.2%, compared to 0.3% in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which also noted that the index for chicken declined.

Representatives for Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post. 

Meanwhile, minimum wage bumps went into effect in many locations Monday, including New York, where it went up by $1, from $15 to $16 an hour. 

New York's minimum wage will keep going up until it hits $17 in New York City and its suburbs and $16 an hour in the rest of the state by 

The state's minimum wage is expected to increase every year until it reaches $17 in New York City and its suburbs, or $16 in the rest of the state by 2026. 

Minimum-wage workers are also seeing new increases in 22 states, meaning that about 30 states have a minimum wage higher than the $7.25, the federal minimum wage since 2009.

Chick-fil-A is not the only restaurant chain seeing prices rise. The price of a Big Mac is expected to set patrons back by $15 in the states that increased the minimum wage, and that's without a side order of fries.

Brandon Arnold, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, a fiscally conservative think tank said California's decision to raise fast-food wages to at least $20 is a troubling sign, as restaurants will "have to raise prices, start to reduce those labor costs or a combination of both … that's not fair to those employees that are getting laid off, nor is it fair to the customers that are all of the sudden paying $12, $15 for a Big Mac."

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