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A site that tracks the price of a Big Mac in every US McDonald's
- paul7986 3y agoAnother cool data set would be to show what hourly wage employees are making especially at the ones with dark red colored locations where a Big Mac is over $7.00.
- Kon-Peki 3y agoFirst data point: According to this site a Big Mac costs $5.19 at my local McDonalds and I know from driving past it that the starting wage is $15+ per hour.
- diob 3y agoI mean, we already have the big mac index: https://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-global-prices-for-a-big-mac/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-glo... I don't think hourly wage is connected much to price given how high up the US is on that list compared to other countries.
- rconti 3y agoThe Axios article linked in another comment shows this data for selected cities. There appears to be a pretty weak correlation. Although there could be other offsetting factors (maybe fewer employees in the high wage areas, more use of the order-yourself screens or something). https://www.axios.com/2022/04/17/mcdonalds-big-mac-inflation-food-prices https://www.axios.com/2022/04/17/mcdonalds-big-mac-inflation...
- intrasight 3y agoReally needs to be worldwide - in keeping with the Big Mac index
- DominikPeters 3y agoUnfortunately most countries have their own app so scraping it would be rough.
- yodon 3y agoLooking at the SF Bay Area, Alameda and Contra Costa counties look to be significantly cheaper (~15%) than surrounding counties. Anyone know if this has roots in specific tax rate differences or other city/county rules?
- pkaye 3y agoAlameda county has high sales rates actually.
- rconti 3y agoI mean, in general, the east bay is cheaper than the peninsula and south bay. You can even see how the prices sorta stay high in fremont then go lower as you go north. And particularly when you get to the tri-valley, land is a lot cheaper (relatively speaking, of course :)
- LordShredda 3y agoI'm actually surprised Hawaii isn't the most expensive, considering all mcdonalds are pretty much identical other than supply shipping costs
- pxeboot 3y agoI remember the prices seeming comparatively much higher in Alaska/Hawaii in the past. Fast food prices have gone up so much everywhere that shipping to these places likely represents a lower percentage of the total cost now.
- yodon 3y ago>identical other than supply shipping costs And taxes, labor rules, insurance rates, operating hour limits, ...
- HarryHirsch 3y agoDon't forget rent and energy. They like to gripe about the cost of labour and labour regulations, but the biggest share of operating expenses is rent, then energy.
- cryptichash 3y agoSee also the Economist's Big Mac Index. >> THE BIG MAC index was invented by The Economist in 1986 as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” level. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), the notion that in the long run exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalise the prices of an identical basket of goods and services (in this case, a burger) in any two countries. Burgernomics was never intended as a precise gauge of currency misalignment, merely a tool to make exchange-rate theory more digestible. Yet the Big Mac index has become a global standard, included in several economic textbooks and the subject of dozens of academic studies. For those who take their fast food more seriously, we also calculate a gourmet version of the index.
- prairiedogg 3y ago> more digestible I see what you did there.
- anthomtb 3y agoInteresting. I expected Hawaii to skew high in price (it does), as does much of the northeast. But why are prices so high in Arizona?
- SV_BubbleTime 3y agoAs I understand it from my time there, one franchisee owns all of them and they set the price.
- thefourthchime 3y agoIt's a McMonopoly!!
- crazygringo 3y agoIs there no competition from Burger King etc.? That's generally what keeps prices down.
- SV_BubbleTime 3y agoThis works while there are four food chains and they all completely independently decide that prices should be a little higher. Even without cooperation that isn’t allowed, let’s say 5Guys comes in and see that the market will bear higher prices. Why wouldn’t they take advantage of that?
- crazygringo 3y agoBut if the prices are way higher, then 5Guys sees that by setting prices a bit lower it can capture 90% of the market, rather than 50%. Which is way more total profit. That's how downwards price pressure in capitalism works -- by reducing price you gain market share and increase profit overall. Otherwise, under capitalism, all our prices would be sky-high!
- saltminer 3y agoThis assumes that Five Guys is in direct competition with those other chains and that people are directly comparing prices when choosing where to eat. People are not the perfect rational actors economists like to pretend they are, and they tend to make assumptions about prices and have personal preferences (e.g. the last time I went to BK it was so bad you would have to pay me to go back).
- orenlindsey 3y agoThere seems to be a big area centered in Arizona where they're more expensive. There's seemingly no reason for it.
- zdragnar 3y agoProbably a combination of the franchisee that owns them and higher shipping costs to that region.
- orenlindsey 3y agoAlso, the most expensive McDonald's is actually connected to a gas station, which might be part of the high price. It's actually one of two on opposite sides of the highway (for travelers in either direction). The westbound side is more expensive and the eastbound side is cheaper. Wild!
- hiAndrewQuinn 3y agoI'm a connoisseur of combination gas station/food joints worldwide. People get away with such interesting and varied culinary sins in those places. My favorite so far has been a place that sold moose steaks shot by the owner up in Finnish Lapland for way, way more than any sane person would pay for.
- yial 3y agoCan you share the restaurant? I suddenly want to visit.
- mynameishere 3y agoWhy would you want to pay too much for moose? Go to a place with reasonable moose pricing.
- wahnfrieden 3y agoThey think that high price is a valuable novelty
- yial 3y agoI didn’t say I necessarily wanted to buy moose. It’s attached to a gas station. Visiting sounds like a potentially interesting experience. Plus, I don’t know how common it is to have restaurants serving moose shot by the owner.
- cylinder714 3y ago- If you ever find yourself in Reno, Deli Towne U.S.A. is locally known for making amazing sandwiches in a Chevron station at the corner of Lakeside and Moana. - Maverik stations in the western U.S. are about the nicest convenience stores I've ever visited, and their onsite kitchens prepare pretty decent gas-station food. Lately, they've rolled out premium pizzas in their larger locations; I had a thick-crust Detroit-style slice recently and it was absolutely restaurant quality. - I understand Wawa stations in the eastern U.S. are known for their food; can anyone here comment?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- photochemsyn 3y agoLooks like McDonald's is having a bad public relations moment: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-ceo-boycott-support-israel-hamas-war-protest/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-ceo-boycott-support-i...
- password54321 3y agoBoycotts work. If anyone wants to make an impact, point them towards boycotting. Definitely more effective than standing in the road.
- astrange 3y agoThey don't work. McDonald's is not able to change policy in Israel and influencing them to is pointless. Starbucks even less as the idea they're related to Israel is a complete fiction made up by TikTok posters.
- password54321 3y agoOh it definitely works, hence the massive hit in sales. It will make any company think twice before saying or doing something stupid.
- astrange 3y agoStarbucks didn't have a loss of sales. Its stock price fluctuated and people don't know what that means.
- Beijinger 3y agoHaw, I know a site that tracks the Bic Mac prices world wide! https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index
- wiradikusuma 3y agoI have a pet peeve about this. From the chart, Indonesia's currency is undervalued (meaning burger prices should be more expensive). But for many people here, eating a Big Mac is a "luxury" (not "caviar luxury" but more like "taking Uber instead of taking the subway" luxury).
- bryancoxwell 3y agoWhere does the data for this come from?
- bdcravens 3y agoThe mobile app lets you switch locations and see prices, so I assume there's a REST API somewhere.
- phkahler 3y agoA few years ago I could get a sausage mcmuffin and a coke (any size) for $2.12. Over the last 4 years it kept creeping up, price bouncing etc. It reach $4.23 for a few weeks. I remember because it was a penny shy of double the old price. Then one day.... Boom $4.24. No idea how they set prices but it was interesting they felt "just one cent more" was important :-) And yes there is also a lot of variation around the region, but the above was at a single location.
- floren 3y agoThe McDouble used to be a good deal for a quick bite on a road trip... I think it was about $1.40 when it first showed up? It'll now run $4 at some Bay Area locations. Just like the high prices of soda ($2.50 for a 20oz bottle?) it's had the effect of making me stop consuming the stuff, so overall it's a win for me.
- earthling8118 3y agoThe McDouble was a replacement for the double cheeseburger on the $1 menu. It was the same burger with one less slice of cheese and acted as a placeholder when they raised the price of the regular double beyond $1
- floren 3y agoThe $1 menu which is now of course the $1-$2-$3 menu... and I think the only thing that's still close to $1 is soda.
- WWLink 3y agoYea I remember when the McDouble was $1 .. that was like 10 years ago wasn't it?! Burger king had a fantastic double cheeseburger for $1 too, pissed off all the franchisees lol. I think the mcdouble is $3.50 or so out here now.
- diob 3y agoThe 2 muffins for 4 was the only time I ever went to them. I don't really understand the folks still visiting Maccas these days.
- grecy 3y agoFun fact illustrated by the map on this page map - it's impossible to be more than 115 miles from a McDonalds in the lower 48. [1] Note that is not by road, that is taking a helicopter. I always take that to be proximate to electricity, a gas station, grocery store, parts store, etc. The lower 48 is really developed. http://www.datapointed.net/2009/09/distance-to-nearest-mcdonalds/ http://www.datapointed.net/2009/09/distance-to-nearest-mcdon... (see update)
- sneed_chucker 3y agoWow. I'm shocked anyone pays 8 US dollars for a McDonald's quality burger.
- distortionfield 3y agoThat’s still the cheapest burger that one could find in my area at that price, just for reference.
- Beijinger 3y agoI am shocked that somebody claims that McDonalds has quality burgers....
- bluedino 3y agoI was okay paying $10 for Five Guys, but I haven't been there in a while, so it might be $15 for a meal there now. But most of the chains like Chili's/Applebees have a basic burger for $8.99 and even a combo or two for $20 where you get a fries and soft drink. That's hard to beat even when you throw in a tip. Fast food has become incredibly expensive if you don't have a coupon or use the app to get a "deal". Burger King has a two whopper meal for $13.99 with drinks/fries, and two Whopper jr meal for $7.99 with fries but no drinks.
- Retric 3y agoLook at the location on the map. It’s practically next door to a different McDonald’s that’s more than 1$ cheaper.
- angoragoats 3y agoDespite them being next door, they’re on opposite sides of a major highway (I-90/Mass Pike) and you’d need to drive just shy of 5 miles to get from one to the other.
- bigmattystyles 3y agoI’m actually surprised it’s not standardized and centrally dictated.
- night-rider 3y agoSome things cost more depending on their situational advantage. For example a run-down Jeep sitting in a garage and thought of as 'worthless' would be worth a fortune at a Jeep fair and seen as a collectible.
- bigmattystyles 3y agoSure, but it’s McDonald’s, their thing is consistency, but I guess it’s only for how their stuff tastes.
- Detrytus 3y agoWell, some stuff can be centralized, like burger production, or ordering million gallons of Coke. Some stuff, however, has to remain local, like labor, or real estate costs.
- Zancarius 3y agoHonestly, that's the only reason I'd ever go there (and even then only very rarely). Not because it was "good," but because I knew what to expect. Although... I should probably qualify that bit about expectations: Last time I was there was probably early '22 and only because my dad was in hospice with a craving for one of their menu items (and fries). I bought a BigMac for myself, got home, and saw that the bun was moldy. No thanks!
- bdcravens 3y agoPrice is also dictated by factors like labor costs, taxation, etc.
- diob 3y agoIt's kind of funny how far up the United States is on the big mac index these days: https://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-global-prices-for-a-big-mac/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-glo...
- marban 3y agoHow's the data being sourced?
- sach90 3y agoI used Appium (selenium based app automation) to screen scrape the McDonald's app on an android phone. It was painful and got blocked once it went viral. Couldn't figure out the security/certificate pinning in their internal API so just went with what worked. I'll update it soon and try again at cracking the API security.
- matrix87 3y agoWho the hell would get mcd when in n out is like 2x as good for about the same money. Absolute insanity
- echelon 3y agoI've had it, but I wasn't impressed. Whataburger and Five Guys have better burgers. If we're going to rank fast food, Waffle House is the champion, followed by Chick-fil-A and Chipotle. Burgers are mostly fungible.
- urdbjtdvbg 3y agoFive Guys is not in the same tier price-wise though. Might as well say you prefer the local brewpub.
- ajross 3y agoNot where I live. A Five Guys little cheeseburger is maybe 20% more than a quarter pounder with cheese. It's true that Five Guys serves mostly exclusively the suburban markets that support higher prices, and doesn't compete with the cheapest McDonalds. But where they overlap, they're very comparable in price. And yeah, Five Guys is the best.
- urdbjtdvbg 3y agoReading a menu I found online it seems you’d pay over double In-n-Out prices for (subjectively) at best comparable eats.
- spiderice 3y ago100%. I’m always surprised by the price when I go to five guys. They give off fast food vibes but with very high prices. Very high quality burgers though.
- matrix87 3y ago> Whataburger and Five Guys have better burgers. Can't speak for Whataburger but Five Guys is usually messier and the "little cheeseburger" is huge. Maybe the patties are better and the fries are objectively better but I wish they had a "little little cheeseburger" or something
- beau_g 3y agoThe rural Arizona Mcdonalds kingpin may try to get this site taken down - make sure to archive
- rblatz 3y agoI’m not sure if that’s a joke or if there is a rural Arizona McDonalds franchisee that has a history of being litigious. If anything I’d expect McDonalds to block API access for this user and implement controls to limit data aggregation.
- dghughes 3y agoMy Canadian province there is a "kingpin" of sorts a family who owns many restaurants. One brother owns all the local Tim Horton's coffee shops here and another brother owns Wendy's restaurants. The also both have a pile of restaurants like steak, micro breweries. There is an even worse guy super arrogant but not related to the other two who owns many properties. People hate them.
- ethbr1 3y agoIf I ever win the lottery, I'm opening Waffle Houses across the street from as many Tim Horton's as I can.
- TMWNN 3y agoAre you in New Brunswick? I know the Irvings own everything in that province.
- ClimaxGravely 3y agoIf you don't mind my asking, which province?
- dghughes 3y agoPEI, land of the Murphys restaurant empire.
- therealdrag0 3y ago
- trevcanhuman 3y agoIs this with taxes included?
- mikekhusid 3y agoBuffalo and Albany seem like business friendly locales.
- squeaky-clean 3y agoLove the website idea. It seems a bit slow on updates. My local McDonald's is 40c more expensive than this website shows, and it says the last update was in February 2023. It would be neat if it tracked the delivery version of the price too. At my local McDonald's a Big Mac is $6.39 for pickup and $7.79 for delivery. That's not me including a delivery fee in the price, the menu prices are just higher if you select Delivery in the app. There's also a Okay everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that the Big Mac has 2 menu prices. 6.39 for pickup and 7.79 for delivery. So I'm just going to delete the part where I list the other fees that are separate from the hidden menu price adjustment.
- ajross 3y agoWhat do you think would be a fair price for hauling a single burger 3 miles to you on demand would be? Objectively, on-demand/super-low-latency (less than an hour!) courier services have always been vastly more expensive than mere food preparation. Seriously, get in your time machine and go check what it would cost for a law firm in Manhattan[1] c. 1930 to get a document across town on that schedule. That it's down to the same scale as the burger you crave to sate your grumbling tummy is an amazing innovation of our modern techno-whizgig society, not something to whine about in a throwaway comment on HN! [1] Because needless to say, no one would think to have applied that kind of service to mere burgers.
- squeaky-clean 3y agoI think you've completely missed the fact that the base menu price increases when you select delivery? I listed the separate fees to show that the $6.39 to $7.79 price increase does not come from one of the later fees. Besides do what every other restaurant historically has done and say "$20 order minimum for delivery". Also it's not 3 miles, it's 2000ft. The restaurant is literally 3 blocks away from me. There's no need to be such an asshole just because you misunderstood my comment. You could also get in your time machine to 2010 when every pizza chain or Chinese restaurant could do this for $2.99 plus tip.
- ajross 3y ago
- nharada 3y agoThe variation even for very nearby McDonalds is fascinating. In the bay area I see differences of over $1 for locations basically next door to each other.
- smithcoin 3y agoDifferent franchisees probably.
- add-sub-mul-div 3y agoIn my area there's two Subways essentially next door, one inside a Walmart in a strip mall and the other in the food court of a healthy indoor mall. A footlong rotisserie chicken sub is $14 in the mall and $10 in the Walmart.
- bdcravens 3y agoFunny enough, I've never liked the Big Mac. I prefer their Quarter Pounder with Cheese or the Deluxe version of the same.
- sib 3y ago>> I prefer their Quarter Pounder with Cheese Do you mean the "Royale with Cheese"? :)
- bdcravens 3y agoCall it whatever you want, I call it delicious. Unhealthy AF, but delicious. :)
- cylinder714 3y agoAgreed! Big Mac patties are wafer-thin and that bun disc in the middle makes the sandwich look bigger. I'll bet they're the most profitable burger on their menu.
- TulliusCicero 3y agoVisiting Japan this last summer, I was shocked at how much cheaper basic meals were. Even if you used a 1 USD = 100 JPY exchange rate instead of the real one, I could get nicer breakfasts than McDonald's for much cheaper somewhere like Sukiya, and they're open 24/7 to boot! Fully open, not just a drive through sometimes like in the states. Ordering experience was great too, they have these tablets where you can switch the language to English so it's easy. Anyway, it kinda feels like McDonald's in the US isn't actually that cheap anymore? When I order breakfast there sometimes, it always feels like the food is kind of pricey considering they're just keeping it warm or warming up premade food. Edit: looks like I'm not just imagining it, Big Mac prices have outpaced inflation over the last couple decades - https://www.axios.com/2022/04/17/mcdonalds-big-mac-inflation-food-prices https://www.axios.com/2022/04/17/mcdonalds-big-mac-inflation... I wonder why?
- tehwebguy 3y agoMaybe the inexpensive, fresh food at convenience stores drives down fast food prices there?
- mech422 3y agoI needed that laugh... :-D
- Dylan16807 3y agoWhat laugh, please explain.
- wkat4242 3y agoIf people cared about fresh food, McDonald's would not exist let alone thrive :)
- Dylan16807 3y agoIt's not binary. Even caring a tiny bit will add more competitive pressure. And that doesn't address the "inexpensive" part.
- voidfunc 3y agoI guess the most expensive Big Mac in the US is in my state of Massachusetts... I've lived here my entire life and I didn't have a fucking clue where "Lee" MA is.., but I have learned now, it's somewhere out in the Berkshires.
- aldanor 3y agoAnd according to the map, there's a mcdonalds across the road where big Mac is a dollar cheaper
- voidfunc 3y agoWell the road is the Mass Pike (I-90) so a little harder than just driving across the street to get to, but pretty wild. Also the variances for fairly short distances are very interesting. I wonder how this is all computed.
- saltminer 3y agoYeah, unless you're willing to try the emergency turnaround spots (if there's a cop speed-trapping, you'll get a hefty ticket, and by the time you've slowed down enough to use the turnaround, it's probably too late), you'll probably end up more than paying the difference in tolls. If you already passed through the Lee Toll Gantry by MM 10, you'll have to drive all the way to exit 3 to turn around, go to the cheaper McD's, then pass through the toll readers around MM 10 to turn back around at exit 10, then incur another toll after getting back on the highway. You're better off exiting the highway to eat at the McD's off exit 10, which is still $0.40 more expensive than the eastbound service plaza location, but still $1.00 cheaper than the westbound service plaza location. Edit: Turns out I was wrong. I calculated the difference, and paying the toll thrice would cost $0.75-$1.80 (vs. paying $0.25-$0.60 once), depending on if you have E-Z Pass MA, E-Z Pass (other states), or pay by mail. Depending on how you pay the toll, you'll save $0.20-$0.70 paying thrice to visit the eastbound McD's vs. paying once to visit westbound McD's, but the cost of gas might make it a wash. If you're paying by mail, the best choice is exiting the highway, paying $7.09, then re-entering. (That said, if you're going eastbound, stopping at the service plaza wins every time.)
- nostrademons 3y agoA lot of New England towns have local regulations that say that any McDonalds (or other chain business) needs to fit in with the local architectural style. Take a look at the most expensive McDonald's in the country in Lee, MA: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gWFtn5PRmzHtYq3D9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/gWFtn5PRmzHtYq3D9 It's not what you would think a McDonald's looks like; it actually looks basically like every other rest stop on the Mass Pike, which looks like most of the commercial real estate in the area. There are probably extra costs associated with making the outside of a building look just like every other building, while making the inside conform to McDonald's franchise specifications. Also you lose some of the branding benefit that the nationwide chain has, and the local populace tends to be a bit more hostile toward fast food.
- KarlKemp 3y agoPrices have little to do with costs, and absolutely nothing to do with a minor issue such as local regulations of architectural standards.
- thrdbndndn 3y agoYeah, I thought it's going to be some ridiculous building, but it looks very generic. I doubt it would be any harder than fitting a McD in some plazas/department stores.
- ttyprintk 3y agoNot sure what the downvotes are for. Pricing capabilities at volume have surpassed the period where prices are affected by business costs. Three of the five factors used by a corporation like McDonald's to mandate the maximum price are oriented toward the kinds of advantages you get by maintaining a presence, regardless of a boutique facade. Only one (bundle pricing) is even indirectly related to cost.
- djkivi 3y agoIndeed, see the ones in Freeport, Maine or New Hyde Park, New York: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/beautiful-mcdonalds-locations https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/beautiful-mcdona...
- sach90 3y agoThis is my site. I need to re-run a scrape and update the prices. McDonald's blocked my scraper when it went viral the first time
- ape4 3y agoAh I was wondering where the info was from. Nice site.
- cylinder714 3y agoDon't you have an identical site with Taco Bell prices?
- sach90 3y agoI do - taconomical.com
- paulkrush 3y ago+1 for https://taconomical.com/ https://taconomical.com/ Texas is really divided.
- spiffytech 3y agoCould I interest you in listing any others you have?
- rthkljlkrj 3y ago[dead]
- foxandmouse 3y agoWould it be possible to include Canada? food inflation has been massive over the last couple years.
- joenot443 3y agoBig +1 to this. A medium fries at Canadian McDonald’s is now $5, it’s madness!
- seanhandley 3y agoWould be interesting to know the cost as well as the price.
- monitron 3y agoThis is really neat. I wish it had an alternate color mode, as when the creator chose the endpoints of their scale, they managed to pick the two colors that are least distinguishable for me and about 5% of people!
- utkarsh123 3y agoWhy are there different prices across the country ? For context, I am not from the US In my country, the price is same across all the states
- smithcoin 3y agoThere is a massive difference in cost of living between the states. A six figure salary in New York City would afford a very different lifestyle than one in the rural Midwest.
- zdragnar 3y agoThey're all owned by different people (it's a franchise) and, as you might expect with a country the geographic size of the US, costs vary widely. Land taxes, shipping costs, utility costs, average local salary pushing up (or down) the wage floor they hire at, all influence the minimum amount of money any particular restaurant needs to make to break even or be profitable. Since they're all owned independently and merely rent the name (and sometimes the land) from the McDonald's corporate entity, they have some leeway on setting their prices. There's a whole lot of rules they have to follow, of course, but that's the jist. Usually, prices don't vary much, if at all, when looking at a smaller area or among locations owned by the same person. The exceptions are if a particular location is especially expensive or high demand, such as interstate highway rest stops or when the location is attached to a highly trafficked gas station. The rents and taxes on those locations alone are enough to push prices up.
- averageRoyalty 3y agoAll of these factors are true in other countries where the prices are set nationally.
- metaphor 3y agoOn a related note, an equivalent site[1] for select Taco Bell products. [1] https://taconomical.com/ https://taconomical.com/
- avalys 3y agoAm I the only one that didn’t know the price differed between locations? I just assumed that, other than airports and other special cases like that, the prices were set nationally.
- ttyprintk 3y agoYou might also be surprised that 82% are franchises.
- Sebb767 3y agoI'm actually surprised that 18% aren't. I always assumed that all McDonalds are franchises, with a few exceptions for halo stores and the likes.
- throwaway290 3y agoMcD direct owned almost all stores in Russia from what I heard, I bet they are done with that model now...
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoI worked for a corporate store in the Seattle area as a teenager. They had a lot of them in the suburbs, but in Seattle itself it was all franchises.
- throwaway290 3y agoI thought franchisees cannot just set whatever price they feel like though?
- epolanski 3y agoWhy wouldn't they?
- Dylan16807 3y agoThe contract that makes so many other things be the same.
- crazygringo 3y agoThank you, this is amazing -- especially with so many stories about McDonald's sticker-shock recently. This actually shows where that is and isn't the case, how localized it is. It also illustrates a fundamental problem with the Economist's famous Big Mac Index [1] -- I've never understood how they choose the price of a Big Mac per-country, when it's so extremely variable locally. Even if they tried to choose "major metropolitan city prices", Big Mac prices vary a ton even within New York City, for example. There's more variation within NYC than the Economist reports between many countries. I've never understood it. Edit: their GitHub page [2] reports: > In July 2022 we updated the Big Mac index to use a McDonalds-provided price for the United States (previously, we averaged the price from four major US cities). Which again, gives me no confidence. How is McDonald's providing a single price? That's a black box. And even averaging the cost between four major cities, there's a meaningful difference between a McDonald's in Times Square vs. in the Bronx. So how did they even used to pick a price per-city? So just thanks for this McCheapest site. Pretty awesome to have actually accurate data. [1] https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index [2] https://github.com/TheEconomist/big-mac-data https://github.com/TheEconomist/big-mac-data
- tekla 3y agoIf you read the article that you posted and the methodology, they document exactly how they calculate the big mac index and how they choose the price. https://github.com/TheEconomist/big-mac-data#methodology-changes https://github.com/TheEconomist/big-mac-data#methodology-cha...
- p3rls 3y agoWell, NYC has wildly differing levels of affluence mostly segregated into neat neighborhoods, sometimes even along a nice north-south gradient. What's interesting here is how there's barely any pattern visible to me at all, besides lower manhattan = stay away. The most expensive McDonalds there for instance (besides airports), 1540 Westchester Ave is not affluent at all, the streetview is even covered in garbage.
- rconti 3y ago
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- MrFoof 3y agoThe most expensive ($8.09) in Lee, MA is in a highway rest stop plaza about 110 miles west of Boston near the state’s western border (just outside the Berkshires) that is well known for its crazy prices. You buy anything in that plaza and you’re getting taken for a ride. For comparison, Boston (and immediate surroundings) Big Mac prices are $5.89 - $6.79 depending on the location, and that includes one of the city’s largest train and subway stations/bus terminals, in some extremely expensive to rent real estate within the financial district because of how many potential customers go through it every day.
- linehedonist 3y agoWeirdly defensive about high hamburger prices.
- quotemstr 3y agoWhat's with the cluster of extremely high prices in the southwest?
- ilamont 3y agoThose two really expensive ones in western Massachusetts are on a toll road in a sparsely populated area (Mass Turnpike/I90). Lee is a rest area franchise and a de facto monopoly - no competition for hamburgers unless you significantly interrupt your journey. There are likely high fees charged to the franchisee to operate at that location over a period of many years.
- scotty79 3y agoCustomers should have right to convenient pricing information. Companies should be forced to publish up to date prices in machone readable prices so they can be tracked and compared by third parties.
- xivzgrev 3y agoWow this shatters my assumption that prices were generally the same in my metro. I figured real estate, prevailing wages, etc were main drivers of price but there’s a lot of variability despite that. I wonder why? My guess is different franchise owners - I notice some lower cost ones cluster near each other and then another cluster in next city over will be more expensive
- crazygringo 3y agoHonestly I think it's a pretty direct function of rent and volume. Rent varies dramatically between a chic shopping district and a distant strip mall, and similarly a downtown McD's might have 10x the volume of one further out. (While labor varies very little within a commuting area.) Higher rent means higher prices, but higher volume allows lower prices to a certain extent. Which is why downtown locations aren't always the most expensive.
- Workaccount2 3y agoNot surprised one of the most expensive McDonald's in the country is the one by me. This dude took over it about 5 years ago and seemingly just doubled the cost of everything. The prices are jaw dropping insane. But... It's in an extremely high traffic area and still to this day regularly has lines at the drive through. Even though there are two other McDonald's within 5 miles with sane prices. Not that I go to McDonald's a lot and am upset about it, but more upset that this guy is shamelessly ripping people off and no one seems to care.
- Caitlynmeeks 3y agoI am reminded of Blahaj Quest https://blahaj.quest/ https://blahaj.quest/
- sh1mmer 3y agoJust looking at Austin area I was pretty surprised to see that the price varied from $3.89 to $5.39 between South Austin and Round Rock (North Austin). But also even a $1 difference from McDonalds in Round Rock on opposite sides of the free way. I don’t really eat at McDonalds but surely people who do would notice these kinds of differences right away.
- tempodox 3y agoInteresting how the Big Mac density is so much lower in the western half.
- codingdave 3y agoThe population density is likewise lower in the western half.
- sprobertson 3y agoNot that interesting if you look at town density https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/north-america.jpg https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/...
- PerilousD 3y agoUmm this is fine for HISTORICAL prices but if I want a burger today - DONT be telling me what it cost nearly a year ago!!
- alkonaut 3y agoTIL it’s not the same (or merely varying by sales tax) across the US. I thought they always had the same prices in one country. That’s why they feel cheap at the airport or in the center of the capital but relatively more expensive in rural areas. Not so in the US then?
- throwawaaarrgh 3y agoMcDonalds is a franchise. Franchise owners set prices and promotions. The cost of running any given McDonald's is going to be different based on many factors. Hence the prices are different.
- zylepe 3y agoI’ve stopped at that Lee McDonald’s and remember thinking the price seemed kind of high. Little did I know it was the most expensive in the country. Even the eastbound one across I-90 is $1.40 cheaper!
- NautilusWave 3y agoWhat is going on in Buffalo, NY with those prices? How is it so much more expensive than Rochester? Hell, even Chicago is significantly cheaper!
- michaelcampbell 3y agoInteresting data set, but it's not "every McDonald's site in the US". The one in my town isn't shown at all; maybe I'll submit it.
- 99catmaster 3y agoWhy’s Arizona so expensive lol