The States and Cities That Pay the Most and Least for Takeout in 2025
The world of fast food takeout doesn’t stand still. To keep up, takeout lovers may need to adjust their budgets before they buy.
McDonald’s prices have doubled in a decade, and takeout in general has risen 3.4% over the past 12 months. Still, these general trends impact each part of the U.S. differently.
To find out which cities and states are enjoying the best takeout prices in 2025, NetCredit, an online lender offering personal loans and lines of credit, explored the average cost of big chain takeout in every U.S. state and major city. We compared local prices to the national average as well as to their price two years ago — the last time we crunched the numbers.
What We Did
We used Grubhub.com to retrieve the menus for different fast food chains in 260 cities, covering the largest in each state. Then, we calculated the average national price for a set of popular items for each chain (full list in methodology below), both for the items individually and the full set. Next, we compared the national average prices to prices within each state and major city to calculate the price premium for takeouts across these chains and for each chain separately. Finally, we used our 2023 study to compare the change in price premiums across the years.
Key Findings
- West Virginia has risen from eighth place to become the state with the cheapest takeout — with prices 9.95% below the national average.
- Seattle is the most expensive city for takeout, costing 29.00% above the national average.
- McDonald’s is cheapest in Wyoming, where it costs 19.54% below the national average.
- Pizza Hut in South Carolina is around 25% cheaper than in Maine, Utah or Hawaii.
- The most expensive states for KFC are California (20.64% above national average), Alaska (+19.26%) and Washington (+18.42%).
Parkersburg, W.V., is America’s least expensive city for takeout.
First, we compared general fast food prices in 260 of America’s biggest cities. We found that the city that pays the least for takeout in 2025 is Parkersburg, West Virginia, where takeout costs an average of 14.01% less than the national average. The other top cities are in the south, with three in Georgia and two each in Mississippi and Tennessee.
In Houston, takeout costs are 10.81% lower than the national average, with even cheaper options available at some local restaurants and food markets. However, those dealing in international cuisine are struggling to keep prices down. As one local sushi restaurateur put it, “You’re not supposed to lose money and not have fish left over.
Meanwhile, six of the 10 most expensive cities for takeout are in California. Localized economic trends are pushing up costs, with takeout in San Diego rising by 6.3% in the past year, compared to just 4% for domestic groceries.
“They’re already stressed here in San Diego with the high housing costs,” says Dr. Alan Gin, University of San Diego economics professor, “and now you have an increase in food prices on top of that, and it’s really straining people’s budgets.”
West Virginia and Oklahoma among states with cheapest premiums on takeout.
Next, we looked at the price premium on takeout food in each state, compared to the average nationwide. And we compared these premiums to those in 2023.
West Virginia is the state with the cheapest takeout food in 2025, with prices averaging 9.95% below the national average. This improvement on West Virginia’s premium in 2023 (5.46% below average) has seen the state rise eight places in the rankings. However, Oklahoma has the biggest improvement in relative pricing, climbing 19 places as its premium dropped by 5.51 percentage points from -0.74% to -6.25%, relative to the national average.
At the other extreme, California is both the most expensive state for takeout and the state to have seen the greatest rise in its fast food price premium. Californian fast food is now 20.43% higher than the national average, up from 11.75% in 2023.
McDonald’s faces new competition in Arizona — its most expensive state.
Next, we isolated the cost of McDonald’s takeout. We found that Wyoming remains the cheapest state to buy takeout from McDonald’s, at 19.54% below the national average — a slight improvement on 2023, when the premium was -17.61%.
Texas, which is home to 14.62% of the nation’s beef cows, remains the second cheapest state for McDonald’s. Taking out from McDonald’s in Texas costs 13.17% less than the national average.
Since 2023, Alaska has remained the most expensive state for McDonald’s, with a slight rise in premium from 23.93% to 24.81% above the national average. Arizona has seen the most dramatic decline in affordability, with the local premium rising from 1.56% to 20.89% above the national average since 2023.
South Carolina Pizza Hut nearly 25% cheaper than national average.
A huge improvement in the relative local cost of Pizza Hut takeout has propelled the Carolinas to the top of the table. South Carolina has climbed 17 places as the average price of Pizza Hut takeout fell from 1.35% to 24.66% below the national average since 2023. In North Carolina, the jump is from 4.29% to 17.56% cheaper than the national average. South Carolina was one of the main territories where Pizza Hut’s ‘mega-franchisee’ Eduardo Diaz’s EYM Pizza was forced to sell multiple restaurants after the business went bankrupt in 2024.
California has fallen ten places to become the most expensive state for Pizza Hut takeout, costing 29.70% more than the national average. Wisconsin (14.22%) and Arizona (13.31%) have also gained more than 10 percentage points each since 2023.
All six Milwaukee Pizza Huts were closed down pending license renewal in 2024, and Wisconsin was also home to multiple restaurants affected by the EYM bankruptcy, which may have pushed up prices at surviving Pizza Hut outlets.
Utah drops from cheapest KFC state to one of the most expensive.
West Virginia is the state where takeout is cheapest overall (see above), and from the three brands that we have isolated, this effect is felt most profoundly at KFC. Takeout from KFC in West Virginia is 17.26% cheaper than the national average, up from 8.25% in 2023.
However, this isn’t necessarily good news for West Virginians: child obesity in the state is at 22%, against a national average of 16.2%. Critics note that for cash- and time-strapped parents, cheap takeout makes for a convenient, but not necessarily healthy, solution.
The most dramatic relative rise in KFC pricing is in Utah, which was the cheapest state for KFC — 18.22% cheaper than the national average — just two years ago. Today, KFC takeout in Utah costs 8.11% above the national average, and the state has fallen 40 places in the affordability rankings. General food prices in Utah have risen dramatically from pre-pandemic levels.
Budget Your Bites
With takeout prices changing across the country, now is a good time to take a closer look at restaurant menus to determine how they may or may not fit into your household budget. We’ve gathered our full data on the relative pricing of fast food chains from state to state in the table below, for the aforementioned brands and others, including Burger King and Taco Bell.
The Department of Agriculture offers resources on healthy eating for those on a tight budget. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives suggestions, including these:
- Plan ahead. Figuring out what meals you will prepare for the week ahead can prevent waste and maximize the effects of bulk buying and batch cooking.
- Make a shopping list. Stay focused on what you need while in the store and don’t get distracted by unhealthy treats or pricey luxuries.
- Buy store brands. Generic options — particularly for the basics — are often a fraction of the price of name-brand products.
- Grow your own veg. Growing from seed is a particularly cheap and rewarding way of providing healthy produce while engaging your family with what they eat.
And when you do find yourself going for takeout, try sharing fruit or snacks on the way to discourage binge ordering — and consider sticking with water instead of soda to reduce your sugar intake and your cost.
Methodology
We used Grubhub.com to retrieve the menus for different fast food chains in 260 cities that comprised the most populous in each state. Then, we calculated the average national price for a set of popular items for each chain, both for the items individually and the full set:
- McDonald’s: Big Mac, French Fries, 10 pc. Chicken McNuggets
- Pizza Hut: 14” Meat Lover’s Pizza, 14” Veggie Lover’s Pizza, 14” Pepperoni Lover’s Pizza
- Subway: B.L.T., Meatball Marinara, Tuna
- Burger King: Whopper, French Fries, Bacon Double Cheeseburger
- KFC: Spicy Chicken Sandwich Combo, 8 pc. Chicken Only, Secret Recipe Fries
- Popeyes: Spicy Chicken Sandwich Combo, 2 pc. Signature Chicken Combo, 5 pc. Handcrafted Tenders
- Taco Bell: Crunchwrap Supreme, Crunchy Taco Supreme, Burrito Supreme
Using these values, we calculated the average national price for all items overall and for each individual chain.
Comparing the national average prices to the average within each state/city allowed us to calculate price premiums (%) for takeouts across these chains and for each chain separately.
Finally, we used our 2023 study to compare the change in price premiums across the years, discovering the cities where takeouts have become more or less affordable.
Data is correct as of July 2025.
This original analysis data below was correct as of October 2023. NetCredit is not an affiliate, agent, or sponsor of any of the businesses discussed herein.
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DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, tax or legal advice.
