Published 2026-10-02
Same Big Mac, different price: $3.99 in Houston, TX, $9.39 in Grand Canyon, AZ
As fast food pricing becomes more data-driven, Drive Thru Index published the pickup price of a Big Mac at 13,671 McDonald's restaurants across the US on October 1, 2026. Away from airports and similar sites the most expensive restaurant charges $5.40 (135%) more than the cheapest for the same burger; the typical restaurant charges $5.99.
Data as of .
Key facts
- A Big Mac costs anywhere from $3.99 to $9.50The median is $5.99, across 13,671 McDonald's restaurants in the US.
- The same McDonald's order is cheapest in Texas and most expensive in AlaskaMedian for the same six items: $26.74 vs $41.70.
- Delivery costs 28% more than pickupAverage markup on the same items at the same McDonald's restaurants.
- Airport McDonald's restaurants charge 8% moreFor the same six-item order as the typical McDonald's.
- A McDonald's order costs 40% more in Alaska and 22% more in HawaiiThan the median for the same order on the mainland.
Fast food chains are collecting more and more data about their customers through mobile apps and loyalty programs: accounts with their details, and what they order and when. They are also experimenting with AI and data-driven pricing. Meanwhile the same item can cost very different amounts from one restaurant to the next, and customers cannot see why. Drive Thru Index publishes every restaurant's real price, every day, so anyone can check. McDonald's said in August 2026 that across 70 markets it had nearly 220 million loyalty users active in the previous 90 days, and $40 billion in systemwide sales to loyalty members over the previous twelve months.
A Big Mac costs $3.99 at five McDonald's restaurants in Houston and Cypress, TX, but $9.39 at the McDonald's in Grand Canyon, AZ. That is a gap of $5.40, or 135%, for the same burger ordered for pickup on the same day.
Only one restaurant charges more: the McDonald's at the airport in Anchorage, AK, where a Big Mac costs $9.50.
Across all 13,671 restaurants, the median Big Mac costs $5.99.
By state, a Big Mac is cheapest in Texas, where the median restaurant charges $4.99, and most expensive in Montana, at $7.75.
Among the ten biggest metro areas, the cheapest place for a Big Mac is the Houston area, at a median $4.99 across 233 restaurants, and the most expensive are the New York City area and the Phoenix area, at a median $7.19 each.
The whole order tells the same story. For the same six items at every restaurant (Big Mac®, 10 pc. Chicken McNuggets®, 4 Piece McCrispy™ Strips, Deluxe McCrispy™, Large French Fries and Medium Coke®), the median McDonald's charges $29.84. The cheapest order is $24.04, at the McDonald's in Houston, TX; away from airports and similar sites the most expensive is $46.91, at the McDonald's in Kodiak, AK: $22.87 (95%) more.
At the airport in Anchorage, AK, the same order costs $49.70.
By state, the order is cheapest in Texas (median $26.74) and most expensive in Alaska ($41.70).
Anthony Gherghetta, an Australian software developer who built Drive Thru Index, started it after reading some of the buzz about AI being used to set fast food prices: he wanted to see whether it was true, and how big the price differences between restaurants really were. Prices bear out the contrast he noticed. In Australia, 97% of McDonald's restaurants charge within 10% of the typical Big Mac price; in the US, 53% do. The gap between the cheapest and the dearest tenth of restaurants is 10% of the typical price in Australia and 33% in the US.
“I kept reading that fast food chains were starting to use AI and customer data to set prices, so I wanted to see if it was true and how big the differences really were. In Australia, where I’m from, a Big Mac costs much the same wherever you buy it. In the US the price changes from one restaurant to the next. Fast food apps now know what you order, when and where, but customers can’t see how prices are set. So I built Drive Thru Index to check every restaurant, every day,” said Gherghetta.
Quotable lines
A Big Mac costs $3.99 at five McDonald's restaurants in Houston and Cypress, TX, but $9.39 at the McDonald's in Grand Canyon, AZ.
The typical McDonald's in the US charges $5.99 for a Big Mac.
At the airport in Anchorage, AK, a McDonald's Big Mac costs $9.50.
Texas is the cheapest state in the US for a McDonald's Big Mac (median $4.99); Montana is the most expensive ($7.75).
The same six-item McDonald's order costs $24.04 in Houston, TX but $46.91 in Kodiak, AK.
Images
The facts behind the release
Every figure is from our prices of 2026-10-01, with the page on this site that shows it.
| Figure | Value | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| A Big Mac costs anywhere from $3.99 to $9.50 | The median is $5.99, across 13,671 McDonald's restaurants in the US. | See the page |
| The same McDonald's order is cheapest in Texas and most expensive in Alaska | Median for the same six items: $26.74 vs $41.70. | See the page |
| Delivery costs 28% more than pickup | Average markup on the same items at the same McDonald's restaurants. | See the page |
| Airport McDonald's restaurants charge 8% more | For the same six-item order as the typical McDonald's. | See the page |
| A McDonald's order costs 40% more in Alaska and 22% more in Hawaii | Than the median for the same order on the mainland. | See the page |
| Cheapest Big Mac (restaurants) | $3.99 (5) | Cypress, TX, Cypress, TX, Houston, TX, Houston, TX, Houston, TX |
| Most expensive Big Mac (restaurants) | $9.39 (1) | Grand Canyon, AZ |
| Most expensive overall (airport) | $9.50 (1) | Anchorage, AK |
| Cheapest order (restaurants) | $24.04 (1) | Houston, TX |
| Most expensive order (restaurants) | $46.91 (1) | Kodiak, AK |
Median by state
| Area | Median | Restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | $4.99 | 1,287 |
| Oklahoma | $5.39 | 205 |
| Alabama | $5.49 | 239 |
| Indiana | $5.49 | 354 |
| Louisiana | $5.49 | 227 |
| North Carolina | $5.49 | 476 |
| Mississippi | $5.59 | 136 |
| Missouri | $5.59 | 320 |
| Tennessee | $5.59 | 338 |
| West Virginia | $5.59 | 102 |
| Wyoming | $5.59 | 29 |
| Arkansas | $5.69 | 168 |
| Ohio | $5.69 | 603 |
| Wisconsin | $5.69 | 290 |
| Idaho | $5.79 | 67 |
| Iowa | $5.79 | 147 |
| South Carolina | $5.79 | 231 |
| Utah | $5.79 | 119 |
| Georgia | $5.89 | 448 |
| Kentucky | $5.89 | 257 |
| Minnesota | $5.89 | 219 |
| Florida | $5.99 | 899 |
| Illinois | $5.99 | 635 |
| South Dakota | $5.99 | 33 |
| Kansas | $6.19 | 146 |
| Michigan | $6.19 | 514 |
| Nebraska | $6.19 | 79 |
| New Mexico | $6.19 | 102 |
| Oregon | $6.25 | 154 |
| Colorado | $6.29 | 216 |
| North Dakota | $6.29 | 30 |
| Virginia | $6.29 | 382 |
| Delaware | $6.30 | 39 |
| Nevada | $6.39 | 136 |
| Pennsylvania | $6.44 | 468 |
| Washington | $6.49 | 258 |
| Maryland | $6.59 | 268 |
| California | $6.89 | 1,233 |
| Connecticut | $6.89 | 136 |
| Hawaii | $6.89 | 71 |
| Maine | $6.99 | 58 |
| New Hampshire | $6.99 | 54 |
| New Jersey | $6.99 | 250 |
| New York | $6.99 | 571 |
| Vermont | $6.99 | 25 |
| Washington DC | $7.19 | 24 |
| Arizona | $7.29 | 299 |
| Massachusetts | $7.29 | 228 |
| Rhode Island | $7.29 | 30 |
| Alaska | $7.44 | 26 |
| Montana | $7.75 | 45 |
Biggest city areas
| Area | Median | Restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Houston area | $4.99 | 233 |
| Dallas–Fort Worth area | $5.19 | 222 |
| Atlanta area | $5.99 | 139 |
| Chicago area | $6.19 | 236 |
| Detroit area | $6.29 | 138 |
| Los Angeles area | $6.59 | 312 |
| Washington, DC area | $6.69 | 182 |
| Philadelphia area | $6.79 | 137 |
| New York City area | $7.19 | 320 |
| Phoenix area | $7.19 | 167 |
Methodology, about and contact
Drive Thru Index reads the menu of every McDonald's restaurant in the US from the chain's own ordering app every day. These figures are the pickup price of a Big Mac (the burger alone, not a meal) on October 1, 2026, at 13,671 restaurants, in US dollars. Prices are not converted or compared with any other country. The cheapest and most expensive restaurants leave out the 91 at airports and similar special sites, which are reported separately. State medians need at least 5 restaurants; metro areas cover restaurants within 25 miles (40 km) of downtown, where at least 10 restaurants were priced.
About Drive Thru Index: Drive Thru Index (drivethruindex.com) publishes the menu price of every item at every restaurant of the biggest fast food brands, collected each day from the chains' own ordering apps. As pricing becomes more data-driven, it exists so that customers can see what each restaurant really charges and how it compares with others nearby. It covers the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Mexico and the Netherlands. Brands are only compared with themselves, and prices are never converted between currencies. Its figures are free to quote with attribution: "Source: Drive Thru Index".
The images with this release are free to use with the credit "Image: Drive Thru Index (drivethruindex.com)".
Media contact: anthony@drivethruindex.com
Background sources
Not part of the release: reporting that backs up its one line of context, for questions from journalists.
- How restaurant loyalty programs can drive more traffic and improve experiences Restaurant Dive, 2024-08-15
Restaurant loyalty apps pull in customers' ordering history and preferences, to personalise offers and recommendations (the intro's apps and loyalty programmes). - Wendy's backtracks on dynamic pricing Restaurant Dive, 2024-02-28
Wendy's told investors it would test dynamic and AI-enabled pricing on digital menu boards from 2025, then said after a backlash that it would not raise prices at the busiest times (the intro's experiments with data-driven pricing). - Inside McDonald's push to have AI price your Big Mac CNBC, 2026-09-29
Reports a Reuters investigation into an AI tool that recommends menu prices to McDonald's restaurants; McDonald's says franchisees remain free to set their own prices. Not quoted in the release text; the page could not be fetched to check its wording, only its search listing. - McDonald's Q2 2026 earnings release (SEC Form 8-K, exhibit 99.1) McDonald's Q2 2026 earnings release (SEC Form 8-K, exhibit 99.1), 2026-08-04
McDonald's own figures for its loyalty programme, quoted in the McDonald's releases.