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$4.69 plus tax. The current price of one BigMac at McDonald’s on Welcome Way in Davenport, Iowa. In 2014, this same burger cost around two dollars less than it does now at any given location. Even in just 2022, one BigMac was $4.07 at most Iowa franchises.
This price increase pattern is not just found at the Golden Arches either. Subway, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Jimmy John’s, and more fast-food restaurants have been subject to hugely inflated prices.
Senior Winston Hutson said that he’s noticed fast-food prices rising. “I miss when combo meals were under $10, now a lot of stuff is $12 or $13 and up.”
Hutson admitted he would pay more in order to give workers higher wages, but explained his complicated feelings toward the subject. “I feel like corporations have enough money to pay their workers liveable wages and to lower the cost of food on their menus.”
Similarly, sophomore Brynn Christian, who is a McDonald’s employee, said she has noticed prices increasing. “It’s alright, but a lot of customers get mad even though I don’t make the prices.” She also noted she would appreciate a price hike if it meant her wage would increase as well.
According to a report by FinanceBuzz, between the years 2014 and 2024, the inflation rate is 31%, meaning that $100 in 2014 is worth $131 in 2024. While this is an issue unto itself, during that same time, major fast-food chain prices have increased by an average of 60%. That’s about twice the rate of the country’s actual inflation.
Prices are expected to hike again in response to California’s new minimum wage for fast-food workers. On April 1, California Governor, Gavin Newson signed a bill into effect that raised the minimum wage of an employee working at a restaurant with more than 60 locations in the state to $20 an hour (minimum wage for everyone else will stay at $16 an hour).
In response to this, restaurants across California are expecting their prices to rise to match the new cost of labor. Corporate-owned McDonald’s in California have already driven up their menu items by 5% to 7%, putting the price of a BigMac around $6.30.
The question at hand is now will the rest of the country follow this price-hike?
According to a manager at McDonald’s on Kimberly Road, Davenport, “We (McDonald’s) are individually owned franchises, so it (California’s minimum wage rising) won’t really affect our prices.”
Starbucks-goers on the other hand, can expect to pay more for their coffee. The company has not yet released how much it will be increasing its prices, but according to Starbucks on 53rd Street, Davenport, “We have no control over the prices…honestly, they do go up every quarter. I’m not sure how much it will be this time, though.”
Prices are surely going to keep rising with inflation, but it appears that Iowans don’t have to fret too much about the new Californian law because most dramatic price hikes will take place on the West Coast for now.
While we may not like shelling out a few extra bucks for burgers and fries, the recent rise of fast-food workers’ minimum wage prompts Americans to ask an important question: Are you willing to pay more for your food so employees can be paid more?
