“There’s no dollar menu?”: Americans complain that McDonald’s is no longer affordable
Is McDonald's still affordable? Social media users are once again expressing frustration with rising prices that are shutting out low-income Americans, even as President Donald Trump is singing a different tune.
Trump spoke at the McDonald's Impact Summit this week, bragging about affordability under his administration and taking a moment to praise the fast food chain for offering Extra Value Meals to consumers at cheaper prices.
"This is also the golden age of America, because we are doing better than we’ve ever done as a country," he said in between throwing blame at Joe Biden and the Democrats. "Prices are coming down and all of that stuff."
But just because Trump says something is true doesn't mean that's the case. In reality, many Americans who once relied on McDonald's as an affordable option aren't finding the value in fast food at all anymore.
Why isn't McDonald's affordable for Americans anymore?
While prices aren't the same across every location, the average cost of a Big Mac went up 21% from 2019 ($4.39) to 2023 ($5.29), while medium fries have jumped 44% in the same time frame. For an even bleaker comparison, that same Big Mac cost just $2.58 in 2005.
McDonald's prices for popular menu items have gone up an average of between 40-50% since 2019, depending on who you talk to. Inflation has only risen by around 27% during that time. Earnings for average hourly work have, of course, increased at an even slower pace than any of those figures.
The increased cost of fast food isn't unique to McDonald's, but considering they were long seen as the budget option in that realm, watching the dollar menu disappear and the price of meals hit double digits has been brutal. And even the folks running the show are aware of the optics.
"Too often … you’re seeing combo meals priced over $10, and that absolutely is negatively shaping value perceptions," McDonald's Chris Kempczinski said earlier this year. "We’ve got to get that fixed."
Social media weighs in
Complaints about the rising cost of McDonald's have been going on for years, with plenty of social media commiseration to go around.
"You know Egg McMuffins are $6.69 now? Like, McDonald's, be fucking for real," TikToker @kianaswins said in a video posted during the summer. "Thought I was doing me a little $3 fucking breakfast. Where's the grits? If anything, where's the fucking pancakes on the side for $6.69?"
Other social media posts range from outrage at the rising costs to simple despair at how the inability to afford McDonald's is merely a symptom of a much bigger problem with the U.S. economy.
To add insult to injury, many customers feel that the quality of food has been declining even as the prices continue to rise.
Meanwhile, McDonald's employees are paid so poorly that staggering numbers receive federal welfare like SNAP and Medicaid—even as Trump is urging franchise owners to "fight" any increases in minimum wage.
So, where are the extra dollars from these price increases actually going? We can talk about minimum wage increases in certain states, or supply issues during the pandemic, or tariffs, or the increased cost of beef and chicken. Or we could just point out how much the CEO's compensation has increased from 2005 to 2023.
Regardless, the fact remains that no matter how much Trump or anyone else praises McDonald's low prices, Americans no longer feel the same.
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