Butter Costs Less Nationally Than a Year Ago. Here’s What That Means for Wisconsinites Baking for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is Nov. 26, and if you’re baking in Wisconsin, butter is probably on your list.
The U.S. average hit its highest monthly mark since at least 2019 back in September 2024.
Here’s how butter’s August average compares with last year and with 2021, and what past Thanksgiving months looked like.
Where the Price Comes From
Butter averaged $4.021 a pound across the U.S. in August 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The price is for regular butter sold in sticks, organic or not.
This isn’t a Wisconsin price.
It’s a U.S. city average, so the price tag at your store can run higher or lower.
To compare, divide your butter’s price by its weight in pounds.
August is the latest month published as of October 10, 2026.
One earlier month is missing from the series: October 2025.
No survey data was collected that month because of a federal funding lapse, so butter has no price for it.
Psst! How much do you know about butter and dairy? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Butter and Dairy IQ
Answer these questions on butter, cream, and dairy. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
In 1967, Wisconsin became the last state to drop its ban on which product?
August Against Last Year
Butter's August 2026 average of $4.021 a pound was about 81 cents below August 2025's $4.828.
The drop is about 17%.
Last August's $4.828 was also the highest August average you'll find in the data from 2019 through 2026.
August 2026's average is the lowest for any August since 2021.
From the 2024 Peak
The U.S. average for butter reached $5.004 a pound in September 2024, the highest monthly average in the data from January 2019 through August 2026.
The next-highest month was May 2025, at $4.952.
At August 2026's national average of $4.021, you'd pay about 98 cents less per pound than at that peak, a 20% drop.
The average was $4.408 in December 2025.
Then it fell every month from January through June 2026, from $4.383 to $3.816.
June's $3.816 was the lowest monthly average of 2026 through August.
June 2025's average, $4.872, was more than $1 higher, the widest year-over-year gap of any month from November 2025 through August 2026.
Every month with data from November 2025 through August 2026 came in below the same month a year earlier.
Then came July.
The average rose to $3.922 that month and $4.021 in August.
Back to August 2021
Go back five years and butter was cheaper: $3.634 a pound in August 2021, about 39 cents below August 2026's $4.021.
The 2026 average is roughly 11% above that.
Here's the catch.
In 2021, every monthly average stayed under $3.70 a pound.
One year later, August 2022's average was $4.699, more than $1 above August 2021.
The average rose about 29% in that single year.
August averages after that were $4.411 in 2023, $4.796 in 2024 and $4.828 in 2025.
August 2019's average of $4.036 is within 2 cents of August 2026's.
What Three Pounds of Butter Cost
Say your Thanksgiving baking calls for three pounds of butter.
At August 2026's national average of $4.021 a pound, that comes to $12.06.
The same three pounds cost $14.48 at August 2025's $4.828.
At August 2021's $3.634, they cost $10.90.
The August 2026 total is $2.42 below the 2025 total and $1.16 above the 2021 total.
Past Thanksgiving Months
Butter's November average has ranged from $3.477 in 2021 to $4.794 in 2024 over the past five Thanksgiving seasons.
The November 2022 average was $4.639, up about $1.16 from November 2021.
The average was $4.520 in November 2023, then $4.794 in November 2024, the highest November of the five.
November 2025 was cheaper.
The $4.310 average that month was about 48 cents below November 2024.
Three pounds of butter at the national average came to $14.38 in November 2024 and $12.93 in November 2025.
August 2026's $4.021 is below the November average in each of the last four years, including November 2025's $4.310.
Those are different months, so the comparison is a rough guide for your Thanksgiving baking, not a prediction for this November.
The lowest monthly average in the data from January 2019 through August 2026 came in November 2020, at $3.325.
August 2026's average is about 70 cents above that low.
Sticks and Storage
Butter in the U.S. is mostly sold in half-pound or one-pound packages.
Each package is split into quarter-pound sticks.
Four sticks make a pound.
Federal law requires butter to be at least 80% milk fat by weight, so a pound has at least 12.8 ounces of milk fat.
Wisconsin's agriculture department says butter can't be sold in the state unless it has been graded to Wisconsin or U.S. Department of Agriculture standards.
At August 2026's average of $4.021 a pound, a stick works out to about $1.01.
A year earlier, at $4.828 a pound, a stick came to about $1.21.
Each stick has 8 tablespoons, so a recipe that calls for a cup of butter means you need two sticks.
The three pounds in the box above come to 12 sticks, or 6 cups.
Butter wrapped tightly in foil, transparent film or freezer paper can be frozen for 6 to 9 months, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
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