Weekly City Showdown | Burger Price Index

Name: Burger Price Index — National
Creator: Burger Price Index
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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National Burger Price Index

$14.75▲ 3.8%

Avg across 10 cities · Nov 9, 2026

45-Week Trend

Share the national print

National BPI: $14.75 (+3.8% WoW) — week of Nov 9, 2026. Austin is the value trade; New York prints the premium. Avg across 10 cities. Portland climbed 3 to #7 and Boston slid 2 to #5. Bloomberg Terminal energy, Wendy's drive-thru prices — https://burgerprice.com/

What this means

BPI is a weekly weighted average of fast-food, casual, and premium burger prices across 10 cities. The national number $14.75 is this week's print on the tape. WoW ▲ 3.8% — burgers got pricier on the week. Austin is the value print; New York is the premium.

Next: pick a city·near me·this week's showdown — the drive-thru doesn't care about your feelings.

How we print

Custom Showdown · Week of Nov 9, 2026

Seattle vs Los Angeles

Los Angeles leads by $0.11. Seattle is the value trade this week.

Seattle

Nov 9, 202612 restaurants

$16.11

▲+9.7%

Price Range

Cheapest

$5.70

Dick's Drive-In

Priciest

$26.00

Bateau

🏆Burger of the Week

Tokyo Classic (Beef Katsu)

Katsu Burger

$13.95

“Offering an asymmetric risk-reward profile, this panko-crusted, deep-fried beef patty yields explosive textural alpha compared to standard griddled offerings. The integration of tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo delivers high-yield umami that easily out-indexes competitors in the mid-tier price bracket. It represents the week's most compelling fusion of culinary innovation and strong cost-to-flavor efficiency.”

Higher BPI

Los Angeles

Nov 9, 202612 restaurants

$16.22

▲+3.6%

Price Range

Cheapest

$5.40

In-N-Out Burger

Priciest

$29.00

Petit Trois

🏆Burger of the Week

Double-Double

In-N-Out Burger

$5.40

“Offering an unbeatable return on investment, the Double-Double remains the gold standard of California's burger portfolio. Its perfectly balanced asset allocation of freshly seared beef, melted American cheese, and crisp produce outperforms competitors trading at three times the cost. For sheer flavor-to-price efficiency, this iconic staple yields the highest consumer alpha in the Los Angeles market.”

Pick your own matchup

Custom matchup. The link is shareable. Back to this week's pair

Share this showdown

Seattle ($16.11) vs Los Angeles ($16.22) — week of Nov 9, 2026. Los Angeles leads by $0.11. Track it: https://burgerprice.com/?showdown=seattle-wa%2Clos-angeles-ca

Showdown FAQ

What is this week's city showdown?+

Head-to-head BPI for the week of 2026-11-09: Seattle, WA at $16.11 vs Los Angeles, CA at $16.22. Los Angeles leads by $0.11. Seattle is the value trade this week.

How do I read the showdown?+

Higher BPI means a pricier burger tape that week — not a moral victory. The winner badge marks the higher print; the gap is just dollars between the two. Same weighting as every city page: Fast Food 20%, Casual/Diner 40%, Premium/Gourmet 40%. Not financial advice — just the tape.

How do these cities compare to the national print?+

National average sits at $14.75 across 10 tracked cities. Seattle 9.2% above national; Los Angeles 10.0% above national.

How are the matchup cities chosen?+

Deterministic weekly rotation — same week_of always picks the same pair from the tracked city list. Share URLs can pin an explicit pair (?showdown=slug-a,slug-b) without changing the live rotation.

Where can I compare more cities?+

Browse the full card grid on /cities, dig into either matchup city above, or hit /rankings for the weekly leaderboard. This week the national floor is Austin; the ceiling is New York. Methodology and weighting live on /about.

Dig into Seattle or Los Angeles, browse All Cities, or see methodology on About.

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Biggest Movers

Week-over-week BPI swings, with the same-store read

Full rankings →

Risers

Prices heating up

PortlandOR

$13.30

Same-store +3.0% · Basket mix

+23.5%

SeattleWA

$16.11

Same-store +1.0% · Basket mix

+9.7%

New YorkNY

$21.32

Same-store -0.1% · Basket mix

+8.8%

Fallers

Prices cooling off

BostonMA

$15.20

Same-store +1.0% · Basket mix

-7.7%

AustinTX

$10.51

Same-store +11.8% · Basket mix

-4.5%

ChicagoIL

$13.28

Same-store +5.5% · Basket mix

-1.5%

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National BPI Rankings

10 cities tracked · Updated weekly

Full rankings →

#CityBPIChg

New YorkNY

44.5% above national $14.75

$21.32+8.8%2=

San FranciscoCA

13.7% above national $14.75

$16.77+0.8%3▲1

Los AngelesCA

10.0% above national $14.75

$16.22+3.6%4▲1

SeattleWA

9.2% above national $14.75

$16.11+9.7%5▼2

BostonMA

3.1% above national $14.75

$15.20-7.7%6▲1

New OrleansLA

8.9% below national $14.75

$13.44+7.1%7▲3

PortlandOR

9.8% below national $14.75

$13.30+23.5%8▼2

ChicagoIL

10.0% below national $14.75

$13.28-1.5%9▼1

NashvilleTN

23.3% below national $14.75

$11.31+0.6%10▼1

AustinTX

28.7% below national $14.75

$10.51-4.5%

Rank arrows compare each city's spot with the prior available print (week of Nov 2). ▲ moved up the board (pricier), ▼ moved down (cheaper), = held.

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BPI Candlestick

45-week OHLC · body = BPI movement · wicks = price spread

Seattle$16.11

Los Angeles$16.22

UpDown

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Market Report

Week of November 9, 2026

Breaking

BPI Surges as Portland Rallies 23.5%; New York Breaches $21 Patty Resistance

The National Burger Price Index (BPI) posted broad-based gains this week, settling at a consolidated average of $14.75 as regional volatility tested consumer appetite. New York retained its mantle as the nation's most expensive patty exchange, appreciating +8.8% to close at an eye-watering $21.32, driven by persistent commercial real estate overhead and speculative brioche bun trading. Meanwhile, Portland emerged as the session's high-beta outperformer, skyrocketing +23.5% to $13.30 amid an acute supply squeeze in artisanal microgreen garnishes and surging local demand.

🧾 Same-store footnote

6 of 10 city headline moves this week are mostly basket mix, not menu-board changes. Across carried-over spots, burgers moved +1.8% on average per city, vs. a +4.0% average headline. Biggest footnote: Portland, headline +23.5%, same-store +3.0%. See the Same-Store Board →

Key Market Drivers

▲Upstream Ground Chuck Futures

Rising lean cattle feed costs and cold-chain logistics friction continue to apply upward price pressure on core protein inputs across prime coastal markets.

▼Austin Value Arbitrage

Robust local smoker capacity and aggressive combo-meal discounting compressed Austin prices by 4.5%, establishing strong support at the $10.51 level.

▲Condiment and Dairy Headwinds

Supply-chain tightening in aged cheddar vats and boutique aioli emulsifiers fueled late-week markup momentum in New Orleans (+7.1%) and Seattle (+9.7%).

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Industry Wire

Stories impacting burger prices this week

Supply Chain|Bullish for prices|USDA Economic Research Service

Cattle Herd Contraction Tightens Ground Chuck Supply, Pressure Mounts on QSR Margins

The USDA's latest cattle inventory report indicates a persistent multi-year low in domestic herd sizes, driven by elevated feed costs and prolonged pasture drought in the Southern Plains. Packers are passing wholesale boxed beef premiums directly to commercial food service operators, with lean 81/19 trim up 6.2% month-over-month. Fast-casual chains in high-volume markets like Chicago and Austin are expected to face margin compression heading into Q1 2027.

Regulation|Bullish for prices|Bureau of Labor Statistics

West Coast Municipal Wage Indexing Takes Effect, Pushing San Francisco BPI Past $16.75

Automated annual cost-of-living adjustments have officially raised base fast-food labor rates across California and Washington municipalities, accelerating menu price inflation in San Francisco and Seattle. Franchise operators are responding with increased automation at point-of-sale and kitchen prep stations to mitigate double-digit payroll increases. Analysts project the policy will widen the pricing gap between coastal metros and interior markets through mid-2027.

Market|Bearish for prices|Reuters Restaurant Industry Wire

Shake Shack and Rivals Pivot to Value Bundles as Fast-Casual Foot Traffic Softens

Major fast-casual burger operators reported decelerating same-store sales growth in Q3 earnings, citing middle-income consumer fatigue after consecutive quarters of menu price hikes. In response, chains are rolling out targeted off-peak meal deals and tiered combo offerings to defend lunchtime foot traffic in critical markets like Boston and Portland. The promotional shift indicates top-line menu pricing may have reached a temporary ceiling in mid-tier metropolitan centers.

Consumer|Neutral for prices|National Restaurant Association

Diners Trade Down to Smashed Patties as Premium Steakhouse Demand Cools Ahead of Holidays

Consumer spending surveys reveal an accelerating trade-down trend from casual dining and traditional steakhouses toward premium smash burger concepts, as consumers look to trim discretionary holiday budgets without sacrificing quality beef. The migration has fortified quick-service and tavern foot traffic in culinary hubs like New Orleans and New York, where the BPI remains structurally elevated at $21.32. Operators report robust sales volume for mid-priced signature double-patties, despite tightening household grocery budgets.

Wild Card|Neutral for prices|Bloomberg Financial Wire

Hedge Fund Arbitrageur Targets NYC-Austin Burger Spread via Synthetic Commissary Swaps

A boutique Manhattan hedge fund has reportedly initiated an algorithmic commodity trading desk structured around regional patty-spread differentials, citing the record $10.81 BPI gap between New York and Austin. The strategy exploits bulk regional distribution contract discrepancies by shorting East Coast commissary futures while going long on Central Texas wholesale volume. While industry veterans dismiss the play as speculative financial engineering, institutional interest highlights growing macro sensitivity around localized food-cost divergence.

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