July 4th Shopping Statistics

Last updated: May 13, 2025

Highlights. Americans spent an estimated $15.5 billion for the Fourth of July 2024.

  • Consumers spent a total of $9.4 billion on food and an estimated $3.87 billion on alcohol (mostly beer).
  • Americans spend over $2 billion on Independence Day fireworks.
  • Of the nearly 296 million Americans who celebrated, 91% shopped in preparation for the Fourth of July in 2024.
  • The cost of a cookout increased 5.15% on Independence Day 2024 compared to 2023.
  • 58% of Americans plan to purchase food for July 4th 2025; 31% plan to purchase alcohol.

Line Graph: Nationwide Total Fourth of July Food Spending in billions, including from years 2014 ($6.29), 2015 ($6.68), 2016 ($6.77), 2017 ($7.15), 2018 ($6.94), 2019 ($6.78), 2020 ($6.52), 2021 ($7.52), 2022 ($7.70), 2023 ($9.50), and 2024 ($9.40), according to the National Retail Federation

July 4th, 2025 Statistics

70% of Americans plan to celebrate Independence Day in 2025; 95% of celebrators intend to make a purchase. 

  • 83% of Americans celebrating July 4th in 2025 plan to purchase food.
  • 44% of intended celebrators plan to purchase alcoholic beverages, and 34% plan to purchase non-alcoholic beverages. 
  • 24% of July 4th participants intend to purchase decorations; 18% plan to buy party supplies. 
  • Most (59%) of July 4th shoppers will purchase from grocery stores; 49% will buy at big box stores. 
  • Only 14% of July 4th consumers plan to shop online in 2025.
  • 57% of July 4th shoppers plan to spend between $25 and $100 for the holiday. 
  • 77% of Independence Day shoppers plan to shop at least one week in advance. 

Pie Chart: Expected Fourth of July Spending per Person 2025, including <$25 (11%), $25-$49 (28%), $50-$99 (29%), $100-$199 (23%), $200-$299 (7%), $300+ (2%), according to Numerator

July 4th Sales Statistics

Most July 4th spending is for food items. Fireworks and decor are other major sales items.

  • Americans spent an estimated total of $13.3 billion on food and beverages for the Fourth of July 2024.
  • 79.2% of Americans planned to make a purchase in advance of their Fourth of July celebrations.
  • The average adult spent $90.42 on food, including snacks, for Independence Day 2022.
  • A July 4th cookout for 10 cost $71.22 or $7.12 per person (minus drinks). 
  • Average food spending per person decreased $2.92 or 3.13% year-over-year (YoY) from July 4th 2023 to 2024. 
  • From 2014 to 2024, average July 4th food total spending per person increased $22.26 or 32.7%. 
  • Americans spend an estimated total of $73.1 million on hot dogs for July 4th celebrations, purchasing approximately 150 million dogs.
  • Hot dog sales increase by an average of 20.0% each July, the official National Hot Dog Month (according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council).

Bar Graph: Nationwide Fourth of July 2022 Alcohol Spending, including total spending on table wine ($577.6 billion), import beer ($508.3 billion), premium light beer ($451.2 billion), craft beer ($261.7 billion), hard seltzer ($240.4 billion), vodka ($194.3 billion), and american whiskey ($139.4 billion), according to Nielsen Media Research

July 4th Alcohol Sales Statistics

Most of July 4th alcohol purchases are for beer, cider, and flavored malt beverages.

  • According to early surveys, Americans planned to spend upwards of $4 billion on alcohol for Independence Day 2024.
  • 41.8% of Americans purchased alcoholic beverages for their Fourth of July celebrations in 2024.
  • Fourth of July celebrants purchased an estimated $2.4 billion in beer, cider, and flavored malt beverages (FMB) in 2024.
  • An estimated 62.9% of alcohol sales were beer, cider, or FMB.
  • Americans spent approximately $536 million on wine for July 4th 2024.
  • Consumers purchased $900 million in spirits (whiskey, vodka, etc.) for Independence Day.
  • From 2021 to 2022, total July 4th alcohol sales increased 1.8%.
  • Beer/cider/FMB sales increased 4.3% YoY from 2021 to 2022.
  • Spirits sales increased 3.2% YoY while wine sales declined 2.7%.
Average Cost of July 4th Cookout Items
Item Cost per Unit Unit Measure
Cheese $3.57 per Pound
Chicken Breast $3.92 per Pound
Chips $4.90 per Package
Cookies $3.99 per Package
Ground Beef $6.39 per Pound
Hamburger Buns $2.41 per Package
Ice Cream $1.41 per Pint
Lemonade $0.84 per Pint
Pork and Beans $1.25 per Pound
Pork Chops $5.16 per Pound
Potato Salad $1.33 per Pound
Strawberries $2.31 per Pint

July 4th Fireworks Sales Statistics

One-in-three Fourth of July celebrants purchase fireworks. 

  • Americans spend $2.2 billion on fireworks for the Fourth of July.
  • Independence Day fireworks were $8.92 per pound on July 4th 2023.
  • An estimated 27.5% of American consumers purchased fireworks for July 4th 2024.
  • The average person who bought fireworks for the Fourth of July 2024 spent an estimated $27.06.
  • Among consumers who purchase Independence Day fireworks, each bought around 3 pounds of fireworks.
Cost of July 4th Fireworks
Year Cost per Pound Total Consumer Spending
(in millions)
2023 $8.92 $2,200
2022 $5.27 $2,300
2021 $5.28 $2,200
2020 $4.92 $1,900
2019 $4.02 $1,000
2018 $3.66 $945
2017 $3.86 $885
2016 $3.38 $825
2015 $2.90 $755
2014 $3.45 $695
2013 $4.05 $662
2012 $3.48 $645
2011 $3.06 $649

July 4th Shopping Statistics

Most 4th of July consumers shop for food and beverages.

  • 72.2% of Americans shopped for food items for July 4th 2024.
  • 33.1% of Americans shopped for non-alcoholic beverages for July 4th celebrations.
  • 20.0% of Americans shopped for decorations and 18.3% shopped for July 4th party supplies. 
  • Among July 4th celebrants, just 6% made no plans to purchase anything to celebrate the holiday.
  • 74% of consumers begin shopping for the 4th of July at least one week in advance.
  • For July 4th 2022, 50.4% of Americans shopped for snacks, 47.0% shopped for meat and/or seafood, and 37.8% shopped for fruits, vegetables, or side dishes.
  • 37.0% of Americans purchased disposable products, such as paper plates and plastic cutlery for July 4th 2022.

Pie Chart: Nationwide Fourth of July Spending, including Food (60.8%), Alcohol (25.0%), and Fireworks (14.2%) according to the National Retail Federation, American Pyrotechnics Association, and Nielsen Media Research

July 4th Drink Shopping Statistics

Independence Day is strongly associated with block parties and grilling out, which are in turn associated with the consumption of alcohol (beer in particular).

  • 48% of 4th of July celebrants purchase alcoholic beverages.
  • 75% of alcoholic beverage consumers purchase beer for the 4th of July.
  • 40% of alcoholic beverage consumers purchase spirits, such as whiskey or vodka, for July 4th.
  • 38% purchase wine for the 4th of July; 35% purchase hard seltzers or ready-to-drink cocktails.

Line Graph: Average 4th of July Food Spending Per Consumer, from the years 2014 ($68.16), 2015 ($71.23), 2016 ($71.34), 2017 ($73.42), 2018 ($75.35), 2019 ($73.33), 2020 ($76.49), 2021 ($80.54), 2022 ($84.12), 2023 ($93.34), and 2024 ($90.42), according to the National Retail Federation

July 4th Shopping Location Statistics

Most Fourth of July shoppers find everything they need at a brick-and-mortar grocery store.

  • In 2024, 63% of consumers shopping for the 4th of July planned to purchase at grocery stores.
  • 13% of consumers shopped online for July 4th 2024. 
  • 54% of July 4th shoppers purchased from mass retailers.
  • 26% shopped at liquor stores; 20% shopped at discount stores.
  • 15% shopped at local small businesses.

Grouped Bar Graph: Annual Change in 4th of July Food Spending, from 2019 (spending per consumer down 2.7% and total spending down 2.3%), 2020 (per consumer up 4.3% and total down 3.8%), 2021 (+5.3% per consumer and +15.3% total), 2022 (+4.4% and +2.4%), 2023 (+11.0% and +23.4%), and 2024 (-3.1% and -1.1%) according to the National Retail Federation

July 4th Consumer Statistics

The percentage of Americans celebrating Independence Day declined at a relatively steady rate from 2013 to 2022; however, more Americans celebrated in 2023 and 2024.

  • 87% of American consumers planned to celebrate the Fourth of July in 2024, the same rate as in 2023. 
  • 33% of consumers planned to spend over $100 for the 4th of July 2024.
  • 9% of consumers planned to spend less than $25.
  • Americans were as  likely to celebrate July 4th in 2024 as they were in 2023.
  • Compared to 2020, Americans were 14.5% more likely to celebrate July 4th 2024.
  • The rate of July 4th celebrants was down 3.33% from 2013.

Grouped Bar Graph: Generational Alcohol Purchases for July 4th, including Beer (69% of alcohol-consuming Millennials, 73% of Gen-X, and 79% of Boomers), Wine (37% Millennial, 32% Gen-X, and 55% Boomer), spirits (39% Millennial, 35% Gen-X, and 31% Boomer), hard seltzers (46% Millennial, 32% Gen-X, and 11% Boomer), and ready-to-drink cocktails (36%, 35%, and 20%), according to Numerator

July 4th Travel Sales Statistics

While the 4th of July isn’t considered a major travel holiday on par with Christmas or Thanksgiving, over 70 million people travel at least 50 miles from home between June 30th and July 4th.

  • Airlines sold an estimated 5.74 million plane tickets for July 4th 2024.
  • Plane ticket sales increased 6.8% YoY and 12.3% from 2019 (pre-pandemic) sales. 
  • Bus, train, and cruise tickets sold 4.62 million units.
  • Ticket sales for buses, trains, and cruises increased 9.0% YoY but were down 3.5% from 2019.

July 4th Savings Statistics

Consumers were especially concerned about savings for July 4th 2023 due to high rates of currency inflation.

  • 52% of July 4th celebrants planned to purchase more items on sale due to currency inflation in 2023.
  • 31% of July 4th celebrants planned more budget-friendly snacks and meals due to inflation.
  • 27% of July 4th celebrants used coupons to shop for the holiday in 2023.
  • 20% of Americans celebrating July 4th shopped at dollar and discount stores due to 2023 currency inflation.
  • 16% of celebrants opted for generic or store brand purchases and 11% purchased smaller items.

These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.

Sources

  1. National Retail Federation, Independence Day
  2. Numerator, Numerator Holiday Reports
  3. National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, Consumption Stats
  4. HowMuchIsIt.org, How Much Do Hot Dogs Cost?
  5. American Farm Bureau Federation, Record-High July 4th Cookout Costs: Inflation Hits the Backyard
  6. American Automobile Association, Nearly 71 Million People Expected to Travel over July 4th Week
  7. American Pyrotechnics Association
  8. U.S. Census Bureau, National Population Totals and Components of Change: Monthly Population Estimates for the United States
  9. NielsenIQ, These Alcoholic Beverage Categories Won the Fourth of July Holiday
  10. WalletHub, 4th of July Facts & Figures