--- description: Rising gas prices and food prices mean a more expensive barbecue title: Fourth Of July BBQ Most Expensive Since 2008 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf225cc80a63df8bc/69869a82e8524b9aea603bec/500046541.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Year's Fourth Of July Will Cost You The Most In Years by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2014 6:58 PM CUT  Multi-generation family smiling at Fourth of July barbecue Multi-generation family smiling at Fourth of July barbecueJose Luis Pelaez Inc—Getty Images/Blend Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2014 6:58 PM CUT It’s a good thing the unemployment rate is in [decline](http://time.com/2953438/jobs-report-unemployment-rate-economy/ "undefined"), because celebrating the country’s birthday just got more expensive. This year, over 40 million Americans will be traveling at least 50 miles to celebrate the Fourth of July. With the average price of gas currently at 3.69, up 20 cents from one year ago, the journey will hit drivers hard. According to AAA, this holiday will be the most expensive for drivers since 2008. Add that the cost of barbecue foods and beer are all up since last year and party planning becomes more costly. But worry not — hot dogs are cheaper than this time last year, as are soda and chips, so at least the kids will have something to celebrate. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2954581/fourth-july-barbecue-expensive/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2954581/fourth-july-barbecue-expensive/"},"headline":"This Year's Fourth Of July Will Cost You The Most In Years","datePublished":"2014-07-03T18:58:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:58:15.904Z","description":"Rising gas prices and food prices mean a more expensive barbecue","url":"https://time.com/2954581/fourth-july-barbecue-expensive/","keywords":["Business topic","4th of July"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf225cc80a63df8bc/69869a82e8524b9aea603bec/500046541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf225cc80a63df8bc/69869a82e8524b9aea603bec/500046541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"500046541","caption":"500046541","creditText":"Jose Luis Pelaez Inc—Getty Images/Blend Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2954581/fourth-july-barbecue-expensive/","name":"This Year's Fourth Of July Will Cost You The Most In Years"}}]}] ```