Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, millions of Americans gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a day steeped in tradition, from the food on the table to the football on TV and the family gathered around. While many of us are familiar with the historical origins of the holiday, the modern celebration has taken on a life of its own, with unique cultural and economic dimensions. Get ready to see Thanksgiving in a whole new light.
The Feast: What America Eats
The Thanksgiving meal is the center of the holiday, and the numbers behind it are staggering. While turkey is the undisputed star, a whole cast of side dishes, pies, and beverages make up the traditional feast.
Turkey Time
It’s not Thanksgiving without a turkey. According to the National Turkey Federation, Americans are serious about their Thanksgiving bird.
46 million turkeys are eaten yearly on Thanksgiving. That’s a huge portion of the roughly 220 million turkeys raised annually in the United States.
The average Thanksgiving turkey weighs around 15 pounds, providing plenty of meat for dinner and, of course, for leftovers.
Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state, raising about 40 million turkeys each year. It’s followed by North Carolina, Arkansas, and Indiana.
Popular Side Dishes
While the turkey roasts, kitchens across the country are busy preparing an array of beloved side dishes. Data from various surveys, including those by Google, show clear favorites.
Mashed Potatoes: Often cited as the most popular side, mashed potatoes are a staple on about 78% of Thanksgiving tables.
Stuffing/Dressing: A very close second, stuffing (or dressing, depending on your region) is served in approximately 77% of households.
Green Bean Casserole: This classic dish, famously created by Campbell’s in 1955, still graces about 60% of Thanksgiving dinners.
Cranberry Sauce: Whether you prefer it jellied from a can or homemade, cranberry sauce is a must-have for many. Wisconsin is the highest producer of cranberries in the U.S., harvesting over 60% of the nation’s crop.
The Sweet Finale: Pie
Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without dessert, and pie is the traditional choice.
Pumpkin Pie is the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert, with an estimated 50 million pumpkin pies consumed each year.
Apple and Pecan Pie are also popular contenders, often sharing the dessert table with pumpkin’s signature orange hue. Illinois is the top pumpkin-producing state, so there’s a good chance your pie filling started its journey there.
On The Move: Thanksgiving Travel
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel periods of the year in the United States. Families are determined to gather, and they’ll travel by car, plane, and train to do so. AAA provides annual forecasts that highlight the scale of this movement.
Hitting The Road
The vast majority of Thanksgiving travelers choose to drive to their destinations.
Over 55 million Americans typically travel 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving.
Of those travelers, about 90% go by automobile. This leads to significant traffic congestion, especially on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which is often the busiest travel day of the year.
Flying High
Airports also see a massive surge in passengers during the Thanksgiving holiday week.
Approximately 4.5 to 5 million people fly to their Thanksgiving destinations.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is notoriously one of the busiest days of the year for air travel, as millions of people head home.
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