{"surveyDate":"2026-08-27","runTimestamp":"2026-08-27T08:05:41.854Z","methodologyVersion":"3.1","instrument":{"model":"gpt-5.5-2026-04-23","promptHash":"fb1da9618cdf0965","reasoningEffort":"xhigh"},"metros":[{"metro":"New York, NY","status":"verified","price":4.05,"reportedPrice":4.05,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/new-york/new-york","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-18","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data. Above nominal Under-$3 McValue framing, likely reflecting local price/participation variation; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Philadelphia, PA","status":"verified","price":2.98,"reportedPrice":2.98,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/pennsylvania/philadelphia","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Atlanta, GA","status":"verified","price":2.65,"reportedPrice":2.65,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/georgia/atlanta","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Miami, FL","status":"verified","price":2.83,"reportedPrice":2.83,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/florida/miami","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Dallas, TX","status":"verified","price":2.1,"reportedPrice":2.1,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/texas/dallas","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Chicago, IL","status":"verified","price":2.87,"reportedPrice":2.87,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/illinois/chicago","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Kansas City, MO","status":"verified","price":2.29,"reportedPrice":2.29,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/missouri/kansas-city","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Columbus, OH","status":"verified","price":2.48,"reportedPrice":2.48,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/ohio/columbus","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Los Angeles, CA","status":"verified","price":3.56,"reportedPrice":3.56,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/california/los-angeles","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data. Above nominal Under-$3 McValue framing, likely reflecting local price/participation variation; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Seattle, WA","status":"verified","price":4.28,"reportedPrice":4.28,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/washington/seattle","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data. High but within plausibility band; above nominal Under-$3 McValue framing, likely reflecting local price/participation variation; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Denver, CO","status":"verified","price":2.6,"reportedPrice":2.6,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/colorado/denver","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."},{"metro":"Phoenix, AZ","status":"verified","price":3.04,"reportedPrice":3.04,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/arizona/phoenix","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"value_menu_listed","pageUpdated":"2026-08-20","asOf":"2026-08-27","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned page reports McChicken city average from app-sourced store data. Slightly above nominal Under-$3 McValue framing, likely reflecting local price/participation variation; no coupon, bundle, meal, or delivery markup used."}],"spec":{"reading":null,"status":"carried","appliedGrams":139.46,"rawExcerpt":null},"wage":{"usdPerHour":32.4,"month":"2026-07","fetchedAt":"2026-08-27T08:00:53.291Z","source":"FRED AHETPI (api)"},"nationalEstimates":[{"estimate":2.86,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-menu/mcchicken","as_of":"2026-08-16","description":"MenuPriceTracker national average McChicken price, app-sourced across 5,037 neighborhoods and 13,575 U.S. locations; listed range $1.00-$5.79."}],"regimeEvents":[],"qualityNotes":"All metro observations came from the pinned MenuPriceTracker city pages, which describe the prices as app-sourced and refreshed monthly; displayed page updates were August 18 or August 20, 2026, and fetch date is 2026-08-27. The pinned pages report city-wide averages rather than a single restaurant kiosk price, so location-level McDonald's app checks would be a stronger same-day validation; New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Phoenix exceed the nominal Under-$3 value-menu framing but remain within the plausibility band. No qualifying national value-menu launch/withdrawal, corporate pricing announcement, or credible McChicken reformulation/portion-size wave dated 2026-08-13 through 2026-08-27 was found; the active April 2026 McValue/Under-$3 launch is outside the 14-day event window.","outcome":{"status":"published","mciMinutes":5.3,"panelPriceUsd":2.85},"usage":{"inputTokens":128132,"outputTokens":9308}}