{"surveyDate":"2026-09-07","runTimestamp":"2026-09-07T08:03:37.590Z","methodologyVersion":"3.1","instrument":{"model":"gpt-5.5-2026-04-23","promptHash":"7c5714f279abf1ca","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":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. Within plausibility band but high for a value item."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"metro":"Los Angeles, CA","status":"verified","price":3.56,"reportedPrice":3.56,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/california/los-angeles","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. Above Under-$3 threshold but within plausibility band."},{"metro":"Seattle, WA","status":"verified","price":4.28,"reportedPrice":4.28,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/washington/seattle","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. Within plausibility band but near upper end."},{"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":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. At/under Under-$3 value-menu threshold."},{"metro":"Phoenix, AZ","status":"verified","price":3.04,"reportedPrice":3.04,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/arizona/phoenix","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-07","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page; app-sourced city-wide average across tracked locations. Slightly above Under-$3 threshold but within plausibility band."}],"spec":{"reading":null,"status":"carried","appliedGrams":139.46,"rawExcerpt":null},"wage":{"usdPerHour":32.53,"month":"2026-08","fetchedAt":"2026-09-07T08:01:02.495Z","source":"FRED AHETPI (api)"},"nationalEstimates":[{"estimate":2.86,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-menu/mcchicken","as_of":"2026-08-20","description":"MenuPriceTracker item-specific national average McChicken price, reporting $2.86 across 13,575 U.S. locations/neighborhoods."},{"estimate":2.86,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-chicken-menu","as_of":"2026-08-26","description":"MenuPriceTracker chicken-and-fish national-average table lists McChicken at $2.86, range $1.00-$5.79; page updated September 2026."},{"estimate":2.86,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-menu","as_of":"2026-08-31","description":"MenuPriceTracker full-menu national table lists McChicken at $2.86, range $1.00-$5.79, in September 2026 menu-price data."}],"regimeEvents":[{"date":"2026-09-07","event":"Official McDonald's McValue page, fetched for this survey, continued to list McChicken under the Under $3 Menu for Lunch & Dinner and The McChicken Meal Deal under Meal Deals; prices and participation may vary and McDelivery is excluded.","source_url":"https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/full-menu/mcvalue-menu.html"},{"date":"2026-09-01","event":"McDonald's USA Menu Spotter listed Spicy Chicken McNuggets returning to participating restaurants nationwide for a limited time starting September 1, 2026; no McChicken price, formulation, or portion-size change was stated.","source_url":"https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/USmenuspotter.html?os=f"},{"date":"2026-09-07","event":"A high-engagement r/McDonalds anecdotal thread reported a local McChicken increase from $2.00 to about $3.00 within a couple days; comments showed mixed local prices and characterized some recent low McChicken prices as promotional, so this is flagged only as anecdotal price-regime chatter.","source_url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/McDonalds/comments/1w9czw6/good_bye_mcchicken_45_price_increase/"}],"qualityNotes":"All 12 panel observations used the pinned MenuPriceTracker city URLs, which state app-sourced prices updated September 2026 and were fetched on 2026-09-07; no delivery-platform or banned content-farm prices were used. The observations are city-wide averages across tracked locations rather than a single kiosk quote, so same-metro store dispersion remains the main limitation. Hardest metros for classification were New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, where the McChicken average sits above the national Under-$3 value-menu framing despite the official McValue listing noting price and participation variability.","outcome":{"status":"published","mciMinutes":5.3,"panelPriceUsd":2.85},"usage":{"inputTokens":124347,"outputTokens":7743}}