{"surveyDate":"2026-09-21","runTimestamp":"2026-09-21T08:03:10.629Z","methodologyVersion":"3.1","instrument":{"model":"gpt-5.5-2026-04-23","promptHash":"47fd58109b969b27","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":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 29 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"metro":"Philadelphia, PA","status":"verified","price":2.98,"reportedPrice":2.98,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/pennsylvania/philadelphia","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 28 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"metro":"Atlanta, GA","status":"verified","price":2.65,"reportedPrice":2.65,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/georgia/atlanta","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 18 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"metro":"Miami, FL","status":"verified","price":2.83,"reportedPrice":2.83,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/florida/miami","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 35 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"metro":"Dallas, TX","status":"verified","price":2.1,"reportedPrice":2.1,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/texas/dallas","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 34 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"metro":"Chicago, IL","status":"verified","price":2.87,"reportedPrice":2.87,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/illinois/chicago","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 49 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source 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":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 19 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"metro":"Columbus, OH","status":"verified","price":2.48,"reportedPrice":2.48,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/ohio/columbus","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 26 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source 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":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 40 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"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":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 15 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"metro":"Denver, CO","status":"verified","price":2.6,"reportedPrice":2.6,"sourceUrl":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/colorado/denver","sourceType":"pinned_aggregator","priceType":"standard_menu","pageUpdated":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 18 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."},{"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":"Updated September 2026","asOf":"2026-09-21","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned primary page; city-wide McChicken average across 38 app-sourced locations; no meal/bundle/coupon or delivery source used."}],"spec":{"reading":null,"status":"carried","appliedGrams":139.46,"rawExcerpt":null},"wage":{"usdPerHour":32.53,"month":"2026-08","fetchedAt":"2026-09-21T08:00:49.866Z","source":"FRED AHETPI (api)"},"nationalEstimates":[{"estimate":2.86,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-menu/mcchicken","as_of":"2026-09-07","description":"MenuPriceTracker U.S. national average McChicken price; page states $2.86 as of September 2026 across 5,037 cities and 13,575 app-sourced locations, with footer last updated September 7, 2026."}],"regimeEvents":[{"date":"2026-09-07","event":"FastFoodIndex daily same-store report flagged a national McChicken price-change wave: 1,234 restaurants changed McChicken, with typical moved price $1.50 to $2.19; review only, not used to alter panel prices.","source_url":"https://www.fastfoodindex.com/price-changes/2026-09-07/mcdonalds/"},{"date":"2026-09-07","event":"Credible anecdotal r/McDonalds thread reported McChicken increases around a $2.00-to-$3.00 move, with comments showing mixed local readings such as $1.50, $2.29, and $2.49; review only, not used to alter panel prices.","source_url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/McDonalds/comments/1w9czw6/good_bye_mcchicken_45_price_increase/"},{"date":"2026-09-18","event":"FastFoodIndex weekly McDonald's price-change page reported McChicken was the item rising at the most restaurants on net over the prior week: 2,343 restaurants, typical $1.50 to $2.19; review only, not used to alter panel prices.","source_url":"https://www.fastfoodindex.com/price-changes/mcdonalds/"}],"qualityNotes":"All 12 observations used the pinned MenuPriceTracker primary metro pages; each page displayed app-sourced pricing updated September 2026 and was fetched on 2026-09-21. Values are metro averages from the pinned pages rather than a single-store quote; no delivery-platform or excluded-site prices were used, and all panel prices fall within the stated $2.00-$4.50 plausibility band. Hardest validation points were higher-price metros such as Seattle and New York and distinguishing everyday McValue positioning from promos; no official McChicken reformulation or portion-size change was found in the past-14-day scan.","outcome":{"status":"published","mciMinutes":5.3,"panelPriceUsd":2.85},"usage":{"inputTokens":114584,"outputTokens":11529}}