{"surveyDate":"2026-09-28","runTimestamp":"2026-09-28T08:03:17.198Z","methodologyVersion":"3.1","instrument":{"model":"gpt-5.5-2026-04-23","promptHash":"0959085c800b17c2","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 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 29 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 28 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 18 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 35 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 34 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; near lower plausibility band but within it."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 49 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 19 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 26 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 40 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; 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 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 15 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; high but within plausibility band."},{"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":"September 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 18 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."},{"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 21, 2026","asOf":"2026-09-28","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned app-sourced city-wide average across 38 tracked locations; McChicken sandwich alone, no meal/coupon; within plausibility band."}],"spec":{"reading":null,"status":"carried","appliedGrams":139.46,"rawExcerpt":null},"wage":{"usdPerHour":32.53,"month":"2026-08","fetchedAt":"2026-09-28T08:00:52.443Z","source":"FRED AHETPI (api)"},"nationalEstimates":[{"estimate":2.86,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-menu/mcchicken","as_of":"2026-09-07","description":"MenuPriceTracker national average McChicken price; app-sourced across 13,575 U.S. locations / 5,037 neighborhoods, with reported range $1.00-$5.79."}],"regimeEvents":[{"date":"2026-09-17","event":"Yahoo/Investing.com, citing Bloomberg, reported McDonald's was developing a longer-term U.S. value strategy with franchisees plus a near-term bridge plan of temporary items and digital offers; no specific McChicken price change was stated.","source_url":"https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-said-plan-value-strategy-195210231.html"},{"date":"2026-09-23","event":"McDonald's official NEXT strategy announcement cited dedicated value leadership, a +1.5 percentage point chicken-category share target by 2030, and restaurant-efficiency investments; it did not announce an immediate McChicken price, formulation, or portion-size change.","source_url":"https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/NEXT-growth-strategy-advances.html"},{"date":"2026-09-24","event":"NBC Chicago/AP reported McDonald's plans/tests including hand-breaded chicken, grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps, and smaller/protein-oriented menu options for GLP-1-era demand; no McChicken-specific reformulation or size change was reported.","source_url":"https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/mcdonalds-reveals-major-changes-coming-to-menus-including-a-shift-due-to-glp-1s/3993410/"}],"qualityNotes":"All 12 metro observations use the pinned MenuPriceTracker city pages fetched on 2026-09-28; those pages say prices are app-sourced, verified in September 2026, and last updated September 21, 2026. These are aggregator city averages rather than same-day in-app spot checks, so store-level variance remains; Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles were the most high-price/dispersion-prone metros, but no observation fell outside the $2.00-$4.50 plausibility band. McDonald's official McValue page still lists McChicken under the Under $3 menu with participation varying, but the pinned city pages did not label the metro averages as value-menu posts, so observations are classified as standard_menu.","outcome":{"status":"published","mciMinutes":5.3,"panelPriceUsd":2.85},"usage":{"inputTokens":116434,"outputTokens":12336}}