{"surveyDate":"2026-10-05","runTimestamp":"2026-10-05T08:03:07.546Z","methodologyVersion":"3.1","instrument":{"model":"gpt-5.5-2026-04-23","promptHash":"430e1bd0effdcdb8","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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, 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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."},{"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":"October 2026","asOf":"2026-10-05","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a McChicken city-wide average; app-sourced, no meal/bundle/coupon label."}],"spec":{"reading":null,"status":"carried","appliedGrams":139.46,"rawExcerpt":null},"wage":{"usdPerHour":32.6,"month":"2026-09","fetchedAt":"2026-10-05T08:00:54.331Z","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; page reports $1.00-$5.79 range across 13,575 U.S. McDonald's locations/cities and app-sourced data last updated September 2026."},{"estimate":5.91,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-menu","as_of":"2026-09-28","description":"MenuPriceTracker national average Big Mac benchmark shown on the panel city pages and all-menu page; not used for McChicken panel pricing."}],"regimeEvents":[{"date":"2026-10-05","event":"McDonald's official McValue page, fetched for context, 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. Context only, not used to override pinned metro prices.","source_url":"https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/full-menu/mcvalue-menu.html"},{"date":"2026-10-01","event":"McDonald's published a pricing statement saying AI does not set menu prices, McDonald's does not use dynamic pricing, and franchisees independently set restaurant menu prices; pricing tools are recommendations, not mandates.","source_url":"https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/how-mcdonalds-sets-prices.html"},{"date":"2026-09-24","event":"Restaurant Dive reported McDonald's investor-day chicken strategy, including Gold Standard Chicken process changes, expanded McCrispy/chicken-strip platforms, hand-breaded chicken tests, and future grilled chicken/wraps/bowls; no confirmed McChicken size or formulation change was stated.","source_url":"https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/mcdonalds-chicken-beef-beverage-menu-innovation-investor-day/831190/"},{"date":"2026-09-23","event":"McDonald's announced its NEXT strategy, including Menu > NEXT, dedicated value leadership, Make It Golden, and a target to gain 1.5 percentage points of chicken category share by 2030; no McChicken-specific price, size, or recipe change was announced.","source_url":"https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/NEXT-growth-strategy-advances.html"},{"date":"2026-09-25","event":"High-engagement r/McDonalds discussion of McDonald's protein/GLP-1 menu reports included broad shrinkflation and portion-size complaints; anecdotal only and not confirmation of a McChicken reformulation.","source_url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/McDonalds/comments/1wpjkqm/mcdonalds_reveals_major_changes_coming_to_menus/"}],"qualityNotes":"All 12 observations use the pinned MenuPriceTracker city pages, which state app-sourced prices updated October 2026; fetch/as-of date is 2026-10-05. These are city-wide averages rather than single-store quotes, and the aggregator cautions prices may not reflect every current local restaurant, so same-day McDonald's app verification remains preferable. No metro was missing; Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles were the highest and are the most likely to merit future secondary store-level checks.","outcome":{"status":"published","mciMinutes":5.2,"panelPriceUsd":2.85},"usage":{"inputTokens":117589,"outputTokens":13303}}