{"surveyDate":"2026-10-15","runTimestamp":"2026-10-15T08:02:56.102Z","methodologyVersion":"3.1","instrument":{"model":"gpt-5.5-2026-04-23","promptHash":"1f3e373009079df8","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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. High within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."},{"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":"2026-10-15","carriedFromDate":null,"citationCheck":{"fetched":true,"priceFound":true,"httpStatus":200,"error":null},"notes":"Pinned city page reports a citywide app-sourced average for McChicken. Within plausibility band; not a meal, bundle, delivery, or coupon price."}],"spec":{"reading":null,"status":"carried","appliedGrams":139.46,"rawExcerpt":null},"wage":{"usdPerHour":32.6,"month":"2026-09","fetchedAt":"2026-10-15T08:00:49.232Z","source":"FRED AHETPI (api)"},"nationalEstimates":[{"estimate":2.86,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds-menu/mcchicken","as_of":"2026-10-05","description":"MenuPriceTracker national average McChicken price, app-sourced across 13,575 U.S. locations/neighborhood records; not used to replace metro observations."},{"estimate":5.91,"source_url":"https://menupricetracker.com/mcdonalds/new-york/new-york","as_of":"October 2026","description":"MenuPriceTracker U.S. national average Big Mac benchmark displayed on pinned city pages; not a McChicken estimate."}],"regimeEvents":[{"date":"2026-10-01","event":"McDonald's published an official pricing statement saying AI does not set or change menu prices, McDonald's does not use dynamic pricing, and franchisees independently set menu prices with optional recommendations/tools.","source_url":"https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/how-mcdonalds-sets-prices.html?trk=public_post_comment-text"},{"date":"2026-10-06","event":"AP reported a federal lawsuit alleging McDonald's AI-enhanced pricing tool shares nonpublic data and contributes to higher U.S. prices; McDonald's denied that the tools automate, coordinate, or fix pricing. AP also reported only 60% of U.S. restaurants were offering the proposed 10-item under-$3 menu as of an August investor call.","source_url":"https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-ai-pricing-lawsuit-competition-franchisees-bb78e854b11b54b394603effa7550bbe"},{"date":"2026-10-15","event":"McDonald's current U.S. McValue page lists McChicken on the Under $3 Menu and also lists a limited-time McChicken Meal Deal, with prices and participation varying and McDelivery excluded; this was treated as regime context only, not as a metro price override.","source_url":"https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/full-menu/mcvalue-menu.html"}],"qualityNotes":"All 12 observations came from the pinned MenuPriceTracker city pages, which display app-sourced prices updated October 2026 and were fetched on 2026-10-15. Prices are citywide app-sourced averages rather than a manual counter check at one store; New York and Seattle are the highest but still inside the stated $2.00-$4.50 plausibility band. The hardest issue was reconciling McDonald's national McValue Under-$3 listing with higher local city averages, so the pinned aggregator observations were retained and the McValue material was reported only as regime context.","outcome":{"status":"published","mciMinutes":5.2,"panelPriceUsd":2.85},"usage":{"inputTokens":101018,"outputTokens":8255}}