Believe it or not, just about 30 years ago, you could buy a burger for 71 cents. Fast forward to 2024, your burger is now anywhere from 11 to 16 dollars. Why the sudden change? Inflation and laws have a lot to do with why the cost of everything has gone up, but the topic now is fast food prices. Implemented on April 1st, 2024, it became law that all fast food employees covered must be paid at least $20.00 an hour. This has made restaurants like In N Out raise their prices for their burgers by 25 cents and their drinks by 5 cents. Fast food pay has risen recently because the fast food industry felt raising pay would attract more workers. They also felt that people stayed longer if their pay went up. This would hopefully result in more jobs.

Some fast-food restaurant chains have raised their prices by around 8%. Wendy’s prices increased by 8%, while Chipotle’s increased by 7.5%. Chipotle’s Chicken and Steak Burrito increased by 8.3% and 7%. Some restaurants stayed on the lower range, like Taco Bell, raising their menu by 3% and Burger King by 2%. Burger King’s Whopper Meal went up by 1.4%. Even Seattle-based Starbucks raised their prices by 7%. Mcdonald’s has hinted that they will be raising their prices soon, but they have not done so yet. This law was passed because Democrats in the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1228 this past year. They wanted to help minimum wage workers afford the rising cost of living. They wanted to consider that the 500,000 people working in minimum wage are not just teenagers looking for extra money but also adults with families or lives that cost a lot. The law only holds up for restaurants with more than 60 locations nationwide. It also doesn’t go for restaurants that bake and sell bread as a standalone menu item. This law has also led to job cuts in the industry. For example, two big Pizza Hut operators in California laid off around 1,200 people for all in-house deliveries. Though this raise may benefit the workers, it could be a turn-off for the people paying.

Many people are stating that they will not be eating out as much as they used to due to the change in prices by major fast food chains. Many people are happy that minimum wage will be more cost-efficient for the workers, but on the other hand, their meals will cost way more than they used to.  The new law is not the only reason food prices have gone up. CPI inflation also has a role in prices going up. It is said that an economy-wide inflation increased from 0.6% in January 2024 to February 2024. Food prices were 2.2% percent higher than in February of last year.