At US wholesale in 2026, boneless chicken thighs cost more than boneless chicken breast. Boneless skinless thigh meat printed above boneless skinless breast in 40 of the first 41 weeks of the year on USDA's weekly chicken report. The premium averaged about 28 cents a pound. In the week of October 9, 2026, thigh meat was 167.90 cents a pound and breast 118.68.
Bone-in thighs are still the cheap thigh. At the store, USDA's survey of grocery ads (AMS 2756) shows the order plainly. From January to early October 2026, fresh boneless thighs averaged an advertised $3.16 a pound, boneless breast $2.70, and bone-in thighs $1.41. Boneless thighs carried the higher ad price in 36 of those 41 weeks.
Buyers were taught that white meat is the expensive half of the bird and dark meat the cheap half, cleared at a discount and much of it exported. For boneless thigh meat in 2026, that rule is wrong.
How the relationship changed
| Year | Weeks thigh above breast | Avg spread |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 (from Sept) | 7 of 18 | -4¢ |
| 2023 | 26 of 52 | -3¢ |
| 2024 | 26 of 52 | +2¢ |
| 2025 | 24 of 52 | -9¢ |
| 2026 (to Oct 9) | 40 of 41 | +28¢ |
Through 2023, 2024 and 2025 the two lines traded near par. They crossed back and forth about half the weeks, and the yearly average stayed within about 9 cents of even. In 2026 the crossing stopped. Thigh meat has held above breast every week since February 20, 34 weeks in a row, the longest run in the series.
The first stretch of eight straight weeks with thigh above breast began in late June 2023. That is a fair marker for when the two reached par.
The premium also has a calendar. In each of the last four seasons, thigh meat's edge over breast ran wider than its season average in June, July and October, and narrower from February to April. In 2026 it peaked at about 66 cents in June. It narrowed to about 25 cents in early September, then widened to 49 cents by October 9.
Why thigh meat got more expensive
Supply is fixed per bird. A bird has two thighs. Plants cannot produce more thigh meat without producing more breast, wings and everything else. When demand leans on one part, price carries the adjustment.
Demand moved toward thigh meat. Restaurants have been adding it for years. In late 2020, Technomic, a firm that tracks restaurant menus, found thighs at only about 2 percent of operators. But thigh mentions were up on the year in chicken sandwiches, Asian chicken dishes and barbecue items, Restaurant Business reported. Grocery ads moved too. USDA's ad survey counted about 4,100 store features a week for boneless thighs from January to early October 2026, against about 3,500 in the same weeks of 2025. Breast still gets about three times the ad space.
Breast had a soft 2026. Boneless breast averaged about 138 cents a pound in 2026 through October 9, against about 185 in 2025. Thigh meat slipped only from about 176 to 167. The premium is as much a breast story as a thigh story.
What it means for a buyer
Any formula, contract or budget built on dark meat as the cheap stand-in for breast needs a check against current prints. That assumption has been wrong for most of 2026. Moving a menu item from breast to thigh to save money may now cost more.
Keep boneless thigh meat apart from the rest of the dark meat. Bone-in thighs, bone-in legs and leg quarters are different markets with different buyers. Leg quarters are still tied to export and still trade at the bottom of the table with drumsticks. The premium is specific to boneless thigh meat, the item that competes with breast for the same menu slot.
These are US prices. Canada's chicken market is supply-managed, so US prints do not set Canadian prices.
Whether the premium lasts is open. More birds mean more thighs, but also more breast, so supply alone cannot close the gap. Price off the current print, not the rule of thumb.