United States

Department of 

Agriculture

Agricultural

Marketing

Service

Livestock,

Poultry and

Seed Program

Agricultural

Analytics

Division

Top 50 Ranking of Chicken Cuts 

Frequency of Supermarket 

Advertised Sales in 2016
2016 Top 50 Ranking of Chicken Cuts (March 2017)

USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service, Agricultural Analytics Division 2

Top 50 Ranking of Chicken Cuts by Frequency of Supermarket Advertised Sales

This annual report provides a ranking of the top 501 chicken cuts as featured by grocery retailers in their store 

circulars ranked by the most frequently advertised to the least. Information was collected from a weekly survey of 

29,200 supermarket ads in all 50 United States during the year. 

Information included on the report:

 Current year ranking of the chicken cuts reported on the USDA Weekly Retail Chicken Feature Activity

report based on the frequency that they were featured during the year. 

 Comparison with the ranking from the prior year along with the ranking change. 

 The frequency each cut was featured on a national basis during the year as a percentage of all features for

reported chicken cuts. 

 The annual national weighted average ad price for each cut.

 The annual regional weighted average ad price for each cut.

 A comparison, by region, of the frequency each cut was featured during the year.

U.S. Regional Definitions:

Northeast ............CT,DC,DE,MA,MD,ME,NH,NJ,NY,PA,RI,VT

Southeast............AL,FL,GA,KY,MS,NC,SC,TN,VA,WV

Midwest...............IA,IL,IN,MI,MN,ND,NE,OH,SD,WI

South Central......AR,AZ,CO,KS,LA,MO,NM,OK,TX,UT

Southwest...........CA, HI, NV

Northwest............AK,ID,MT,OR,WA,WY

Notes:

1 – includes only the top 50 of the 61 chicken cuts reported on the Weekly Retail Chicken Feature Activity report.

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the 

USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited 

from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual 

orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all 

bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
2016 Top 50 Ranking of Chicken Cuts by Frequency of Supermarket Advertised Sales 1/

Based on a ranking of all 61 items reported on the USDA Weekly Retail Chicken Feature Activity report. 

2016 2015 NE SE MW SC SW NW

1 1 Bnls/Sknls Breasts - value pack 9.26% 18.5% 12.9% 15.4% 18.9% 17.4% 16.9%

2.26 2.22 3.13 1.90 2.00 2.89 2.39

2 3 Drumsticks - value pack 6.33% 24.3% 14.4% 13.8% 20.1% 14.1% 13.4%

0.97 1.03 0.93 0.92 0.91 1.18 1.31

3 4 Thighs - value pack 5.56% 25.4% 14.3% 13.8% 17.3% 15.1% 14.0%

1.03 1.05 0.97 0.99 1.01 1.23 1.30

4 5 Fried Chicken 8-Piece Mixed 5.08% 14.2% 17.1% 10.3% 17.5% 21.7% 19.3%

6.64 6.78 6.61 7.06 6.70 6.96 7.18

5 2 Bnls/Sknls Breasts - regular pack 4.69% 10.8% 8.2% 15.8% 10.7% 23.5% 31.0%

2.71 2.80 2.71 2.68 2.68 3.13 2.61

6 6 Whole Bagged Fryer 4.55% 15.2% 16.2% 12.0% 15.7% 23.6% 17.3%

1.05 1.18 1.02 1.10 0.96 1.52 1.16

7 8 ABF Bnls/Sknls Breasts 4.15% 19.5% 10.3% 11.0% 14.3% 25.2% 19.8%

4.90 4.91 4.56 4.18 4.98 5.72 5.25

8 7 Whole Rotisserie, < 2 lbs 3.77% 27.1% 11.1% 8.2% 15.0% 21.8% 16.7%

5.88 5.47 5.47 6.27 6.17 6.76 6.65

9 12 IQF Bnls/Sknls Breast 3.54% 7.6% 12.4% 16.5% 25.2% 17.1% 21.1%

2.38 2.47 2.25 2.24 2.28 2.67 2.50

10 10 Whole Wings 3.40% 29.4% 31.9% 15.2% 10.5% 6.4% 6.6%

2.45 2.53 2.32 2.28 2.34 2.39 2.99

11 9 Prepared Breast Tenders 2.94% 12.1% 10.4% 8.7% 16.3% 25.0% 27.5%

6.00 5.98 5.87 5.69 6.19 6.25 6.09

12 16 Prepared Bone-in Wings 2.76% 9.9% 8.7% 9.7% 18.4% 28.2% 25.2%

5.82 5.60 5.69 5.69 6.07 5.67 6.83

13 18 Bnls/Sknls Thighs - value pack 2.73% 15.6% 9.8% 10.2% 16.2% 28.4% 19.7%

2.10 2.02 2.04 1.95 1.89 2.74 2.26

14 11 Split, bone-in Breast - value pack 2.69% 20.1% 19.3% 11.6% 23.2% 15.4% 10.4%

1.23 1.42 1.22 1.24 1.11 1.06 1.50

15 17 Leg Quarters - bagged 2.47% 23.2% 22.8% 13.0% 27.6% 8.5% 4.8%

0.59 0.64 0.59 0.53 0.48 0.67 0.63

16 26 Organic Bnls/Sknls Breasts 2.11% 14.1% 3.4% 3.2% 11.0% 30.8% 37.5%

7.31 7.39 6.96 7.18 7.15 8.19 7.54

17 20 Baked Chicken 8-Piece Mixed 2.04% 2.9% 11.1% 9.3% 19.3% 29.9% 27.5%

6.49 6.68 6.74 7.26 6.41 6.22 6.48

18 22 Whole Rotisserie 2.1-3.0 2.03% 6.5% 26.1% 8.6% 13.2% 18.6% 27.0%

7.38 7.25 6.81 6.87 7.45 7.78 7.84

19 18 Bnls/Sknls Thighs - regular pack 1.70% 23.3% 8.9% 6.3% 5.0% 9.2% 47.3%

2.32 2.33 2.50 2.25 2.18 2.32 2.21

20 23 ABF Whole Bagged Fryer 1.53% 33.9% 10.1% 13.1% 8.8% 10.7% 23.5%

1.97 2.06 1.74 1.82 1.82 2.22 2.06

21 31 Prepared Boneless Wings 1.51% 7.3% 5.1% 11.2% 24.7% 27.2% 24.4%

5.92 5.70 5.36 5.50 6.17 5.96 6.30

22 35 IQF Breast Tenders 1.48% 8.3% 12.7% 11.1% 26.5% 21.0% 20.5%

2.72 2.93 2.56 2.70 2.47 2.89 2.61

23 19 Leg Quarters - tray packed 1.45% 18.0% 4.9% 6.6% 14.7% 32.0% 23.8%

0.96 0.80 0.94 0.87 0.97 1.08 1.38

24 15 Breast Tenders - regular pack 1.43% 37.9% 16.4% 20.5% 13.1% 6.9% 5.2%

3.21 3.26 2.99 3.08 3.22 2.89 2.65

25 28 ABF Drumsticks 1.40% 45.1% 10.4% 11.4% 5.9% 13.7% 13.5%

1.98 1.97 1.76 1.84 1.87 2.17 2.18

1/: based on a weekly survey of 29,200 supermarket ads in all 50 United States. changed higher

2/: average annual frequency percentage. changed lower

3/: adjusted to a "per 100 store" basis to account for different size regional samples. unchanged

4/: the percentage of "no price" promotions (e.g., buy 1, get 1 free, 40% off all poultry, etc.) ABF = antibiotic-free

USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division - (202) 690-3145 Page 1 of 2

Ranking Item Avg Nat'l Frequency 2/ Regional Frequency 3/ and Average Feature Price

and Avg Feature price
2016 Top 50 Ranking of Chicken Cuts by Frequency of Supermarket Advertised Sales 1/

Based on a ranking of all 61 items reported on the USDA Weekly Retail Chicken Feature Activity report. 

2016 2015 NE SE MW SC SW NW

26 37 IQF Party Wings 1.39% 32.0% 12.4% 15.1% 15.7% 15.0% 9.9%

2.51 2.34 2.32 2.63 2.38 2.77 2.81

27 30 ABF Thighs 1.25% 41.3% 10.7% 12.8% 6.7% 17.2% 11.3%

2.13 2.03 1.84 2.01 1.91 2.51 2.51

28 14 Thighs - regular pack 1.22% 12.2% 8.4% 18.2% 9.0% 27.8% 24.4%

1.31 1.18 1.25 1.21 1.22 1.24 1.39

29 13 Drumsticks - regular pack 1.19% 9.8% 6.4% 19.9% 9.4% 26.3% 28.2%

1.14 1.19 1.06 1.08 1.01 1.07 1.45

30 25 Whole Bagged Roaster 1.19% 67.7% 20.0% 10.0% 1.6% 0.4% 0.2%

1.27 1.26 1.24 1.32 1.79 3.50 1.58

31 33 ABF Breast Tenders 1.15% 37.9% 10.2% 13.0% 7.3% 28.8% 2.8%

5.23 5.30 4.46 4.57 4.81 6.05 5.88

32 24 Thin Sliced Breasts 1.05% 54.4% 11.0% 9.1% 10.4% 14.2% 0.9%

3.42 3.51 3.30 3.02 2.81 2.54 2.35

33 29 Fried/Baked Chicken, Bulk-Pack/piece 1.03% 7.1% 16.5% 13.5% 20.7% 27.3% 14.9%

0.88 1.38 1.46 1.05 0.82 0.82 0.86

34 27 Split, bone-in Breast - regular pack 1.03% 28.2% 10.4% 23.2% 14.3% 12.6% 11.4%

1.61 1.74 1.52 1.62 1.45 1.40 1.88

35 39 ABF Bnls/Sknls Thighs 0.96% 30.7% 21.9% 11.0% 4.0% 24.6% 7.8%

3.90 3.63 3.56 3.49 4.23 5.21 4.61

36 36 IQF Whole Wings 0.91% 24.6% 17.4% 14.6% 12.2% 22.1% 9.0%

2.37 2.20 2.29 2.50 2.63 2.47 2.47

37 34 Fried Chicken 8-piece Dark 0.88% 16.9% 6.5% 5.9% 4.2% 37.1% 29.5%

5.57 5.18 5.53 5.97 6.01 5.74 5.65

38 38 Breast Tender - value pack 0.73% 35.6% 19.6% 14.6% 22.7% 4.9% 2.7%

2.65 2.86 2.65 2.48 2.61 2.39 2.49

39 32 Cornish Hen 0.66% 28.0% 14.4% 15.1% 18.4% 17.8% 6.3%

2.61 2.52 2.67 2.63 2.65 2.37 2.72

40 44 Organic Whole Bagged Fryer 0.53% 40.9% 4.4% 1.9% 2.9% 34.1% 15.8%

2.99 3.05 2.95 3.09 3.00 2.95 3.29

41 43 Bnls/Sknls Breasts - Marinated 0.49% 36.0% 6.3% 25.1% 18.3% 6.2% 8.0%

3.74 4.39 3.04 3.43 3.47 2.78 3.82

42 46 Organic Breast Tenders 0.47% 24.8% 1.9% 3.1% 20.1% 41.5% 8.6%

7.74 7.68 8.10 7.09 7.70 8.10 7.55

43 47 Organic Bnls/Sknls Thighs 0.37% 27.6% 2.3% 0.2% 3.6% 34.9% 31.3%

5.48 5.24 5.34 5.45 5.51 6.12 5.85

44 42 Organic Drumsticks 0.37% 54.4% 4.8% 2.8% 0.8% 29.1% 8.1%

2.78 2.75 2.74 2.88 2.26 3.09 3.33

45 48 Legs 0.33% 28.9% 3.5% 12.8% 5.3% 39.6% 9.9%

1.12 0.88 0.89 0.95 0.91 1.42 0.98

46 45 ABF Split, bone-in Breasts 0.33% 19.9% 6.1% 22.5% 4.5% 20.1% 26.8%

2.67 2.78 2.38 2.23 2.38 3.20 2.96

47 40 Cut-up Fryer 0.30% 32.8% 6.8% 21.6% 7.1% 11.9% 19.8%

1.43 1.40 1.37 1.50 1.34 1.49 1.50

48 49 ABF Whole Wings 0.29% 5.5% 7.5% 3.6% 1.6% 59.2% 22.7%

3.10 3.00 2.73 2.55 2.76 3.52 2.81

49 41 Fried/Baked Chicken, 12-piece 0.27% 13.4% 9.3% 21.9% 33.7% 12.4% 9.3%

10.80 9.80 10.73 11.13 11.11 10.29 10.85

50 51 Rotisserie Breast 0.24% 23.7% 8.6% 1.3% 16.7% 34.8% 14.8%

6.15 5.54 7.97 6.39 6.76 6.31 6.64

1/: based on a weekly survey of 29,200 supermarket ads in all 50 United States. changed higher

2/: average annual frequency percentage. changed lower

3/: adjusted to a "per 100 store" basis to account for different size regional samples. unchanged

4/: the percentage of "no price" promotions (e.g., buy 1, get 1 free, 40% off all poultry, etc.) ABF = antibiotic-free

USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division - (202) 690-3145 Page 2 of 2

Ranking Item Avg Nat'l Frequency 2/ Regional Frequency 3/ and Average Feature Price

and Avg Feature price
-2.60% -2.35% -2.10% -1.85% -1.60% -1.35% -1.10% -0.85% -0.60% -0.35% -0.10% 0.15% 0.40% 0.65% 0.90% 1.15% 1.40%

Bnls/Sknls Breasts - value pack

IQF Bnls/Sknls Breast

Bnls/Sknls Thighs - value pack

ABF Bnls/Sknls Breasts

Organic Bnls/Sknls Breasts

IQF Breast Tenders

IQF Party Wings

Prepared Boneless Wings

Prepared Bone-in Wings

ABF Bnls/Sknls Thighs

Whole Wings

ABF Breast Tenders

Leg Quarters - bagged

ABF Thighs

Whole Rotisserie 2.1-3.0

Organic Whole Bagged Fryer

Organic Breast Tenders

IQF Whole Wings

Drumsticks - value pack

Bnls/Sknls Breasts - Marinated

ABF Drumsticks

Baked Chicken 8-Piece Mixed

Organic Bnls/Sknls Thighs

Rotisserie Breast

Fried Chicken 8-piece Dark

Legs

ABF Whole Wings

Organic Legs

Thighs - value pack

Organic Whole Wings

Fried Popcorn Chicken

Prepared Breast Strips

Organic Thighs

ABF Split, bone-in Breasts

ABF Legs

Drum-Thigh-Breast Combo

ABF Leg Quarters, tray-packed

Breast Tender - value pack

Drum-Thigh-Wing Combo

Organic Split bone-in Breasts

Organic Drumsticks

Rotisserie Leg Quarter

Fried/Baked Chicken, 12-piece

Split, bone-in Breast - value pack

Fried/Baked Chicken, Bulk-Pack/piece

Cut-up Fryer

Cornish Hen

Whole Bagged Fryer

Prepared Breast Tenders

Split, bone-in Breast - regular pack

ABF Whole Bagged Fryer

Whole Rotisserie, < 2 lbs

Fried Chicken 8-Piece Mixed

Whole Bagged Roaster

Bnls/Sknls Thighs - regular pack

Thin Sliced Breasts

Leg Quarters - tray packed

Breast Tenders - regular pack

Thighs - regular pack

Drumsticks - regular pack

Bnls/Sknls Breasts - regular pack

Percent Change

Chicken Advertising Share: Gainers/Losers from 2015 to 2016

Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Agricultural Analytics (202) 690-3145