Ahead of Thanksgiving, a new YouGov poll asked Americans about their plans for the holiday: who they’ll spend it with, who's cooking, what they’ll eat, what they’ll discuss, and who is on clean-up duty after the meal. Among other findings, three in 10 Americans say their Thanksgiving celebration has been affected by price increases. And about as many think it’s likely that politics will be discussed at their Thanksgiving table.
Nearly all (86%) of Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. 18% plan to travel for the holiday and 65% do not. Parents or guardians of children under 18 are about twice as likely as those who don’t have children under 18 to say they will travel for Thanksgiving (27% vs. 15%).
Half (50%) of Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving at home. About one-third (35%) will celebrate at a family member’s home, and smaller shares will celebrate at the home of one of their partner’s family members (5%), at a friend’s home (5%), at a restaurant (4%), or somewhere else (2%).
32% of Americans say there will be between one and five people at their primary Thanksgiving celebration this year. 28% say there will be between six and 10 people, and 13% expect 11 to 15 people. 8% of Americans say there will be 16 or more people at their Thanksgiving table this year.
And who will be sitting around the Thanksgiving table? 75% of Americans say their Thanksgiving celebration this year will include at least one family member. 31% say it will include a friend, 12% say it will include a member of the military or a veteran, 8% say it will include someone born outside the U.S. and 8% say it will include someone who doesn’t eat meat.
About two-thirds (68%) of working Americans get the day off work. Another 10% will take the day off work, and some will work limited hours (9%) or a full day (5%).
Work schedules have affected many Americans’ Thanksgiving plans: 11% of employed Americans have changed the time they will celebrate Thanksgiving because of work schedules. 8% say someone will not be joining their Thanksgiving meal because of work schedules and 5% say they will not be traveling for Thanksgiving because of work schedules.
Three-quarters (74%) of Americans say they and their group will cook the Thanksgiving meal. Very small shares say they will order a pre-made Thanksgiving meal (4%), go to a restaurant (3%), or order delivery or takeout (1%).
Turkey will be on most tables this Thanksgiving, and 69% expect to eat turkey. Other foods that majorities of Americans expect to eat this Thanksgiving are stuffing (61%), mashed potatoes (61%), pie (60%), bread or rolls (58%), and gravy (56%).
Americans who live in the South are more likely than Americans who live in other U.S. regions to say they will have green beans (50% vs. 38%), sweet potatoes (49% vs. 36%), macaroni and cheese (46% vs. 29%), and ham (41% vs. 26%).
Women are more likely than men to say they will do all or most of the Thanksgiving cooking (29% vs. 19%). 7% of men and 9% of women say they will do about half of the Thanksgiving cooking. 24% of men and 29% of women say other people will do most of it, but they will help. And 18% of men and 7% of women say other people will do all of the Thanksgiving cooking.
Americans 45 and older are more likely than younger adults to say they will do all or most of the cooking for Thanksgiving (28% vs. 20%). (The question doesn't apply to the 28% of Americans who aren't celebrating, won't have a home-cooked meal, or aren't sure who will do the cooking.)
Men and women are about equally likely to say they will do all or most of the Thanksgiving clean-up (29% vs. 31%). Adults under 30 are less likely than older Americans to say they will do all or most of the Thanksgiving clean-up (23% vs. 32%).
Many Americans are pulling double-duty this Thanksgiving: Among people who say they’re doing all of the Thanksgiving cooking, 71% say they’re also doing all of the cleaning. Another 17% say they’ll do most of the cleaning, with help from others.
Among people who say they’re doing most of the Thanksgiving cooking, 66% say they’re also doing all or most of the clean-up.
77% of the people who say other people will do all of the cooking also say other people will do all or most of the clean-up. The same goes for 70% of the people who expect that others will do most of the cooking.
29% of Americans say their Thanksgiving plans have been affected by price increases — down from 37% who said this a year ago. Among adults with annual family incomes under $50,000, 35% say their plans for Thanksgiving have been affected by price increases.
31% of Americans say it’s very or somewhat likely they’ll discuss politics at Thanksgiving this year, including 37% of Democrats, 26% of Independents, and 31% of Republicans. Half of Americans say it’s not very (22%) or not at all likely (27%) that they’ll discuss politics at Thanksgiving.
19% of Democrats and 9% of Republicans think there will be arguments about politics at their Thanksgiving celebration this year. But most Americans with a preferred 2024 candidate also expect to be celebrating mostly with like-minded people.
Among Americans who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, 45% think almost all of the people who will be attending their Thanksgiving celebration also supported her. 18% think more of their fellow Thanksgiving attendees supported Harris than supported Donald Trump, and 10% think equal shares supported both candidates.
Among people who voted for Trump, 44% think almost all the people they’re spending Thanksgiving with voted for Trump. 19% think most of their Thanksgiving group did; 13% say equal shares supported both candidates.
17% of Americans say they plan on shopping in a store on the Friday after Thanksgiving, also called Black Friday. Adults under 30 are more likely than older Americans to plan on shopping in-person on Black Friday (26% vs. 14%). More Americans plan on shopping online on Black Friday than in store (29% vs. 17%), including 38% of adults under 30. About as many Americans (26%) plan on shopping online on the Monday after Thanksgiving, also called Cyber Monday.
91% of Americans say they are thankful this year, including 85% of Democrats and 97% of Republicans. Respondents were given the option to write in their own words what they’re most thankful for this year. A selection of responses:
- “A president that is trying to make our lives safer and more prosperous as a nation.”
- “Finally cracking my egg and coming out as trans and starting my transition.”
- “My family and I are alive, healthy and hoping for a better economy. We are also looking forward to the holidays but probably will spend less money this year.”
- “Thankful that 99% of my family are conservative Republicans… We are especially thankful that Trump is president!”
- “That the government is back open and it finally looks like the country is waking up to the danger of Trump.”
- “I have a new baby.”
- “Haven’t kicked the bucket yet.”
- “God seeing us through everything that happened this year so far and being our rock. Without him nothing else would matter.”
In the November 2025 survey, YouGov ran a question asked in a 1974 Louis Harris & Associates poll as to whether Americans are feeling more or less thankful than they were a few years ago. 38% of Americans say they’re feeling more thankful than a few years earlier — about as many as said this when the question was asked in 1974. 14% of Americans today say they are feeling less grateful than they were a few years ago, including 21% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans. 44% of Americans are feeling about the same level of thankfulness.
In 1980 ABC News asked Americans if they would feel thankful about a variety of things related to the state of the country and their own lives. Majorities of Americans today say they will feel thankful this Thanksgiving because the U.S. is not in a war (79% vs. 97% in 1980) and because of their own personal economic situation (60% vs. 81%). Smaller shares say they will feel thankful because of the way people treat each other (29%), the economic situation in the U.S. (26% vs. 32%), and the way the poor, the homeless, and the less fortunate are treated in the U.S. (18%).
Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say they are thankful for the economic situation in the U.S. (46% vs. 15%) and because of the way the poor, homeless, and less fortunate are treated in the U.S. (27% vs. 13%).
Related:
- Poll: What Americans plan to eat for Thanksgiving
- One-third of adults under 30 say they are likely to get into an argument about politics on Thanksgiving
- Which holidays do Americans enjoy most — and least?
- Polls from the Past: Thanksgiving Day
See the results for this YouGov survey
— Carl Bialik and Taylor Orth contributed to this article
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted on November 14 - 17, 2025 among 1,120 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 percentage points.
Image: Getty
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