Staggering number of hot dogs Costco sells every year and why they still cost $1.50

Costco is a national institution in the US, and it’s got plenty of fans in other parts of the world, too.

Along with its wholesale products, bargain prices, and the delicious air of exclusivity that comes with needing a membership to get in, Costco is beloved for a particular delicacy whose price hasn’t shifted since 1984.

George Orwell predicted that civilisation would be utterly cooked by 1984, but he can rest easy knowing civilisation actually peaked in that year with the introduction of the $1.50 hot dog at Costco.

A handful of the millions Costco sells each year (UCG / Contributor/Getty Images)

Kirkland, an in-house Costco brand that’s also emblazoned across batteries and many other things, has been selling hot dogs via the Costco café counter for $1.50 since Costco made the switch from using dogs from Hebrew National over rising costs.

Costco President and CEO W Craig Jelinek previously explained: "I came to [Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal] once and I said, 'Jim, we can't sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends.'"

As for Sinegal's response? "He said, 'If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.'"

Per the US Inflation Calculator, $1.50 in 1984 is the equivalent of $4.64 in today’s money. With that in mind, you’re either getting a bargain today or our predecessors of 1984 were getting ripped off – we’ll leave that call up to you.

The really crazy thing about the $1.50 bargain is that it doesn’t just buy you an all-beef hot dog, but it comes with a 20-ounce soda to boot.

With the legendary status of these bargain hot dogs that have remained largely unchanged for 41 years and counting, it’s fair to assume Costco flogs a fair few of them each year. Even if you’re expecting them to sell them by the truckload, the figures may surprise you.

Let’s take a look at how these remarkably inflation-proof hot dogs have been faring so far in this decade.

Cast your mind back to 2020 and you might remember this little event that kept most of the world cooped in their homes for much of the year. With that in mind, the 151 million hot dogs sold by Costco to kick off the decade became even more impressive. We might have had sanctioned stay-at-home time during the pandemic, but it seems that mandate was no match for people’s love of a Kirkland hot dog.

Of course, we weren't out of the woods Covid-wise in 2021, and the damage bit a little harder for Costco’s hot dog sales. 122 million is nothing to be sniffed at, but it’s still around 20% fewer than the wholesaler rattled out in the peak pandemic year.

In 2022 we were all back out in the open and blinking in the sunlight, and Costco’s hot dog sales surged in kind. Costco customers made their memberships count with a 156 million hot dogs total – we were so back.

$1.50 is an absolute steal (UCG / Contributor/Getty Images)

Still high on our regained liberty, we dealt a bumper year out to our friends at Costco in 2023 by buying in excess of 200 million hot dogs.

Unfortunately, things took a little southwards dip in 2024 as Costco reported selling 124 million, scarcely more than the previous heavy dip in 2021.

The year’s still relatively young in hot dog selling terms. If you want to be part of the next record, get down to your local Costco and give them your best Joey Chestnut impression.

Topics: US Food