Independence Day by the numbers: 84% say they’re celebrating this year

As the pandemic eases, Americans are looking to party this Fourth of July. According to data from the National Retail Federation (NRF), 84% plan to celebrate this year — a big jump from the 76% who said they were doing so last year.

Interestingly, 2013 ranked as the most patriotic 4th in recent years, with 90% back then saying then that they planned to observe the holiday.

The NRF’s survey of nearly 7,900 American consumers in 2021 showed that 61% say they’d have a cookout year, as opposed to the 56% last year.

Thirty-three percent said they’re going to see fireworks this year as opposed to 24% last year, and 12% are going on vacation or traveling, as opposed to 9% in 2020. 

All told, consumers are expected to shell out an all-time high of $7.52 billion bucks this year for the Fourth of July — a billion more than they did in 2020. But while some of that spending this year is for celebrating, high inflation rates are also to blame. The latter also applies to the $80.54 planned spending for each person on food items this Independence Day.