New York: a Big Mac priced for Manhattan rent
New York consistently posts among the highest US Big Mac prices, driven less by inflation than by Manhattan commercial rent. McDonald's franchisees inside the five boroughs pay multiples of the suburban average for a storefront, and that flows through to the menu board. The result is a Big Mac that runs 10-25% above the US national average, with Manhattan stores at the top of that range.
Within the city, a Times Square Big Mac is reliably more expensive than one in Queens or the Bronx — a sub-municipal cost-of-living read no official statistic captures. Watch the spread between Midtown and the outer boroughs as a barometer for how aggressively NYC retail rent is accelerating versus the rest of the city. When the gap widens, Manhattan inflation is outpacing the boroughs again.