The Price of Girl Scout Cookies Since 1917
They're Expensive, Scout's Honor
Would you believe us if we told you that Girl Scout cookies have been a household indulgence for over a hundred years? Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts in 1912 and a few years later the concept of selling cookies as a way to fund the troop started. The very first Girl Scout cookies were sold in the high school cafeteria of the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma back in 1917 and the fundraising efforts quickly caught on.
The cookies weren’t exactly the ones we’ve come to love these days. Girl Scouts were expected to bake and sell their own homemade cookies up until the late 1930s when the national Girl Scout organization began streamlining cookie production and outsourcing the efforts to officially licensed bakeries, eventually becoming our favorite Tagalongs and Samoas.
Unfortunately for us cookie fiends, Girl Scout cookies didn’t go the way of, say, Costco hot dogs or Arizona iced tea. Almost everything has gotten more expensive in the last few years, including our beloved Girl Scout cookies. Here’s a look at the cost since Girl Scout cookies were created—and where the price of Girl Scout cookies might be headed in the future.
The Beginning, 1917
The very first Girl Scout cookies were homemade by troops and their moms and sold at the high school cafeteria of the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma as a service project. The cookies were priced at a very reasonable 25 to 35 per dozen cookies! To give you an idea of what that would look like these days, 25 cents in 1917 would be equal to about $6 in today’s economy. That’s still not a bad price for a dozen homemade cookies!
1920s
Fast-forward a couple of years and Girl Scout cookies have gained popularity across the country. According to the Girl Scouts, The American Girl magazine—by Girl Scouts of the USA—published an article by Chicago-based Girl Scouts director Florence E. Neil that included a cookie recipe that cost approximately 26 to 36 cents per six to seven dozen cookies. Neil suggested this cookie recipe could be sold by troops for 25 to 30 cents per dozen cookies. Girl Scouts across the country would use this recipe or variations of it. The simple sugar cookies would then be packaged in wax paper bags, sealed with a sticker, and sold door-to-door.
1930s
Girl Scout cookies were a hit across the country—and by the 1930s the Girl Scouts of the USA began taking things to a more streamlined level. Rather than having the girls and their parents bake their cookies from scratch, troops began selling commercially baked cookies. Greater Philadelphia was the first region to make the shift with Greater New York following shortly after. By 1936, the National Girl Scout organization began licensing the first commercial bakers who would develop and produce cookies to be sold nationwide. The price of these cookies were about 23 cents per box of 44 cookies or six boxes for $1.24.
1940s through the 1970s
The next few decades saw major changes in how and what the Girl Scouts sold. The shortage of ingredients during war times meant the girls had to pivot to sell calendars instead and by the 1950s and the rise of post-war suburban life, girls were selling commercial cookies in local shopping malls. The baby boom also meant that by the 1960s, there were hundreds of new Girl Scouts available to sell cookies and by the 1970s, the scouts introduced some of the best-loved cookies to this day, including Thin Mints, Do-si-dos and Trefoils. According to the On The Feed blog, cookies were sold in the 1970s for about $1 to $.25 per box depending on the location.
1980s
By the 1980s, Girl Scout cookies were more or less what we have today. The commercially made cookies were professionally packaged in cheeky boxes depicting scenes of real Girl Scouts doing their thing. The New York Times reported that most boxes were sold for about $1.50 back in 1981.
Related: 14 Discontinued Girl Scout Cookies That Are Gone Forever
1990s
There were a total of eight cookie varieties available by the 1990s—including low-fat and sugar-free options. The Girl Scouts of the USA also implemented age-appropriate awards and the Cookie Activity pin to entice Girl Scouts to flex their entrepreneurial muscles and sell cookies. According to a report in the Marshall Democrat-News, it would cost about $3 per box of cookies at this time.
2000s
By the early aughts, Girl Scout cookies were a bonafide national treasure. The recipes were tweaked so that all cookie varieties were kosher. The Marshall Democrat-News reported that cookies were selling for about $3.50 per box—a fifty-cent increase from the mid-nineties.
Related: How to Buy Girl Scout Cookies Online
Pre- and Post-Pandemic
“The council sees the increase as an opportunity to offset natural price increases for running the cookie program—from the cost of raw materials and bakery production to transportation,” Tammy Gentry, vice president of marketing for the Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast, told CNBC in 2015, adding that the price would jump up to $5 per box.
By 2021 the cost of Girl Scout cookies had remained pretty much the same, with some districts increasing certain flavors from $5 to $6. CNN reported that in 2023—although the cost was the same—certain flavors were harder to come by than others. Flavors like the Raspberry Rally were being bought and flipped online for upwards of $30 per box!
Today
These days, Girl Scout cookies are still priced at $6 per box. Despite larger-than-life publicity moments such as being sold at the Academy Awards or having boxes flipped on reselling websites, Girl Scouts of the USA urges that selling cookies is, and has always been, about funding local troops and providing girls with independence and empowerment.
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This article was originally published on Cheapism
