Why Girl Scout Cookie prices vary in different regions

DENVER (KDVR) — When Girl Scout Cookies started selling over 100 years ago, they cost less than 50 cents. Now, the prices have gone up to at least $5 or more per package, depending on where you get them.

In Colorado, Girl Scouts sold more than 4.2 million packages of cookies in 2023 with prices ranging from $5 to $6 in the state The most popular cookies were Thin Mints and Samoas, according to a Girl Scout public relations manager Hannah Gutkind.

But these prices aren’t the same everywhere in the U.S.

Girl Scout Cookie beginnings

Girl Scout Cookies date back to 1917, five years after Girl Scouts in the United States was created. The cookies were made for service trips, and girls would bake them with their mothers at the time.

The cookies were packaged in wax paper bags, sealed with a sticker and sold door-to-door for 25 to 35 cents per dozen, according to Girl Scouts of the USA. In the 1930s, the cookies went for 23 cents per box of 44 cookies, or six boxes for $1.24.

At the start of the cookie years, there were variations of sugar cookies. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the cookies were baked commercially. By the 1950s, such well-known cookies as Thin Mints were sold around the country.

But as the cookies increased in popularity over the years, the prices went up as well.

Prices vary in different regions

Now, Girl Scout Cookies range from $5 to $7, depending on where you buy them.

In Colorado, the cookies are either $5 or $6. Most of the cookies are $5 per package, according to Gutkind. S’mores and gluten-free Toffee-tastic are $6 because there’s a higher production cost due to the specialty ingredients.

With that said, each of the 111 Girl Scout councils set its own prices. Some states raised their prices this year, but Colorado was able to keep the prices the same, said Gutkind.

“Prices reflect the current cost of cookies and the cost of providing high-quality Girl Scout programming and experiences in an ever-changing economic environment,” Girl Scouts of the United States said on its website.

The cost of cookies is different based on the troop.

“Each council determines its own revenue structure depending on how much it costs the council to buy cookies, the local retail price to sell cookies, and the amount of revenue shared with participating troops,” states the Girl Scouts.

At the end of the day, all the cookies are priced very similarly, according to Gutkind.

“We did raise our prices a few years ago, and all councils are priced similarly; the timing just varies slightly,” said Gutkind.

For local pricing in your area, go to the Girl Scout Council to find out more.