How much does a whole hog cost?

A whole hog from a US farm costs about $4.50 to $8.25 per pound of hanging weight in 2026, according to USDA's direct-to-consumer pork report. That works out to roughly $250–$350 for a 40 lb roaster pig and $750–$1,500 for a full-size hog that is cut and wrapped for the freezer. Our whole wild boar is $9.95 per pound of dressed weight, 25–60 lb, skin on.

The rest of this guide explains where those numbers come from, which weight a price is quoted on, and how much hog you actually need.

Whole hog prices at a glance

The best public source for what individuals pay is USDA's quarterly National Pasture Raised Pork Report. The Q3 2026 edition (July–September, published September 25, 2026) collects prices from 74 producers across the country plus aggregated reports from North Carolina and South Carolina.

What you buy	Price basis	2026 range	Average
Farm whole hog, cut and wrapped	per lb hanging weight, processing included	$4.49–$8.25	$6.06
Farm whole hog, processing paid separately	per lb hanging weight	$1.50–$8.25	$4.61
Processing fee for a whole hog	per hog, paid to the processor	$200–$450	$267
Roaster pig (carcass under 50 lb)	per lb hanging weight, processing not included	$4.50–$5.99	$5.15
Slaughter fee	per animal	$75–$100	$90
Farm whole hog, priced on take-home meat	per lb net packaged weight	$4.43–$12.90	$7.64
Wild boar roaster, online game-meat retailers	per lb, skin on, shipped	about $9–$11	—
Our whole wild boar	per lb dressed weight, skin on	$9.95	—

Source for the farm rows: USDA AMS, Q3 2026. The wild boar retail row is based on published prices for skin-on roasters in 20–50 lb weight classes.

A few things to keep in mind:

• These are ranges, not a quote. The spread between $1.50 and $8.25 per pound is real. A commodity hog sold to a neighbor is at the bottom; a heritage-breed, pasture-raised hog is at the top.
• Prices vary by region and season. Farms schedule processing dates months in advance, and roaster pigs for summer weekends and holidays go first.
• Packer prices do not apply to you. The hog prices quoted on the futures market are what packing plants pay for thousands of hogs. An individual buying one pig pays the farm price plus slaughter and processing.

Live weight, hanging weight and take-home weight

Most of the confusion about whole hog prices comes from three different weights.

• Live weight is the pig on the scale before slaughter. Some farms sell feeder or finished pigs this way.
• Hanging weight (also called carcass or dressed weight) is the carcass after slaughter and evisceration, before cutting. Most farms price whole and half hogs on hanging weight, and processors charge their cut-and-wrap fee on it too. Hogs keep their skin through this step, which is why pork has a higher dressing percentage than beef or lamb. Kansas State University puts it at 70–75%.
• Take-home weight is the packaged meat you put in the freezer after bone, trim and fat are removed.

Worked example: a 250 lb farm hog

University of Wisconsin Extension uses this example. We added the cost column at the USDA average of $6.06 per pound of hanging weight, processing included.

Stage	Weight	How it's calculated	Cost at $6.06/lb hanging
Live hog	250 lb	—	—
Hot carcass	175 lb	250 × 70% dressing	—
Chilled carcass (hanging weight)	169 lb	175 minus 3.5% cooler shrink	$1,024
Packaged cuts (take-home)	125 lb	169 × 67% cutting yield	$1,024 = $8.19 per lb of meat

So "six dollars a pound" turns into a little over eight dollars per pound of meat you actually take home. Kansas State puts take-home weight at 75–80% of the carcass for mostly bone-in cuts and 65–70% for boneless. The more boneless cuts and ground pork you ask for, the fewer pounds you take home and the more each pound really costs.

What changes for a pig roast

For a pig roast you skip the cutting. The dressed hog goes on the pit in one piece, so dressed weight is the number that matters. That is why we sell our whole wild boar by dressed weight and size it by headcount (see below). What comes off the pit as pulled meat is much less than the dressed weight, because the head, skin, bones and cooking losses stay behind.

What drives the price of a whole hog

Size and type of hog

A full-size market hog (about 250–300 lb live) gives the most meat per dollar but needs a large chest freezer or a big pit. Roaster pigs under 50 lb carcass weight cost a bit more per pound but fit a cinder-block pit or a roaster box. Wild boar costs more per pound than a farm roaster. The animals have to be trapped and brought in live, not raised to a schedule, and the carcasses are smaller and leaner.

Skin on or skinned

A roasting hog needs its skin. It protects the meat during a long cook and holds the carcass together when you flip it. Keeping the skin on means scalding and scraping off the hair instead of skinning, which takes more labor. Ask whether the head and feet are included; some farms remove them.

Processing

When processing is not included, add a slaughter fee ($75–$100 in the USDA report) and, for a cut-and-wrap hog, a processing fee ($200–$450 per whole hog, or about $1.00–$1.10 per pound of hanging weight). Curing and smoking hams and bacon usually cost extra. Many farms also ask for a deposit; the USDA report shows $50–$600 for a whole hog.

Delivery and freight

A whole hog is heavy and has to stay cold. Most farms expect you to collect from the farm or the processor. A frozen hog shipped across the country goes by freight, which is priced by weight and distance. That cost belongs in your budget alongside the price per pound.

How much hog do you need per guest?

For a pig roast we plan about 1 lb of dressed weight per guest. That covers bone, skin and cooking loss and still leaves seconds. If your crowd eats big or the hog is the only main dish, go up a weight class. A classic pig-cooking guide from the N.C. Pork Producers Association, first printed in the 1960s, suggests "at least 1.5 pounds of carcass weight per person for a generous serving."

Guests	Dressed weight to order	Our whole wild boar at $9.95/lb
25	25 lb	about $249
35	35 lb	about $348
45	45 lb	about $448
60	60 lb	about $597

The final charge is based on the actual dressed weight of the hog you get, so expect it to differ a little from these numbers.

Our whole wild boar

We are a wild-boar-only processing plant in Hubbard, Texas. Our whole wild boar comes from feral hogs brought to us live and inspected before and after slaughter. You can read how that works on our process page.

• Price: $9.95 per pound of dressed weight. A typical 35 lb hog comes to about $349.
• Sizes: 25–60 lb dressed. Tell us your headcount and we'll help you pick a weight class.
• Prep: scalded and scraped, skin on, eviscerated, head on unless you ask otherwise, frozen whole.
• Getting it home: pick it up at the plant in Hubbard (see plant pickup) or have it shipped by freight, quoted separately. We confirm the delivery method and date by phone. Freight for whole hogs is separate from our standard shipping rates for boxed cuts.

A wild hog is leaner than a farm pig, has darker meat and cooks faster. It needs some added fat and a little more attention on the pit. Our step-by-step whole hog roast recipe is written for a 40 lb wild boar, from thawing (2–4 days in a cold cooler) to pulling the meat.

Where to buy a whole hog

Where	Good for	Watch out for
Local farm, direct	Full-size hogs for the freezer, lowest price per pound	Booking months ahead, a deposit, separate processor fees
Local butcher or meat market	Roaster pigs on order	Limited sizes; order early for holidays
Online game-meat sellers	Wild boar roasters shipped frozen	Freight cost, delivery timing
Our plant in Hubbard, TX	Whole wild boar, 25–60 lb, pickup or freight	Order ahead and confirm the date by phone

Whoever you buy from, ask these questions before you pay:

1. Is the price per pound live, hanging/dressed, or take-home weight?
2. Are slaughter and processing included? Is there a deposit?
3. Is the hog skin on, with the head and feet?
4. Will it come fresh or frozen, and how long does it take to thaw?
5. Is it picked up or delivered, and what does delivery cost?

Feeding a smaller crowd

A whole hog makes sense for about 25 people and up. For a smaller party you get the same pulled-pork result from the shoulder alone. Our boneless shoulder roast (3–4 lb, rolled and tied, $49.95) smokes or braises to pulling tenderness, and two or three of them fit in a home smoker. A bone-in leg (6–8 lb) roasts for 8–12 people. If you'd rather cook pasta than run a pit, a wild boar ragù feeds six on a couple of pounds of shoulder or stew meat.

Sources

• USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News, National Pasture Raised Pork Report (Quarterly), Q3 2026 — direct-to-consumer carcass, roaster and processing prices.
• University of Wisconsin Extension, How much meat should a hog yield? — live, carcass and take-home weight example.
• Kansas State University Research and Extension, How Much Meat to Expect from Your Animal (MF3394) — dressing percentages.
• Primal Acres (Ritzville, WA), whole hog share listing: $5/lb hanging weight with butcher fees included, about 200–220 lb hanging. An example of a farm listing.
• Online wild boar retailers' roaster listings (skin-on, head-on, 20–50 lb), checked November 2026.
• N.C. Pork Producers Association, pig-cooking guide (1960s cookbook) as reproduced in The Lexington Collection — carcass weight per person.