iStockphoto / Bet_Noire / Serhii Hryshchyshen
Everything is expensive these days with consumer prices up around 25% since 2020. It is hard to walk down the street without spending money sometimes.
As consumers, nowhere do we feel this more than at the grocery store where grocery prices have risen over 30% on many items since 2020. And speaking of consumers, Consumer Reports recently released a study on the most expensive grocery stores in America right now which all but confirms my suspicions about the places I’ve been shopping.
What Are The Most Expensive Grocery Stores In America Right Now?
Using Walmart as a baseline, Consumer Reports compared the price of every major grocery store chain in America. What they found is only five chains offer more affordable prices than Walmart while the list of the most expensive grocery stores in America is incredibly long.
Down here in my part of Florida, one grocery chain dominates the land. There are around 900 Publix locations in Florida and I have three within a very short driving distance of my house. Going a little further there’s Whole Foods, Fresh Marke, Aldi, Sam’s Club, and Costco.
Lately I’ve been BIG on Costco and it was nice to see them in the report as the most affordable grocery chain in the country with prices that are 21.4% more affordable than the baseline average of Walmart. Close behind Costco is Sam’s Club at 21.0% below the baseline. The other grocery stores beating the average prices are Aldi, WinCo, and H-E-B.
That’s it. Those are the only grocery chains that offer better prices than the nationwide average (Walmart).
Here is how the rest of the list shakes out, starting with the most expensive grocery stores in America and working our way backward:
Whole Foods: +39.7%
Shaw’s: +31.9%
El Rancho: +30.1%
Jewel-Osco: +29.7%
Mariano’s: +27.6%
Von’s: +26.6%
Big Y: +26.2%
Tom Thumb: +25.4%
Albertsons: +24.8%
Trader Joe’s: +24.6%
Harris Teeter: +23.5%
Piggly Wiggly: +22.6%
Stop & Shop: +22.2%
Ralphs: +21.9%
Fiesta: +21.7%
Publix: +20.3%
Save A Lot: +19.3%
Stater Bros: +15.6%
Kroger: +14.8%
Hannaford: +13.2%
Food Lion: +12.5%
Meijer: +9.9%
Food 4 Less: +9.0%
Safeway: +8.8%
King Soopers: +7.9%
Wegmans: +7.6%
Target: +5.9%
Market Basket: +1.2%
First off, shout out to Wegmans for keeping things affordable. Secondly, I never thought I’d see the day when Piggly Wiggly was more expensive than Publix, where they claim shopping is a pleasure.
These days, every time I step inside Publix it seems like I’m shopping specifically for producer-funded BOGO deals. If it isn’t on sale there then it’s simply too expensive. I can get cheaper produce at Whole Foods or Fresh Market, or the Amish grocery store down the street.
That is my experience. I am sure it is different for everyone everywhere. But to see these prices laid out like this is illuminating. At least we know it’s not all imagined and consumer prices are way up from the average.