These Are The US Cities Where Groceries Are The Most Expensive

08-23-2025 • https://www.zerohedge.com, by Tyler Durden

Adding to the strain are record meat prices, driving up up food price inflation 3% compared to June of last year. Meanwhile, vegetable prices are spiking as farmers struggle with labor shortages amid rising deportations.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, ranks the top 20 American cities with the highest cost of groceries, based on data from Numbeo.

America's Top 20 Cities by Cost of Groceries

For the rankings, each city's grocery index is compared against New York City, which is used as a baseline of 100:

Rank City Groceries Index
Mid-Year 2025

1	Honolulu, HI	120.2
2	San Francisco, CA	100.1
3	New York, NY	100
4	Seattle, WA	95.3
5	Boston, MA	90.5
6	San Jose, CA	89.8
7	Washington, DC	87.2
8	Philadelphia, PA	85.7
9	Pittsburgh, PA	83.1
10	Sacramento, CA	81.8
11	Los Angeles, CA	81.7
12	Minneapolis, MN	81.1
13	Chicago, IL	80.4
14	Atlanta, GA	79.9
15	Baltimore, MD	77.7
16	Charlotte, NC	77.3
17	Denver, CO	77
18	Spokane, WA	76.5
19	Miami, FL	75.8
20	Raleigh, NC	74.9

Honolulu, Hawaii ranks far above all other U.S. cities with a groceries index of 120.2. That's over 20% more than in New York City, the benchmark.

As an island state, Hawaii faces higher import and transportation costs, driving up the price of food staples. The state's geographic isolation continues to make everyday goods, including groceries, particularly expensive.

Meanwhile, California and Washington state are well-represented in the top 20. San Francisco (100.1), San Jose (89.8), Sacramento (81.8), and Los Angeles (81.7) all make the list, as does Seattle (95.3) and Spokane (76.5).