Which Retailers and Cities Sell the Cheapest Groceries?
As the cost of food and essentials remains a hot topic among today’s consumers and those who serve them, a new report highlights grocery stores with the most affordable price points. Net Credit, a Chicago-based online financial service loan provider to those who have difficulty qualifying for traditional credit types, recently analyzed prices at more than 2,000 stores within 136 chains.
In a new report, Net Credit identified the cheapest supermarkets in every state and major city. According to its research, Target is the most affordable store in 15 states, the highest number of any chain.
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As one might expect, Walmart ranks high. The lender reported that the retail giant offers the least expensive groceries in the major cities of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Together, Target and Walmart purvey the most budget-friendly groceries in 23 out of 50 states, per Net Credit.
The company also affirmed that discount retailer Grocery Outlet delivers on its value proposition. For example, that chain’s groceries are nearly a third cheaper than the average supermarket in Oregon, the biggest saving in any state. In addition, Grocery Outlet's prices came in 34.02% lower than the average grocery store in the Washington, D.C. market, the largest discount of any location in the study.
Some regional chains were singled out for less costly assortments. Prices at Iowa-based Hy-Vee, and North Carolina-headquartered Food Lion were shown to be the cheapest in five states each. The H-E-B chain in Texas is 11.88% cheaper than the competition in its hometown of San Antonio.
Net Credit's full report is available online.
Meanwhile, food prices remain elevated in the midpoint of the 2025 calendar year. According to the latest government data, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food at home rose 0.3% from May to June and was up 2.2% on a 12-month basis.
In this price-centric environment, grocers and solution providers continue to focus on delivering relief to shoppers trying to build affordable baskets. For example, a new app called Grocery Dealz is hitting the market in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, allowing users to compare real-time grocery prices across multiple stores. The developers are planning to expand that app to other cities in Texas and, later, across the region and country.
