A new analysis by Consumer Reports has determined the most and least expensive U.S. supermarkets, on average, and upscale behemoth Whole Foods Market topped the list of the priciest — with costs nearly 40% higher than what a consumer would pay at big-box retailer Walmart, which was used as a baseline for the study.

The regional New England chain Shaw’s followed Whole Foods, with prices about 32% higher than Walmart’s.

Whole Foods was named the most expensive grocer in the Consumer Reports examination. Christopher Sadowski

Trader Joe’s, often thought to be budget-friendly, was also among the most expensive grocery chains in the U.S., rounding out the priciest’s top 10.

TJ’s prices were nearly 25% higher than Walmart’s — and the differences were even greater in some metro areas like Denver (30% higher) and Dallas-Forth Worth (33% higher).

The cheapest chain for groceries was Costco Wholesale, the findings showed, with prices 21.4% lower than Walmart, with BJ’s Wholesale Club following with 21% less.

Overall, the research found that the difference between the highest- and lowest-priced stores was more than 33% — and differences were even more glaring when including warehouses like Costco and specialty grocers like Whole Foods.

The findings emerge as concerned shoppers have found themselves spending increasingly more at grocery stores. An August 2025 poll found that the vast majority of US adults are at least somewhat stressed about the cost of groceries.

Consumers are growing increasingly concerned about rising grocery prices. stokkete – stock.adobe.com

According to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, food prices increased 25.5% between December 2020 and December 2024.

Dairy, beef and pork are near or at record-high prices, and coffee alone is up 20% since a year ago.

The price of a carton of eggs hit a record high of $8.15 in March 2025 amid bird flu-induced shortages, with NYC bodegas even selling “loosie”-style eggs as a result.

For its new research, Consumer Reports compared prices on grocery baskets of commonly purchased items — including packaged goods, produce and meat — at mainstream chains from more than two dozen major retailers in six “regionally representative” cities across the country, areas including Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Southern California and Virginia Beach.

However, the products differed in size depending on availability by store, meaning comparisons were strongest for the mainstream retailers that carried a wide selection of identical brand items.

Comparison baskets were smaller for stores with private-label brands and specialty goods, as they have fewer items in common with Walmart.

Walmart was used as the baseline for grocery prices. Christopher Sadowski

For example, the Chicago analysis had baskets with 56 items when comparing Food4Less, Jewel-Osco, Marianos, Meijer, Target and Walmart; however, comparing a Chicago Trader Joe’s to Walmart featured a basket containing 23 items.

All prices were collected in person within 48 hours during late summer 2025.

Consumer Reports noted that most Americans buy food from at least two retailers each week, and strategically planning where you shop can ultimately save you a lot of money. The nonprofit buyers’ guide partnered with Strategic Resource Group, a New York-based retail- and grocery-industry market research company, for the new study.

Consumer Reports compared prices from more than two dozen major grocery retailers in six major metro areas. Prostock-studio – stock.adobe.com

Top 10 least expensive grocery stores in the U.S., according to Consumer Reports

1. Costco Wholesale (least expensive)
2. BJ’s Wholesale Club
3. Lidl
4. Aldi
5. WinCo
6. H-E-B
7. Walmart
8. Market Basket
9. Target
10. Wegmans

Top 10 most expensive grocery stores in the U.S., according to Consumer Reports

1. Whole Foods (most expensive)
2. Shaw’s
3. El Rancho
4. Jewel-Osco
5. Mariano’s
6. Vons
7. Big Y
8. Tom Thumb
9. Albertsons
10. Trader Joe’s

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When Slate Auto, a start-up, unveiled a roughly $25,000 electric pickup truck last month, social media lit up with comments. Many people saw the no-frills vehicle, with an easy-to-repair body and nostalgic hand crank windows, as a refreshing antidote to today’s overstuffed and increasingly unaffordable cars.

How unaffordable? Average monthly payments on new cars have soared to $739 in March from $537 in January 2019, according to Cox Automotive. The average new car costs $47,400, with electric models around $59,200. High interest rates, now around 9.4 percent for a 72-month loan, have made cars even more of a financial stretch.

“Prices and interest rates are both high and stuck,” said Mark Schirmer, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive. “If you haven’t been in the market since 2018, it’s got to be shocking what a car costs.”

President Trump’s tariffs of 25 percent on imported cars and parts have consumers scrambling to buy before prices rise even more. Cars that cost less than $30,000 are especially vulnerable — nearly 80 percent of those are subject to tariffs. They include consumer staples like the American-made Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, which rely on imported parts. Supplies of budget models are expected to shrink, and automakers may stop importing certain models entirely.

Enter Slate, a company based in the Detroit suburbs backed by venture capital firms and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder.

Chris Barman, a former Fiat Chrysler engineer and Slate’s chief executive, said the Slate Truck was expressly designed to ease sticker shock, although it won’t be available until late 2026. The company plans to produce the pint-size truck at a retrofitted printing plant in Indiana, with a capacity for 150,000 a year.

True to its name, the truck is designed to be a blank slate to which buyers can add more than 100 accessories, like power windows and heated seats, as their budgets allow or needs change. There is no built-in stereo or touch-screen display, but there are docks for phones or tablets, saving money and avoiding the digital obsolescence that often plagues auto entertainment and navigation systems.

“We think hardworking Americans are looking for good value for the money,” Ms. Barman said in a recent interview.

That message appealed to Liv Leigh, 41, who hopped inside a Slate Truck during its public debut at the Long Beach Airport in California in April. Ms. Leigh, a biomedical designer and electric-car enthusiast, paid $50 to reserve a Slate.

She watched the company’s employees transform the two-seat pickup into a five-passenger sport utility vehicle in about one hour, with a clever conversion kit aimed at do-it-yourself owners. Ms. Leigh appreciated the truck’s tidy size, shorter than a Civic, and its modest 150-mile range.

“I love the idea of an absolute base, beater truck, where I can stick a dog or muddy bikes or plywood in back,” Ms. Leigh said. “I don’t need a giant vehicle to haul stuff.”

Ms. Barman said efficient design and production were key to the company’s promised low prices. The truck’s gray plastic-composite body panels eliminate any need for a steel body-stamping plant or paint shop, which can cost automakers many millions of dollars.

Where a Ford Model T, an egalitarian car of another age, famously came only in black, Slate offers vinyl body wraps in 13 colors, for an extra $500. Buyers can also opt for a larger, factory-installed battery with a 240-mile range.

“That all keeps costs down, but also feeds into giving customers freedom of choice,” Ms. Barman said. “They can outfit the vehicle the way they want it, not the way a manufacturer has designed it.”

Slate hopes that a U.S.-based supply chain, including batteries made by SK On, a South Korean company, will make the pickup eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Republican lawmakers on Monday released a budget bill that would eliminate that incentive and dismantle other Biden-era climate and energy policies.

That all depends on Slate’s successfully navigating a treacherous path for electric vehicle start-ups. Several young automakers, including Fisker, Nikola and Canoo, have sought bankruptcy protection and shut down.

With or without subsidies, Slate has a viable business plan, Ms. Barman said.

The company hopes to price its truck in the mid-$20,000s before government incentives, which would undercut the Nissan Leaf, which is the most affordable electric car at $29,300 but no longer eligible for tax credits. Chevrolet plans to offer a redesigned Bolt S.U.V. by year end for roughly $30,000. The General Motors brand intends the Bolt to qualify for the tax credit, dropping its effective price to roughly $22,500.

Erin Keating, the executive analyst of Cox Automotive, praised the Slate Truck’s ingenuity. But she said a pickup with two seats, short range and a bare-bones interior might not appeal to American car buyers who have grown accustom to having many tech and creature comforts.

“There’s nothing wrong with trying to crack the affordability crisis, but I don’t see this as a massive volume seller,” Ms. Keating said. “Ultimately, this is an extremely small E.V. with almost nothing in it, in a market with a growing number of affordable choices with much longer range.”

The Ford Maverick is a potential rival that may argue for or against Slate’s prospects. That compact pickup is two feet longer than the Slate. It seats five passengers and offers many more features. A hybrid version can reach 40 miles per gallon and travel more than 500 miles on a full tank.

Ford sold 131,000 Mavericks last year, suggesting there is strong demand for small, energy-efficient trucks. The company has raised the starting price of the hybrid version of the truck by $4,200 since 2024, to $28,150, including an increase last week that Ford Motor acknowledged was partly a response to tariffs on the truck, which is assembled in Mexico. The company said it was not passing on the full cost of the tariffs to customers and would offer all of its cars for the same price it sells them to employees until early July.

As much as any vehicle category, America’s pickup trucks epitomize how cars have changed over the last several decades, mostly by becoming bigger, more powerful and a lot more expensive. Some lavish pickups can cost as much as large European luxury sedans. Electric trucks from Tesla, Rivian and Ford range from $70,000 to more than $100,000.

Ms. Barman sees a market opening for entry-level truck fans, families shopping for a second car, empty nesters, and businesses such as landscapers, contractors and delivery workers. The company expects to sell many trucks to people who otherwise would buy a used car, the average price of which is $26,000.

One big challenge for Slate, or other companies hoping to sell more affordable cars, is that despite what they say they want, many Americans don’t seem to buy such cars.

Ms. Keating noted that roughly two dozen models on the market start at less than $25,000. All are small cars or S.U.V.s, including the market’s lowest-price car, the $18,300 Nissan Versa.

Nearly every midsize family sedan starts at less than $30,000, including the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata. But many Americans have rejected those cars in favor of bigger vehicles. S.U.V.s, pickups and minivans now account for more than 80 percent of the market.

Mr. Trump’s trade policies remain a wild card. Analysts expect tariffs will add thousands of dollars to the prices of new cars and drive up the demand and prices for used cars.

Americans bought 1.5 million new cars in April, 400,000 more than in April 2024. But analysts said people were buying now to avoid being raked over later. Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist at Cox Automotive, said new-car inventories had fallen to their lowest levels in two years, suggesting that prices could rise as dealers run out of cars made before tariffs took effect. S&P Global Mobility, another research firm, has lowered its forecast for new-car sales and now expects them to fall 4 percent this year.

For people seeking safe harbor in a financial storm, electric cars are a smart choice, Ms. Keating said. Between government and automaker incentives, new electric cars were discounted by 13.3 percent on average in March, a nearly $8,000 savings.

Ms. Leigh recently leased a Chevrolet Equinox for two years, paying $5,500 upfront, which works out to a monthly payment of $230. The electric S.U.V. has a 319-mile driving range. “Some people don’t realize how many incentives are out there,” she said.

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Automakers can respond to President Trump’s new 25 percent tariffs on imported cars and parts in several ways. But all of them cost money and will lead to higher car prices, analysts say.

Manufacturers can try to move production from countries like Mexico to the United States. They can try to increase the number of cars they already make here. They can stop selling imported models, especially ones that are less profitable.

But whatever carmakers decide, car buyers can expect to pay more for new and used vehicles. Estimates vary widely and depend on the model, but the increase could range from around $3,000 for a car made in the United States to well over $10,000 for imported models.

Those figures do not take into account additional tariffs that Mr. Trump said he would announce next week to punish countries that impose tariffs on U.S. goods. He has also said he would increase tariffs further if trading partners like Canada and the European Union raise tariffs in response to his auto tariffs, leading to an escalating tit-for-tat trade war.

“It’s going to be disruptive and expensive for American consumers for several years,” said Michael Cusumano, professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Mr. Trump has long brandished tariffs. But many auto executives had hoped that his threats were a negotiating tool. Mr. Trump dashed those hopes on Wednesday when he said at the White House that the tariffs were “100 percent” permanent.

Mr. Trump framed the tariffs as a way to bring car manufacturing back to the United States. The United Automobile Workers union agreed, saying automakers could reopen plants in places like Lordstown, Ohio, or expand production in cities like Warren, Mich., where auto workers have been laid off.

“It is now on the automakers, from the Big Three to Volkswagen and beyond, to bring back good union jobs to the U.S.,” Shawn Fain, the U.A.W. president, said in a statement Wednesday, referring to General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis, owner of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram.

But relocating factories is costly and time consuming. Carmakers usually need at least two years to set up a new assembly line and ensure that the vehicles it produces meet quality standards. To fully avoid tariffs, they would also need to relocate devilishly complicated supply chains that often involve suppliers in dozens of countries.

Tariffs could encourage companies to choose locations in the United States instead of Mexico or Canada when they are contemplating where to expand production or build a new model. But choosing a site because of tariffs, and not because it is the most efficient place to manufacture, would come at a cost to consumers.

Some companies may hesitate to make those decisions, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, because they worry that Mr. Trump, despite assurances to the contrary, may change his mind. Or the next president could reverse his tariffs.

“What we hear from a lot of clients is, ‘How do we justify that capital expenditure without knowing if this is a long-term process?’” said Kevin Williams, a senior director at the law firm Clark Hill who specializes in trade. “You make that investment and two years from now they say, ‘Never mind.’”

Carmakers, several of which declined to comment, will probably avoid passing on the entire cost of the tariffs to consumers. If they raise prices too much, sales could plummet, leading to a death spiral of sinking revenue and rising costs. Economists worry that the financial disruption caused by tariffs could help provoke a recession.

Some carmakers have been stockpiling parts and finished cars before tariffs kick in, but that will hold down prices only for a while.

“Tariffs are just going to make people pay more for cars, and people will buy fewer cars,” said W.C. Benton, a professor of operations and supply chain management at Ohio State University.

New cars are already beyond the reach of many Americans — the average sale price these days is more than $48,000, according to Cox Automotive. Prices of used cars are also expected to rise, as they did during the pandemic, as more buyers look for affordable options.

Most automakers are not extremely profitable and have limited financial room to maneuver. General Motors, which is among the more profitable companies, had a net profit on sales last year of 3.2 percent. As a result, carmakers will have to pass much of the cost of tariffs on to their customers.

If so, tariffs could add $15,000 to the price of a Ram 1500 pickup, nearly $12,000 to a Toyota Tacoma pickup, $9,000 to a Subaru Forester S.U.V. and $6,000 to a Nissan Sentra sedan, according to estimates by iSeeCars, an online car buying site.

Some carmakers are already raising prices. Ferrari, whose Italian-made sports cars sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Thursday that it would increase prices by as much as 10 percent on some models in response to tariffs.

Automakers may stop selling some less profitable models, which tend to be smaller and more affordable. They will promote domestically made cars and trucks, many of which are larger and more expensive. All major carmakers, including foreign brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota, have large factories in the United States.

But no cars will be exempt from tariffs because all have foreign-made parts, which typically account for at least a third of the vehicle’s value. That portion will be subject to a 25 percent tariff, according to the Trump administration.

“There’s no such thing as an American car,” said Simon Geale, an executive vice president at Proxima, a consulting firm that advises companies on procurement.

Some carmakers may avoid making big changes to their operations in response to the tariffs, betting that the consequences will be so severe that the Trump administration will have to backpedal.

“There’s going to be an incredible backlash from American consumers,” said Mr. Cusumano of M.I.T. “I would hope there would be some response to that.”

Ana Swanson contributed reporting.

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