US Grocery Price Comparisons

Why are groceries so much more expensive in the US than in Europe?

I dunno, I can get tomatos in season for like a buck a pound, and while I haven't bought boneless chicken breast in a couple years, it was findable for like $2 or $3 a pound. Milk is like $3 to $4 a gallon, and eggs can be had for $1 to $2 a dozen. Parsley and cilantro for like a buck or two, but you can't always find good quality for both. Whatever, I use them interchangably so it's fine. Potatos and onions are always dirt cheap everywhere, well under $1 a pound. Kale is cheap bu

Nuts are expensive in the USA too. The same goes for anything grown here that isn't frozen.I can get a big pizza from the freezer for six bucks. It is double that for individual ingredients to make a salad. And we wonder why healthcare costs are absurd.

It really depends on where you live in the US. A lot of people live in areas where there are very few competitors in the grocery business so they can charge obscene amounts of money; especially anywhere rural. On top of that, the major grocery stores like Safeway, Albertson’s, and Kroger try to keep their stock consistent year round instead of going more seasonal, which massively inflates the price of fresh food.I live in Southern California in a high cost of living area but the produce and m

My local grocery store (Berkeley Bowl) is very expensive, on par with Whole Foods -- however their produce department is shockingly cheap. They even have bags of bruised food that go for 99c and contain a gallon-sized bag of random fruits or veggies -- and this is at the super expensive local grocer.Cheap, good food is easy to find. The problem isn't in the pricing of watercress and cherries, it's that people don't see those as complete meals and don't want to go through t

I don't think it's all food. I was in the US recently, and while meat and processed food was far cheaper than at home (Ireland), fruit and vegetables were mostly weirdly expensive. I have no idea why.

People are definitely choosing cheaper alternatives where I live. Prices of pasta and ground meat have gone up 20-40%. Meanwhile prices for better cuts of meat, salmon and seafood are stagnant. I don't doubt that at least a part of this difference is because people are choosing cheaper foods.

Culture aside, it's an economic issue too. When someone is in a grocery shop and sees beef/chicken/pork/fish at $0.99/lb and sees a bunch of spinach (< 1 lb by weight) for $1+, what are you gonna buy?

No. Veggies are much less expensive in many other countries with similar selections available. Something is different in the US.

My local grocer has started selling packets for 15 AUD per kg. Cursory google shows I can have 5kg delivered for 30 AUD, about a third of the price.