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Cost of living increases affect most people when they apply to the basics – specifically shelter and food. So while general inflation metrics include a wide range of items, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also tracks price changes on specific goods, including grocery categories. The latest numbers tell a divergent tale of food accessibility in major U.S. metro areas. While prices of fruits, vegetables and dairy products either increased or decreased depending on the location, eggs, meat and poultry soared almost unanimously, reaching over 9% or higher than just a year before – tripling the general rate of inflation.
With this in mind, SmartAsset examined the grocery inflation data across the 12 major metro areas with available data to determine where Americans may need to adjust their budgets to soften the impact.
Key Findings
- Grocery prices increased most in Hawaii. Disadvantaged by its isolated nature, the Honolulu metro area saw a 5.3% increase across groceries – highest studywide. Cereals and bakery products led the charge with a 6.5% annual increase, followed closely by fruits and vegetables by 6.4%. Eggs, meat, poultry and fish were relatively resilient here at 4.9%.
- Egg, meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 9.8% in the Los Angeles metro area. The Los Angeles metro area saw the largest increase in this protein-laden grocery category between March 2024 and March 2025. Other staple grocery categories like dairy products (+1.9%) and fruits and vegetables (-1.8%) stayed relatively inexpensive compared to the overall increase across groceries at 4.1%.
- Egg prices increased the least in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had a very modest increase in the price of eggs, meat, poultry and fish at just 2.1% – lowest of studywide. Groceries in general actually fell in price by an average of 0.1%, driven in part by drops in the prices of fruits and vegetables (-5.6%) and cereals and bakery products (-0.5%). Dairy products saw the largest price increase in Dallas, however, with a 6.1% gain in just one year.
- Fruit and vegetable prices increased by 6.9% in the Twin Cities. The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area had the highest increase in produce prices. Meanwhile, meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased by 4.8%. Grocery prices increased across the board here, averaging 4.2%.
- Grocery prices decreased in two metro areas. The Boston, MA metro area had a decrease across all food at home of 0.7%, driven primarily by fruit and vegetable prices (-6.1%) and dairy products (-1.9%). Meat, poultry, fish and eggs still increased by 5.7%. The Dallas-Fort Worth, TX also saw grocery prices let up by 0.1%, driven in part by fruits and vegetables (-5.6%) and cereals and bakery products (-0.5%).
- Restaurant and takeout foods surged in San Diego. The San Diego-Carlsbad metro saw the largest change in the cost of food away from home at 6.3%. Grocery price increases were more modest at 3.7%, mostly driven by eggs, meat, poultry and fish (7.1%).
Grocery Price Changes in Major Metro Areas
Metro areas are ranked based on the percentage change in grocery prices across all categories between March 2024 and March 2025.
- Honolulu, HI
- Groceries: 5.3%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 4.9%
- Fruits and vegetables: 6.4%
- Cereals and bakery products: 6.5%
- Dairy products: 1.6%
- Food away from home: 4.6%
- All Items: 2.6%
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Groceries: 4.3%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 7.8%
- Fruits and vegetables: 0.2%
- Cereals and bakery products: 5.3%
- Dairy products: 5.0%
- Food away from home: 4.8%
- All Items: 2.1%
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- Groceries: 4.2%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 4.8%
- Fruits and vegetables: 6.9%
- Cereals and bakery products: 2.0%
- Dairy products: 4.0%
- Food away from home: 2.0%
- All Items: 2.2%
- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Groceries: 3.7%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 7.1%
- Fruits and vegetables: 3.3%
- Cereals and bakery products: 1.7%
- Dairy products: 1.2%
- Food away from home: 6.3%
- All Items: 3.8%
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
- Groceries: 3.3%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 8.9%
- Fruits and vegetables: -1.3%
- Cereals and bakery products: 0.3%
- Dairy products: 5.1%
- Food away from home: 3.0%
- All Items: 3.8%
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
- Groceries: 2.9%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 9.8%
- Fruits and vegetables: -1.8%
- Cereals and bakery products: 0.2%
- Dairy products: 1.9%
- Food away from home: 5.4%
- All Items: 3.0%
- Riverside, CA
- Groceries: 2.3%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 8.5%
- Fruits and vegetables: -1.7%
- Cereals and bakery products: 1.9%
- Dairy products: -0.1%
- Food away from home: 5.3%
- All Items: 2.5%
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Groceries: 1.9%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 9.2%
- Fruits and vegetables: -4.0%
- Cereals and bakery products: 2.3%
- Dairy products: 2.5%
- Food away from home: 5.0%
- All Items: 1.9%
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Groceries: 1.9%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 9.4%
- Fruits and vegetables: -3.1%
- Cereals and bakery products: 7.9%
- Dairy products: 4.8%
- Food away from home: 3.2%
- All Items: 2.4%
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
- Groceries: 1.5%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 8.6%
- Fruits and vegetables: -3.1%
- Cereals and bakery products: -1.7%
- Dairy products: -0.8%
- Food away from home: 3.6%
- All Items: 3.7%
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Groceries: -0.1%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 2.1%
- Fruits and vegetables: -5.6%
- Cereals and bakery products: -0.5%
- Dairy products: 6.1%
- Food away from home: 3.5%
- All Items: 1.4%
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- Groceries: -0.7%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 5.7%
- Fruits and vegetables: -6.1%
- Cereals and bakery products: 0.4%
- Dairy products: -1.9%
- Food away from home: 6.0%
- All Items: 2.5%
Data and Methodology
This study examined 12 major metro areas with available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for March 2025.
Questions about this study? Contact us at press@smartasset.com
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