Grocery bills can look very different depending on where someone lives. The same basic basket of food that feels relatively affordable in one state can cost noticeably more somewhere else.

For many households, keeping the grocery bill under control has also become more challenging as food prices have increased. Everyday staples that used to take up a smaller portion of the weekly budget can now add up quickly, making where someone shops, what they buy, and even where they live increasingly important to the final bill.

Grocery costs vary widely depending on where you live

A new analysis from Visual Capitalist compared grocery costs across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., using first-quarter 2026 data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. The grocery index uses 100 as the national benchmark, meaning a score of 110 indicates grocery costs about 10% above the national average.

The differences are especially noticeable at the top of the ranking. Hawaii’s grocery index is 136.3, putting costs 36.3% above the national benchmark, while Alaska comes in at 126.6. There’s then a substantial drop to California at 110.5, but several other states still have grocery costs noticeably above the national average.

The 15 places with the highest grocery costs

Here’s how the most expensive places ranked, along with their grocery cost index:

Hawaii — 136.3
Alaska — 126.6
California — 110.5
Maryland — 109.3
District of Columbia — 109.2
New Jersey — 109.1
Massachusetts — 106.8
Washington — 106.1
Connecticut — 106.0
Florida — 105.7
Oregon — 104.5
Nevada — 103.8
Rhode Island — 103.8
Delaware — 103.6
Idaho — 103.4

Hawaii and Alaska stand far above the rest

The biggest takeaway from the ranking is how far ahead Hawaii and Alaska are. Hawaii’s index of 136.3 puts grocery costs 36.3% above the national benchmark, while Alaska comes in 26.6% higher.

After those two states, there’s a significant drop. California ranks third at 110.5, meaning grocery costs are 10.5% above the national benchmark. The remaining places in the top 15 range from Maryland at 9.3% above the benchmark down to Idaho at 3.4% above.

Geography can play a role in these differences. Visual Capitalist notes that Hawaii and Alaska face particularly high freight and logistics costs, while higher wages and operating expenses can also drive up grocery costs in other expensive coastal markets.

High living costs don’t always mean higher grocery prices dramatically

Another interesting part of the data is that grocery prices don’t necessarily follow the overall cost of living. Some expensive places have grocery indexes surprisingly close to the national benchmark, while other states rank considerably higher for food.

New York is a good example. Despite its reputation for a high cost of living, its grocery index was 100.3, putting it almost exactly in line with the national benchmark.

At the other end of the ranking, Mississippi had the lowest grocery index at 93.2, followed by Arkansas at 93.4 and Oklahoma at 93.5. That means the difference between the highest and lowest states is substantial: the same standardized measure of grocery costs that comes in 6.8% below the benchmark in Mississippi is 36.3% above it in Hawaii.

For households already feeling the pressure at checkout, the ranking shows that where someone lives can make an already expensive grocery bill even harder to manage.