The Most and Least Expensive Grocery Stores, According to a New Report

Grocery prices have been taking a significant bite out of people's wallets lately, with the costs of dairy, beef, pork, and coffee reaching record highs.

Fortunately, according to research commissioned by Consumer Reports, customers can save money when they shop at the right stores in their area.

For the report, Strategic Resource Group (SRG), a retail and grocery industry market research company, compared the prices of commonly purchased items like packaged goods, produce, and meat at grocery chains in various cities across the U.S., including Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles/Southern California, and Virginia Beach.

SRG found a 33 percent difference between the highest and lowest prices in each city. The price differences were even larger when the group factored in warehouse clubs, such as Costco, and specialty grocers like Whole Foods.

Consumer Reports ranked the stores from least expensive to most in relation to Walmart, the largest grocery retailer in the U.S. The publication notes that the comparisons were most robust for mainstream retailers that carried a wide selection of identical national brand goods that could be compared across supermarkets. The comparison baskets were smaller for the stores that focus on private label brands or specialty goods, which have fewer items in common with Walmart.

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Costco Wholesale came out on top as the least expensive store in the U.S., with prices 21.4 percent lower than Walmart. BJ's Wholesale Club wasn't far behind at 21 percent. Lidl, Aldi, and WinCo (a worker-owned grocer in the western U.S.) rounded out the top five, and H-E-B eked in at number six, with prices 0.2 percent lower than Walmart.

But location matters when it comes to grocery costs. In Boston, for example, Costco prices were 37 percent lower than Walmart's, while in Virginia Beach, the margin was narrower than the national average at 16.8 percent.

Whole Foods was deemed the most expensive across the U.S., with prices 39.7 percent higher than Walmart. Also, the most surprising finding may be Trader Joe's, where costs were nearly 25 percent higher.

The Least Expensive Grocery Stores in the U.S.

These are the least expensive grocery stores in the U.S. compared to Walmart.

1. Costco Wholesale
2. BJ's Wholesale Club
3. Lidl
4. Aldi
5. WinCo
6. H-E-B

The Most Expensive Grocery Stores in the U.S.

These grocery stores are more expensive than Walmart, according to the findings. They're ranked from the smallest to the largest price difference.

1. Market Basket
2. Target
3. Wegmans
4. King Soopers
5. Safeway
6. Food 4 Less
7. Meijer
8. Food Lion
9. Hannaford
10. Kroger
11. Stater Bros.
12. Save A Lot
13. Publix
14. Fiesta
15. Ralphs
16. Stop & Shop
17. Piggly Wiggly
18. Harris Teeter
19. Trader Joe's
20. Albertsons
21. Tom Thumb
22. Big Y
23. Vons
24. Mariano's
25. Jewel-Osco
26. El Rancho
27. Shaw's
28. Whole Foods