(NewsNation) — After shaking up the 2024 presidential race, grocery prices are once again making headlines, this time in New York City’s mayoral contest.
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist who recently won the city’s Democratic primary, has vowed to build “city-owned grocery stores” focused on “keeping prices low, not making a profit.”
Mamdani argues that “without having to pay rent or property taxes, they will reduce overhead and pass on savings to shoppers.”
The idea has drawn criticism from both the political Right and Left, but it underscores how central everyday cost-of-living concerns remain for voters.
In May, grocery prices in U.S. cities were up 2.2% compared to a year earlier, according to the latest Consumer Price Index. That’s a major improvement from the 13.5% spike in August 2022, the largest 12-month increase in over forty years. Still, the damage has added up.
Since the start of 2020, grocery prices have climbed over 28%, a sharp rise that’s reshaped Americans’ household budgets and pushed more families toward financing options like buy now, pay later for everyday essentials.
But a recent analysis of government data found that the level of pain — and relief — has varied from city to city over the past year.
Personal finance site SmartAsset examined grocery price changes across 12 U.S. metros from March 2024 to March 2025 and found stark regional differences.
Which cities are seeing grocery prices rise fastest?
The Honolulu metro area saw a 5.3% increase in grocery prices over the period, the highest among the metros studied. That’s not entirely surprising, given Hawaii’s geographic isolation and reliance on imports.
Next on the list was the Tampa metro area, where grocery prices rose 4.3% between March 2024 to March 2025. That’s no outlier, according to a recent USDA report, which found Tampa had the highest average annual increase in grocery prices among major metros from 2015 to 2024.
SmartAsset’s study also revealed differences between food categories. In the Los Angeles Metro area, prices for egg, meat and poultry jumped 9.8%, while fruits and vegetables actually became more affordable (-1.8%) from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, fruit and vegetable prices rose 6.9%, while increases for eggs and meat were more modest at 4.8%.
Are cities seeing lower grocery prices?
Only two of the 12 metros SmartAsset analyzed saw grocery prices fall year-over-year: Dallas (-0.1%) and Boston (-0.7%).
Both cities saw notable declines in the prices of fruits and vegetables compared to a year earlier.
While grocery prices still rose overall, Riverside, California (2.3%), Washington, D.C. (1.9%), Denver (1.9%) and Chicago (1.5%) all saw increases below the 2.4% average across U.S. cities from March 2024 to March 2025.
Here’s how 12 metro areas rank based on the rise in grocery prices between March 2024 and March 2025, according to SmartAsset.
12 – Boston, MA
Metro: 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%
11 – Dallas, TX
Metro: 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%
10 – Chicago, IL
Metro: 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%
9 – Washington, DC
Metro: 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%
8 – Denver, CO
Metro: 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%
7 – Riverside, CA
Metro: Riverside, CA
- Groceries: 2.3%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 8.5%
- Fruits and vegetables: -1.7%
- Cereals and bakery products: 1.9%
6 – Los Angeles, CA
Metro: 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%
5 – New York City, NY
Metro: 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%
4 – San Diego, CA
Metro: 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%
3 – Minneapolis, MN
Metro: 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%
2 – Tampa, FL
Metro: 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%
1 – Honolulu, HI
Metro: Honolulu, HI
- Groceries: 5.3%
- Eggs, meats, poultry and fish: 4.9%
- Fruits and vegetables: 6.4%
- Cereals and bakery products: 6.5%
