Groceries cost a lot more than they did a few years ago.
Within that general trend, there are nuances. Some stores are significantly more affordable than others. Some have deals, freebies and gas rewards. Some have lower prices in certain categories than other stores.
To find out where San Diegans can stretch their grocery dollars, a team of reporters and editors headed out in early March to log prices for a 16-item grocery basket.
There was a roughly $30 spread between the cheapest store’s final bill and the most expensive store’s. That’s a difference of 65%.
The products
Bananas (per pound)Roma tomatoes (per pound)Strawberries (per pound)Avocado (each)Whole chicken (per pound)80/20 ground beef (per pound)Whole milk (per pound)String cheese (per pound)Eggs (per dozen)Butter (per pound)Wheat bread (per loaf)Spaghetti (per pound)Cereal (per 11 to 12-ounce box)Tortilla chips (per 11 to 12-ounce bag)Canola oil (per 48-ounce bottle)Tuna (per 5-ounce can)
The survey
Eight reporters and editors recorded prices inside 12 stores over four days in early March. We based our rankings on the lowest regular price for each item on our list. We did not use sales or coupons for our rankings as those deals fluctuate. When an item was out of stock, we noted the next cheapest price for an in-stock item. When a price tag was missing, we asked a store employee to ring up the item or found the price online. For stores that run sales or offer lower prices to their loyalty club members, and for products with nonstandard sizes, we noted that in the store descriptions below.
The 16 items we chose are staples that meet a variety of dietary needs in multiple categories: produce, dairy, meat, pantry supplies and one canned item. We chose them by looking at the basket of goods whose prices are tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which maintains a national economic database, and with team input about items that are popular with grocery shoppers in San Diego, such as tortilla chips and avocados.
We settled on 12 stores throughout San Diego County. All are part of large chains and have multiple locations in the region. (Future price surveys may look at health and organic food stores, including Sprouts Farmers Market, Jimbo’s, Frazier Farms Market and Whole Foods Market, and ethnic markets, such as 99 Ranch Market, Seafood City, El Super and Northgate Markets.)
The basket
The basket includes one of each item, with three exceptions:
Two pounds of bananas
A whole chicken, based on a sample average, of around 6 pounds
Three avocados
At some stores, cereal and chip options were not 11 or 12 ounces, so shoppers chose the closest available size at the lowest price.
Note: None of the groceries we purchased were subject to taxes.
The rankings
12. Pavilions
Total: $75.49
Pavilions, with a store in Carmel Valley, had some of the highest prices among the 12 stores surveyed in early March. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Non-sale prices for the sample items across these 12 stores were highest at Pavilions. That may not be a surprise to anyone who shops there. The store, the capstone brand of the Albertsons grocery company, has special touches that help explain its higher prices. From thoughtful displays to an in-store wine bar, key copy services and floral delivery services at some locations, Pavilions is designed for shoppers seeking quality and variety. This store had the highest prices for seven items on our shopping list, more than any other store sampled. However, three of those were tied with the two other Albertsons company stores: Vons and Albertsons itself. Pavilions does, however, have weekly sales and discounts for members: pavilions.com/weeklyad. Pavilions, with four stores in the county, may be the most expensive in this bunch, not counting sales, but not by a lot: the next closest two came in at around $3 and $4 less, around a 2% difference. What you get for that 2%: a bit more curation, more premium cuts of meat and other more gourmet items. Oh, and bragging rights that you shop at a store whose name evokes castles and royalty.
Takeaway: This is more expensive than other grocery stores in this survey, which did not include health food and other stores where price tags may be higher for some items. Think of this as the slightly fancier cousin of Vons and Albertsons. Still a large chain grocery store, but with more services and a focus on presentation.
11. Vons
Total: $72.56
A Vons store in Torrey Highlands. (Roxana Popescu / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Prices at Vons, also in the Albertsons family, were higher than most of the other sampled stores. But unlike some other stores on this list, its items go on sale. For example, the sale price of Calidad tortilla chips was $2.29, discounted from a regular price of $2.99. Discounts aside, the lowest regular-priced bag of chips was by Signature Select, the store’s house brand, at $2.49. Another way to save: points can be redeemed for freebies. Butter and string cheese could be “purchased” for 300 points that week. Without sales or loyalty discounts, the best prices at Vons for the 16 items sampled tended to be in its Signature Select and Lucerne dairy products, both house brands. Outside our shopping list, Vons has a variety of staples and some more distinctive items at a range of brands and prices. A visual cue for savings: yellow tags. These show temporary discounts and lower prices for loyalty club members.
Takeaway: This grocery store rewards loyal customers with discounts and points that can be redeemed for free merchandise. For someone coming in fresh, prices in our survey were higher there than average.
10. Albertsons
Total: $71.69
An Albertsons store in Rancho Bernardo. (Roxana Popescu/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Albertsons is part of a chain with more than 350 stores across the U.S., while the footprint of Vons is smaller and much more regional: around 180 stores in California and eight in Nevada. The difference might not be apparent to someone walking into either, because Vons is owned by Albertsons Companies and they have a lot in common. Pricewise, too they came out almost tied, and less than a dollar apart. Like the other stores in this company, Albertsons has a fuel rewards program, grocery rewards and other perks for frequent shoppers. One key difference between them: Vons has far more stores in this region: 42, versus 24 for Albertsons.
Takeaway: As a national chain and the parent store to Vons and Pavilions, Albertsons has many of the same products and programs as the other two. They are so similar, in fact, that it used grocery bags from Pavilions on our sample visit and an online map had mislabeled a Vons in San Diego as an Albertsons. They are largely interchangeable. Although, according to our survey, this brand came in slightly cheaper than its peers.
9. Ralphs
Total: $69.59
The Ralphs at 659 E. Palomar St. in Chula Vista. (Phillip Molnar/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Ralphs and Food 4 Less are both part of the Kroger family of grocery stores. Like Vons and its peers, Ralphs and Food 4 Less have a house brand — called Kroger. The store also gives discounts to its free loyalty club members. Without discounts, it ranked as one of the more expensive stores, with meat prices coming in highest among all 12. However, an online check showed that nine of the 16 items in our basket, including chicken and beef, were on sale. With these lower prices, some of which required a store membership, the total came out to around $57. While Ralphs is not the cheapest among this group of 12, its offerings run the gamut from affordable to premium. Cheese ranges from Kroger cheddar to French brie, for example. Stores also have pharmacies, delis, prepared foods and bakeries, making them a potential one-stop-shop for multiple grocery and health needs.
Takeaway: When looking at regular prices, Ralphs is higher priced than most stores in this bunch. But combining weekly sales, member prices and coupons can bring the price down considerably, for shoppers who are willing or able adjust their lists to chase deals.
8. Target
Total: $64.05
A shopper in a San Diego Target store. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Target’s grocery section is only a small part of its footprint. That is a double-edged: While you can find wrapping paper, toys, lawn chairs and furniture under one roof, that leaves less room for food. Its grocery area has a mix of name brands and the store’s private labels, including Good & Gather and Favorite Day, as well as some interesting finds, like frozen pizzas from Di Fara, a Brooklyn pizza joint with a cult following. In the produce and meat sections, pricing and selection were, at times, nonstandard. This was the only store of the 12 sampled without whole chickens and Roma tomatoes. We substituted the best alternative we found there: chicken drumsticks and beefsteak tomatoes. The pricing for bananas, 29 cents, appears cheaper than at other stores, but that is per item, not per pound. While prices fell in the middle of the pack, this does not account for the 5% its card members get to shave off their total bill. With that, the price for these 16 items would fall to just below $61.
The takeaway: Target’s grocery department offers most essentials and the convenience of being able to pick up a beach ball and a carton of ice cream on the same stop. But you won’t find the same variety and value for food as at other stores.
7. Grocery Outlet
Total: $62.33
A Grocery Outlet store in Point Loma. (Roxana Popescu/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Shoppers at Grocery Outlet, with stores scattered throughout San Diego County, might find unusual goods mixed in with conventional products. Our visit turned up Holiday Nog cookies from Pepperidge Farm and peppermint dipped Pocky treats, which were seasonal products from a few months ago. The cheapest variety of Cheerios was pumpkin spice flavored, so shoppers might need to be flexible to take advantage of these prices. The store also had organic whole chickens, but no conventional variety. Given this, the price for chicken at this store was above average. Its ground beef, though, was the cheapest among all 12 stores sampled. Because it is a franchise, each owner can take a slightly different approach. And because it is an outlet, its product mix will change regularly. “When a brand has excess inventory from packaging changes or manufacturing overruns, they call us,” its website says. Its shelf tags include a comparison of Grocery Outlet’s price and what the store claims the item costs at other stores, but those higher alternate prices were sometimes far higher than what our shoppers typically found at other stores. Also, one cheap item, wheat bread, was out of stock, so the next most affordable loaf was higher than most (among the cheap bread prices we sampled). The company recently announced it is restructuring, closing some stores and working to prove it delivers value to its deal-hunting shoppers.
Takeaway: The store buys excess inventory at a discount and passes those savings onto its customers. Be prepared for changing inventory and lower-than-average prices on items that name brands are looking to offload.
6. Smart & Final
Total: $60.56
Shoppers leave Smart & Final in downtown San Diego. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Smart & Final offers a warehouse club experience without the membership cost. Its prices were mixed: It had both the cheapest butter and the most expensive whole chicken. Smart & Final has two versions in San Diego: the standard store and the larger Smart & Final Extra. Because these are franchise stores, prices and selection vary by location. Our shoppers found small price differences at three stores in almost half of the items in our basket. Also, because it is a hybrid of a warehouse store and a standard grocery store, some of the sizes were enormous. A sign announcing “More freshness by the case” stood above roughly 25 and 50-pound bags of onions, carrots and potatoes. (Loose onions and smaller package sizes were also an option.) The store appears to pride itself on its affordability, with price tags boasting, “Why pay more?” Its store brand, Simply Value, has the same message.
Takeaway: Smart & Final sells grocery and pantry essentials at lower costs than some stores. What it lacks in high-end convenience amenities, like an in-store dry cleaner or key maker, it makes up for in bulk: big packages, no club membership required.
5. Food 4 Less
Total: $58.14
The exterior of the Food4Less grocery store at 9430 Cuyamaca St. in Santee. (Michael James Rocha / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Like Ralphs, this is part of the Kroger grocery company. Unlike Ralphs, this store has lower regular prices on some items and deals on top of that, as its name, Food 4 Less, suggests. Walking in, you’ll find goods set up with an eye on efficiency: heaps of seasonal treats ready to be grabbed, racks with sale prices prominently displayed, and fruit and vegetables stacked in cardboard boxes and plastic baskets — no rustic-chic farmstand shelving, here. There’s an overlap with Ralph’s stock, but Food 4 Less might also carry more of Kroger’s more affordable line, Smart Way. Its wheat bread was the cheapest in stock of all 12 stores. (Several stores had cheaper wheat bread prices posted on store shelves, but those were out of stock.) Tuna was the second cheapest, after Aldi. On top of its standard prices, it also has weekly sales, fuel points and a cash-back program.
Takeaway: Low on frills, high on efficiency, Food 4 Less fell just below the median of our price range. With just six stores in San Diego County, shoppers may have to drive a bit to find them.
4. Trader Joe’s
Total: $56.56
A Trader Joe’s grocery store in San Diego. (Roxana Popescu / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Trader Joe’s is a supermarket where you can find French cookies, Spanish cheese and American potato chips, all under Trader Joe’s private label branding. For the items in our basket, the store ranked close to the cheapest, but two of the 16 were smaller than typical: the tortilla chips and the canola oil. Not in our basket were some of the chain’s more fun and fancy items, which run the gamut from croissants to Belgian chocolate to high-quality burger patties, and a whole range of alcoholic beverages. Unlike other supermarkets, where items go on sale or coupons lower the total bill, Trader Joe’s prices don’t drop for members or in weekly deals. For the bargain shopper, it takes some discipline to avoid snatching up the latest new offerings from the store. Parts of its product line also get periodically shaken up, with seasonal finds and other favorites being introduced or withdrawn, but customers can count on the staples in our basket. One more thing they can count on: samples for everyone, and lollipops or stickers for kids who find each store’s stuffed animal mascot.
Takeaway: Both practical and indulgent, Trader Joe’s has a devoted following for a reason. It also delivered clear value on the 16 items we sampled, though in two cases the sizes were a bit smaller than standard.
3. Stater Bros. Markets
Total: $55.74
Stater Bros in Ranch Peñasquitos had some of the lowest prices among the 12 stores surveyed. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
This chain has nine stores in northern and inland San Diego County, which dovetails with its higher concentration of stores in the San Bernardino area. If you live nearby or venture to one, here’s what you might find: the usual grocery store name brands, plus a full-service meat counter, catering services, warm grab-and-go entrees, and at the store we visited, a juice and fresh guacamole bar. The main house brand, Stater Bros. Markets., is extensive, with everything from milk to bottled water to fruit. Two others, Food Club and Crav’n, are on the value end of the spectrum. The store had lower prices than most on our list, and it did not require a compromise: the interior and exterior were clean, with attention given to how things were displayed and a mix of fresh, warm and shelf-stable items.
Takeaway: Though it was more affordable than others, the store did not have a discount feel. Quite the opposite, it felt like a more elevated shopping experience, with a few bells and whistles, but for considerably less than some of its peers.
2. Aldi
Total: $46.42
The Aldi store at 6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. (Jennifer Van Grove/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Aldi is known for its low prices, Euro flair and a middle aisle with random finds, from drawer organizers to seasonal decor, that will probably be different every time you visit. Across the 16 items sampled, seven were the cheapest at Aldi and one, avocados, was tied for cheapest with Walmart. Aldi stocks a mix of its house brands (of which there are many) and name brands. Its string cheese, the cheapest in town, is the company’s Happy Farms brand. Its whole chicken, also the cheapest among these 12 stores, was from Sanderson Farms, a brand also found at Grocery Outlet and Food 4 Less. Along with affordable staples, this chain stocks gourmet finds like marinated meats, imported cheeses and some fun frozen entrees. One tradeoff for the low prices is selection: while some stores have multiple options per product, Aldi’s variety is more limited — and value-driven.
Takeaway: Prepare to save money at Aldi, compared to other stores. While you may not find the more obscure or varied products that larger stores carry, Aldi’s selection covers both the basics and includes a healthy number of gourmet and unusual goodies, often under its various proprietary labels.
1. Walmart
Total: $45.71
Number one for cheap groceries: Walmart (The Associated Press)
The first and second cheapest stores were almost tied, and separated by around 70 cents. A different basket of goods might have widened the gap, or reversed their order in this ranking. Like Aldi, Walmart had a number of rock-bottom priced items: bananas, strawberries and milk were the cheapest. It was tied with Aldi for the cheapest avocados. And for spaghetti, it was cheapest for one pound, but Aldi’s two-pound pack came in at slightly less per pound. Walmart’s selection is broad, with both a house brand with many options, Great Value, and many varieties of name-brand products. Just the different versions of Pringles chips took up more space than an entire potato chip section at smaller stores. However, not all of its stores offer fresh groceries. The sampled store on Shawline Street did not have meat or produce, so those prices were sourced online from the supercenter store on College Avenue. San Diego County has 11 Walmart Supercenters.
Takeaway: America’s biggest retailer had the lowest prices on groceries, especially if you’re shopping its Great Value brand.
U-T staff writers Diana McCabe, Phillip Molnar, Rob Nikolewski, Michael Price, Michael James Rocha, Jennifer Van Grove and Lori Weisberg contributed to this report.