A new study shows the cheapest grocery store prices nationally and, according to it, El Paso bargain hunters should skip Walmart and hit up this other “big box” store.

Consumer Reports analyzed grocery prices across the country. Using Walmart prices as a baseline, they found several other grocery stores beat Wally-World … some by over 20%. 

As far as El Paso goes, the chain that offers the cheapest groceries, (overall), was Costco who beat Walmart by 21.4%.

The top 5 least expensive supermarkets … and the percentage by which they beat King Wally … were: Costco, (21.4%), BJ’s, (21%), Lidl, (8.5%), Aldi, (8.3%), and Winco. (3.3%) Texas legends HEB juuuuuust missed the top 5, coming in 6th. ( 0.2%)

The Most Expensive El Paso Grocery Stores

Not all of the grocery stores rated by Consumer Reports operate in El Paso and some, like Food King, (who have one very unique feature), weren’t ranked at all.  Of the 35 grocery stores Consumer Reports looked at, only 5 operate in the El Paso area.

As for those 5, Walmart included, the most expensive, (per the Walmart baseline), was Whole Foods. They were 39.7% higher than Walmart, followed by Albertsons at 24.8% higher and Target. (5.9%)

How Did Consumer Reports Analyze Grocery Stores?

They sent shoppers into select metro areas and did all the shopping within the same 48 hour period. They factored in all applicable sales prices, discounts and bonuses for store loyalty cards/programs but didn’t include manufacturer coupons or savings tied solely to smartphone apps. (consumerreports)

READ MORE: Only El Paso Grocery Stores Do This

What Did Whole Foods Say?

After publication, Whole Foods contacted us and said the analysis CR published did not account for other factors that could be important to shoppers, such as ingredient standards and sourcing. A spokesperson for the company also noted, “In the last 18 months, Whole Foods Market has reduced prices on 25 percent of items in our stores, including private label items, without compromising our industry-leading quality standards. Prime members who shop at Whole Foods Market have access to a number of benefits year-round, including deep discounts on select popular products each week and an additional 10 percent off hundreds of in-store sale items.” – consumerreports

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Gallery Credit: Gary McCoy

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