{"id":808195,"date":"2026-08-09T19:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T19:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/808195\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T19:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T19:10:16","slug":"texas-cities-dominate-americas-cheapest-places-for-a-burger-fries-and-soda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/808195\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas cities dominate America’s cheapest places for a burger, fries and soda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DoorDash Chief Analytics Officer Jessica Lachs breaks down how everyday items \u2014 from fries to fresh produce \u2014 help illustrate the real cost of living across America.<\/p>\n

For Americans looking for an affordable meal out, geography can make a big difference in what they pay for a cheeseburger, fries<\/a> and a soda.<\/p>\n

A $15 bill is still enough to cover a cheeseburger, fries and a soda in some U.S. cities, but not everywhere.<\/p>\n

A recent DoorDash State of Local Commerce report<\/a> found that just four of the cities it analyzed had an average price below $15 for the meal: Austin and Laredo, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Detroit, Michigan.<\/p>\n

Austin was the cheapest at $12.94, according to DoorDash’s so-called Cheeseburger Index, which tracks the average cost of a cheeseburger, fries and a soda across U.S. cities.<\/p>\n

ONE LITTLE-KNOWN MEETING HELPS DECIDE WHAT AMERICANS CAN AFFORD \u2014 AND WHAT THEY CAN\u2019T<\/a><\/p>\n

“The Cheeseburger Index is a really great way to distill the information into a simple, fun and relatable metric,” Jessica Lachs, chief analytics officer at DoorDash, told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

And while prices varied significantly by region, DoorDash said cities in the South and Southeast tend to benefit from structurally lower operating costs<\/a>, helping the region rank among the most affordable for both restaurant meals and groceries.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the spectrum, the same cheeseburger combo costs an average of $28.28 in Anchorage, Alaska<\/a> \u2014 more than twice the price in Austin.<\/p>\n

The 10 best-value cities in the study are concentrated in the Midwest and Texas<\/a>, with four cities in the Lone Star State making the list \u2014 Laredo, Texas ($13.39); Lincoln, Nebraska ($13.86); Detroit ($14.99); and Philadelphia ($15.41) rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n

THE COST OF THIS GROCERY STAPLE IS NEARING RECORD HIGHS \u2014 AND AMERICANS CAN\u2019T GET ENOUGH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

DoorDash’s annual Cheeseburger Index reveals where Americans can still grab a full burger meal under $15. (iStock \/ iStock)<\/p>\n

The rankings come as eating out continues to get more expensive, even as prices for many grocery and household staples have stabilized.<\/p>\n

DoorDash found the average price of a cheeseburger, fries and soda climbed 3.2% over the past year.<\/p>\n

While rising beef prices<\/a> have drawn attention this year, DoorDash said higher restaurant prices appear to reflect broader operating costs \u2014 including labor, rent and energy \u2014 rather than food costs alone.<\/p>\n

“There isn’t one economy. There are a lot of local economies,” Lachs said.<\/p>\n

“The same basket of goods, a cheeseburger, fries and a drink, costs $12.94 on average in Austin, Texas, but $28.28 in Anchorage, Alaska,” she said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Woman <\/p>\n

The DoorDash report shows inflation easing across several categories. (iStock)<\/p>\n

For diners, that means the same $15 that can cover the entire meal in Austin would barely pay for half of it in Anchorage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DoorDash Chief Analytics Officer Jessica Lachs breaks down how everyday items \u2014 from fries to fresh produce \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-808195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}