Cheapest States for Groceries (2026)

States are ranked by cost of living index (ascending), a modeled proxy for grocery prices in the 48 mainland states. Alaska and Hawaii are different: this site's own grocery-budget calculators use USDA's own official Anchorage/Hawaii Thrifty Food Plan geographic ratio for those two states instead of a cost-of-living index (USDA publishes both as officially more expensive than the national average), so their position in this cost-of-living-based ranking does not necessarily match their USDA-anchored grocery-budget figure — see each state's own grocery budget calculator for that USDA-sourced number. Sales tax on groceries varies by state: as of 2026-08-06, 41 states exempt groceries from state sales tax entirely, 3 states (Hawaii, Idaho, and South Dakota) tax groceries at the same rate as general merchandise, and the rest apply a reduced rate. Data from BLS, USDA Food Plans, and Tax Foundation, cross-checked against states.ts's own per-state tax classification.