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Austin power outage: Line of shoppers extends beyond H-E-B during
We took our drone to the sky to see how long the line to get into an H-E-B looked like.
Jay Janner and Nate Chute, Wochit
Going to the store for eggs, milk, bread and cheese comes with a hefty price tag these days. Texans are spending big money on groceries due to inflation, price gouging and supply chain issues.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have jumped 17% since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Texans are averaging nearly $300 per trip to the store. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Texans spend $286.19 per week on groceries. And while inflation is easing, putting food on the table is still a concern for families.
According to Livingcost.org, the average cost of living per month in Texas is $2,170. With a family of four, it’s $5,094. Key items such as dairy products, rice and produce have become more expensive for Austin residents and other Texans.
Here’s a look at what those expenses are for shoppers in Texas:
Dallas ranks eighth among cities with the highest grocery bills in the U.S. Houston comes in at No. 2 with an average grocery bill of $302.65, according to an analysis from HelpAdvisor of the Census Bureau data.
Brian Carberry, senior managing editor at Rent.com, said that though Austin is an expensive city, it isn’t the most expensive in the state despite the common narrative.
“That Dallas is more expensive than Austin was my biggest takeaway,” he said. “Overall, Austin is 1.8% more expensive than the overall national average of cost of living while Dallas is 7.7% more expensive than the national average.”
The cities with the highest average weekly grocery bills are:
Texans might feel better about their grocery bill compared with residents of other states. According to the Census Bureau, Texas doesn’t crack the top five in highest grocery costs.
Here are the states with the highest grocery bills: