Does it cost more to buy groceries depending on where you live? A Prince George’s County investigation.

You see it in the checkout line. You hear it from neighbors and friends. You know: Groceries are getting more expensive.

Right?

The Banner tracked the prices of 12 common food items in Baltimore grocery stores in February and compared them to receipts from 2022. Inflation was at a record 9.1% then and stands at 3.5% as of June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Banner reporter Bria Overs found that costs of some items had actually gotten cheaper in that time.

But that was then and this is a new reality, where all manner of costs often fluctuate with the whims of a war or a tariff or a tweet.

In the capital region, we traversed eight grocery stores in Prince George’s County to compare the cost of putting one dish on the table: the humble cheeseburger.

The price of beef has been a talking point throughout the summer as prices have spiked since last year by as much as 14% for ground beef, according to industry data.

I’ll gladly eat any burger off the grill at a cookout, and loyal readers know the distances I’ll travel to find the best burgers this region has to offer.

But in my own kitchen I will almost always make a burger by way of cathartically smashing it on a hot pan. I follow a recipe from food writer J. Kenji López-Alt because it’s the fastest way from point A to point Burger. The recipe calls for unusual tools, such as a plastering trowel (though a couple firm spatulas work in a pinch) and an acceptance that your hands will get perilously close to high heat.

The ingredient list for this investigation includes: iceberg lettuce (food safety risks and all, it’s still the best lettuce to add crunch to a burger), yellow onion, 80/20 ground beef ($6.49-$12, per pack), mayonnaise ($3.49-$5.49, per jar), yellow mustard, dill pickle chips, potato rolls, American cheese ($1.69-$5.79, per pack), kosher salt and black pepper.

First, a bit about my methodology: I went with the lowest-priced option I saw for each item and applied loyalty program savings where they were available. I made exceptions for strong personal preferences for Duke’s mayonnaise and Diamond Crystal kosher salt, if they had it. (I subscribe to Big Salt’s gospel that you should have at least three salts in your pantry, each for specific purposes.)

These ingredients were instructive for this mission that blends pantry staples with perishables. Of course, you won’t need to buy a new bottle of mustard every time you’re itching for burgers.

I visited nine stores (Giant, Shoppers, Aldi, Safeway, Wegmans, Lidl, New Grand Mart, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods) throughout the county, including those in Camp Springs, Clinton, Lanham, Bowie, New Carrollton, College Park and Riverdale Park.

What I found toggled between surprising and reaffirming my perceptions of the value proposition of some grocery stores.

Costs are (mostly) competitive

Most of the totals at stores within this survey were within about $6 of each other.

The low-cost grocer Lidl provided the cheapest complete shopping list at $30.27, with savings in particular on American cheese and mustard. Lidl was one of the more affordable stores in Baltimore’s survey as well.

Among the most widely available grocers, Giant totaled $36.80. But the expensive outlier was, to little surprise, Whole Foods at $48.23. The artisanal-turned-Amazon behemoth store was weighed down by highest costs for kosher salt and pickles.

Aldi and Trader Joe’s were included in this survey but ultimately earned incomplete scores because neither had kosher salt. And Trader Joe’s — which sits here as the most affordable option — did not stock American cheese among its daunting dairy section, so I skipped it.

Ground beef was the most expensive item on almost every receipt (except Whole Foods) and, while Aldi had the highest cost ($12), it was affordable at a price-per-pound rate because it was sold only in at least 2-pound packs. Other stores offered value packs that lowered costs at larger quantities but otherwise sold beef in packs that hovered above 1 pound.

It was an illuminating exercise to shop around at these stores, but will it change my own habits?

My mother instilled in me the belief that I should buy things only when they’re on sale and track those prices like a hawk. I have specific items I want from certain grocery stores — shade aside, I can’t resist some Whole Foods items such as tart cherry juice or sales on local coffee roasters — and often don’t mind making multiple stops for them.

I know this won’t shake Wegmans loyalists (or Shoppers’ Colossal Donuts fanatics, hello), but as we weigh the cost of living in an expensive region, saving a buck or two feels like it counts more now than it used to. Check back in a year or so, and we’ll run this experiment again and let you know how prices have changed.

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