Costco and Aldi Undercut Walmart by 28.5% and 7.7% in Chicago
An analysis of 30 retailers finds Walmart’s national grocery basket costs 21.4% more than Costco and 21.0% more than BJ’s, with only Costco (28.5% lower) and Aldi (7.7% lower) undercutting Walmart in the Chicago metro. Grocery prices rose 0.4% in February on the consumer price index ‘food at home’ gauge.
1. National Grocery Price Rankings
An analysis compared the total cost of standard grocery baskets at 30 major retailers and found Walmart’s average basket costs 21.4% more than Costco and 21.0% more than BJ’s. Lidl, Aldi, WinCo and H-E-B also underprice Walmart by 8.5%, 8.3%, 3.3% and 0.2% respectively.
2. Chicago Metro Comparisons
In the Chicago metro counties—including Kane, DeKalb and McHenry—only Costco (28.5% lower) and Aldi (7.7% lower) offer cheaper average prices than Walmart. Seven other chains, led by Jewel-Osco (+29.7%) and Whole Foods (+28.4%), charge significantly higher prices.
3. Grocery Inflation Trends
Grocery prices in the consumer price index ‘food at home’ category rose 0.4% month-over-month in February, with fruit and vegetable costs climbing 1.4%, likely driving more shoppers to seek lower-cost grocery alternatives relative to Walmart pricing.