Walmart Lost: Which Rhode Island Grocery Store Really Has the Lowest Prices?

Ask a Rhode Islander where to find the cheapest groceries, and Walmart is often the first place they say.

A national price test says it isn’t that simple.

Here’s how the big chains compare, so you know where to shop before your next trip.

Who Ran the Numbers and How

Consumer Reports asked Strategic Resource Group to compare prices at dozens of grocery chains.

It’s a New York firm that researches the grocery industry.

The report’s methodology note says researchers collected prices in person from store shelves in late summer 2025.

There are tables for six cities.

They’re Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles/Southern California and Virginia Beach.

Boston is the only New England city of the six. So your receipt may look different.

Walmart was the yardstick.

The report calls it the largest grocery retailer in the country.

Every percentage you’ll see here compares a chain with Walmart, not with the other stores on your route.

Each comparison basket held packaged goods, produce and meat.

Below are the chains, from cheapest to most expensive.

A box further down shows what the percentages mean for a $100 cart.

Warehouse Clubs

The national table puts Costco 21.4% below Walmart and BJ’s Wholesale Club 21.0% below.

So, $100 of groceries at Walmart would cost about $78.60 at Costco.

Costco was the cheapest chain in all six city tables. Its widest gap came in Boston, at 37.0% below Walmart.

What about mainstream chains?

In each city, the report found a gap of more than 33% between the highest- and lowest-priced chain.

Add clubs like Costco and specialty grocers like Whole Foods, and the differences get bigger.

Aldi and Lidl

Lidl edged out Aldi in the national table. Lidl was 8.5% below Walmart, and Aldi was 8.3% below.

City by city, Aldi ranges from 4.0% below Walmart in Los Angeles to 16.3% below in Virginia Beach.

In Boston, it’s 8.4% below.

So the same store can save you a little or a lot, depending on the city.

Aldi says nearly 90% of the items on its shelves are exclusive brands.

That shapes the baskets.

The report says baskets were smaller at stores that focus on private-label brands.

Those stores have fewer items in common with Walmart.

Keep that in mind when you read any chain’s figure.

Chains Close to Walmart

Only six of the 34 other chains in the national table came in below Walmart.

WinCo came in 3.3% below Walmart and H-E-B 0.2% below. They were the fifth- and sixth-cheapest chains in the table.

Above Walmart, Market Basket is at 1.2% and Target at 5.9%.

What comes after Target?

Wegmans, King Soopers, Safeway, Food 4 Less and Meijer run 7.6% to 9.9% above Walmart.

On a $100 Walmart cart, that is about $108 to $110 at those stores.

If your usual store comes after Meijer in the table, it lands at least 12.5% above Walmart.

Chains Over 20% Above Walmart

Sixteen of the 28 chains above Walmart sit more than 20% above it.

Publix starts the group at 20.3% above, followed by Fiesta at 21.7% and Ralphs at 21.9%.

For that $100 Walmart cart, that is about $120 to $122 at those stores.

Trader Joe’s lands at 24.6% above and Albertsons at 24.8%. Jewel-Osco reaches 29.7% and El Rancho 30.1%.

Those last two would charge you about $130 for the same cart.

Only two run higher.

They’re Shaw’s, at 31.9% above, and Whole Foods, at 39.7%.

Boston's Results

Market Basket, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Big Y and Shaw's appear only under Boston.

Their national figures match their Boston ones.

The national column averages across all locations priced. So a chain found in one city carries that city's number.

Hannaford sits at 13.2% above Walmart, Stop & Shop at 22.2%, Big Y at 26.2% and Shaw's at 31.9%.

Of those four, Hannaford is closest to Walmart.

Shaw's is farthest.

Whole Foods tops Boston's table too, at 34.0% above Walmart. That's below its 39.7% national figure.

Boston isn't Providence.

Whole Foods at the Top

Whole Foods was the most expensive chain in the national table, at 39.7% above Walmart.

Shaw's was next, at 31.9% above.

Does your city change it?

Whole Foods ranges from 28.4% above Walmart in Chicago to 57.7% above in Virginia Beach.

Whole Foods was the priciest chain in four of the six city tables.

Jewel-Osco topped Chicago and Trader Joe's topped Denver.

The report lists Whole Foods among its specialty grocers. Baskets were smaller at stores that focus on specialty goods.

Whole Foods' Response

What did Whole Foods say?

After publication, the company said the analysis left out things like ingredient standards and sourcing.

It told this to Consumer Reports.

The company also said it had cut prices on 25% of its items over the previous 18 months.

That is about one in four items.

An update to the report, first published Feb. 2, 2026, added Whole Foods' response.

What the Test Left Out

The report's methodology note says the prices reflect sale prices and discounts from free store loyalty cards.

The figures leave out manufacturer coupons and savings you can only get through phone apps.

So your total could come in lower.

In each metro area, researchers collected every price inside a 48-hour window.

That's a snapshot.

Rhode Island Store Locations

A USA Today Network report from April 14, 2026 says Aldi has nine stores in Rhode Island.

It cites the chain's store locator.

There are three Whole Foods locations in the state.

And Costco?

Costco has no Rhode Island location. It was the cheapest chain in the national table.