Study: Tampa Bay grocery prices up more than anywhere else in the continental U.S.

People shop at a grocery store in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Sunday, March 19, 2023. Consumer prices in the United States cooled last month, rising just 0.1% from April to May and extending the past year's steady easing of inflation. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

The average cost for groceries for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area has gone up more over the last year than anywhere else in the continental United States, according to a new study from SmartAsset.

The study found the average consumer was spending 4.3% more on groceries this March than at the same point in 2024. The only metro area with an average cost increase more than Tampa Bay was in Honolulu. The average in Honolulu is 5.3%.

The Tampa metro’s cost increases were driven largely by increases in the cost of eggs, meats, poultry and fish, which jumped 7.8% in cost from March 2024 to March of this year. Fruits and vegetables were up just 0.2%, while cereals and bakery products jumped 5.3%.

While the Tampa area is at nearly the top in the U.S. for grocery price increases, some metros actually saw a decrease in grocery prices. The Boston area saw an increase in the cost of eggs, meat, poultry and fish of 5.7% and a slight increase in the cost of cereals and bakery products, at 0.4%. But with a drop in the cost of fruits and vegetables of 6.1%, the area saw an overall decrease of 0.7%.

Likewise, with the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which saw a slight overall drop of 0.1%, driven by a more than 5% drop in the cost of fruits and vegetables and a small drop in the cost of cereals and bakery items. But the area saw the cost of meats and other animal products go up nearly 9%.

The study also looked at increases in food costs from dining establishments, finding a 4.8% increase in the Tampa metro. While high, diners in the Tampa area aren’t feeling the pain as much as those in California. The cost to dine out, or get takeout, hit a 5.4% increase in Los Angeles and 5.3% in Riverside. Boston saw the greatest increase in dining costs, at 6%, while Denver was also higher than Tampa, at 5%.

The study evaluated 12 major metro areas using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from March 2025. The Tampa metro was the only area in Florida studied.