A cheeseburger, fries, and a soda remain one of America’s classic comfort meals, but what Americans pay for that combo depends heavily on where they live, according to the so-called Cheeseburger Index.
Local Prices Vary
A new DoorDash State of Local Commerce report, which compares the average price of a cheeseburger, fries, and a soda across U.S. cities, found the average price of the meal is lowest in Austin, Texas, at $12.94.
DoorDash said cities in the South and Southeast tend to be more affordable because of structurally lower operating costs, helping the region rank well across both grocery and restaurant price indexes.
The highest cost topped out in Anchorage, Alaska at $28.28 for the same meal, according to the report.
Regional Variations
The 10 best-value cities in the study are concentrated in the Midwest and Texas, with four cities in the Lone Star State making the list — Laredo, Texas ($13.39), Lincoln, Nebraska ($13.86), Detroit ($14.99) and Philadelphia ($15.41) rounded out the top five.
Local labor markets and operating expenses also help explain why the same meal costs less than $13 in Austin than in Anchorage where it’s more than double that cost.
According to Jessica Lachs, chief analytics officer at DoorDash, the Cheeseburger Index was designed to illustrate how those local differences translate into everyday prices for consumers.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
