When you think of cheaper groceries, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Thinking about Walmart when you think about discount deals? Think again. A new study from Consumer Reports by Tobie Stranger shows that mega-chain Walmart isn’t the only place to save a dime on your hardworking time.
The study compared prices on baskets of commonly bought items at popular grocery chains in six regionally representative cities — Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles/Southern California and Virginia Beach including the nationwide Walmart.
Consumer Reports found six grocers out of a possible 34 had better prices than Walmart on average.
In Illinois, only two grocery store chains are cheaper than Walmart on average cost of items.
Cheaper than Walmart prices
In Illinois, only two chains have cheaper prices: Costco and Aldi.
Costco Wholesale sits at a whopping 21.4% cheaper than Walmart on average, with Aldi at 8.3% cheaper.
In the Rockford area, there is a Costco located at 5000 Stadium Drive in Loves Park.
There are seven Aldi stores in the area, including 2680 20th St. in Rockford; 6650 E. State St. in Rockford, 3801 W Riverside Blvd. in Rockford, 6350 Forest Hills Road in Loves Park, 1021 N. State in Belvidere, 1545 W. Lane Road in Machesney Park, and 726 W. South St. in Freeport.
Four other grocery stores which don’t have locations in Illinois also ranked significantly cheaper than Walmart:
Walmart was, however, less expensive than 28 stores nationwide.
Rockford has three Walmarts: 3902 W Riverside Blvd., 3849 Northridge Drive, and 7219 Walton St. Freeport has one: 2545 IL-26.
Brands like Target, Safeway, Meijer, Kroger, Save-A-Lot, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods were all more expensive, with the latter coming in at a whopping 39.7% more expensive than Walmart.
Methodology
Price comparisons were conducted for CR by the Strategic Resource Group, a consultancy in New York. Prices were collected in person from store shelves in late summer 2025. Within metro areas, all prices were collected within a 48-hour period. The amounts shown reflect sale prices and discounts available to shoppers using free store loyalty cards but don’t reflect manufacturer coupons or savings available only through smartphone apps.
Following the publication of the research data, Whole Foods reached out to Consumer Report to state, “In the last 18 months, Whole Foods Market has reduced prices on 25 percent of items in our stores, including private label items, without compromising our industry-leading quality standards. Prime members who shop at Whole Foods Market have access to a number of benefits year-round, including deep discounts on select popular products each week and an additional 10 percent off hundreds of in-store sale items.”
What about Hy-Vee?
One of Springfield’s favorite grocery stores, Iowa-based chain Hy-Vee was not included in Consumer Report’s study.
Want a study that does include Hy-Vee? A similar study conducted by NetCredit in 2025 found Hy-Vee’s prices were 4.3% cheaper than Walmart on average.
Smaller local chains, like County Market, Country Market and Harvest Market, were not included in a nationwide study, but still have deals to shop local for.
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@usatodayco.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: These Illinois grocery stores are cheaper than Walmart, study finds
Reporting by Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register / Rockford Register Star
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