Are groceries (milk, produce and meat) really more expensive in Hawaii than any other major city?

Question

I just checked Safeway's website and put in a Honolulu zip code. None of the groceries on the weekly special were cheaper than LA or San Francisco groceries.

Shipping argument doesn't work because there are plenty of people in Hawaii to balance economies of scale.

Answer 1

It depends, just like everywhere else. I live in SW FLA at the "End of the Road" b4 you have to turn left and go to Miami! Fourty years ago our town was at the end of NOWHERE ! There was only one 2-lane road to our town(Naples on the Gulf) coming in from the "north" -- U.S. 41, and it was ALSO the ONLY road to & from Miami, hence its name "TAMIAMI TRAIL" (TA = Tampa & then add MIAMI and you have: Tamiami, pronounced -- Tam - E - am - E).
Anyway, we were very isolated and EVERYTHING HAD TO TRUCKED IN -- but it wasn't that much higher, plus we had lots of farms just east of us and lots of cattle ranches north-east of us, but consumer goods were shipped in. I do remember my mom having to have a seamstress make a lot of my clothes though. I was in Hawaii several years ago and I went grocery shopping there. I noticed that just like here in FL some things were higher & some were bargains, but most things were about the same. I also noticed that Hawaii has lots of farms, just like we do and I think you can get most produce locally. I also know there is a huge cattle ranch, called PARKER RANCH, on The Big Island, so I think beef should be fairly reasonalble. besides those tourist planes bring in lots of stuff besides tourists. and the USA mainland now gets most products from CHINA and China is closer to Hawaii than San Francisco!!! So I don't buy that importing extra cost business!!! Check the labels on most everything you've bought in the last 3 or 4 years, it says either: CHINA, VIETNAM, THILAND, on it! and they're ALL CLOSER to HAWAII than mainland USA!!!
We here in SW FLA are still at the 'END OF THE ROAD', we now have I75 that connects us to Fort Lauderdale and the rest of the EastCoast of FLA, it also connects us with the north -- I believe I75 goes all the way from Lauderdale to Canada: Interstate 75
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Interstate 75
Main route of the Interstate Highway System

Length: 1,786 mi (2,874 km)
South end: SR 826/924 near Miami, FL (it may have a link to Miami, but I have traveled it for over 30yrs & it ends in FT. Lauderdale)
Major
junctions: FL's Tpk. in Wildwood, FL
I-10 near Lake City, FL
I-85 in Atlanta, GA
I-20 in Atlanta, GA
I-40 in Knoxville, TN
I-70 near Dayton, OH
I-80/I-90/OH Tpk near Toledo, OH
North end: Int'l Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie, MI
(TO ON 17/Trans-Canada Hwy)

Interstate 75 (abbreviated I-75) is an interstate highway in the midwest and southeastern United States. It travels from State Road 826 (Palmetto Expressway) and State Road 924 (Gratigny Parkway) in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan at the Ontario, Canada border.

Anyway, the ONLY prices I found to be HIGH in HAWAII was beer was $1 more per 12-pk & OJ was $4 a glass in restaurants (where the price isnt listed on the menu), fortunately the waitress was kind enough to tell us & we cancelled our OJ at breakfast -- switching to Passion Fruit Juice or Guava Juice (we love those too). When I move to Hawaii I will plant my own ORANGE TREES !!!
So, even tho both places (Ha. & SW FLA) are ISOLATED, I do NOT buy the transport expense "bunk" !!! Goods have to be SHIPPED & TRANSPORTED to everywhere on earth!!! It's a trick to SQUEEZE more money out of people !!!!!
I would barter & get the best price or I would go elsewhere and/or raise my own and/or go to the farms directly! There is plenty of food grown in the Islands, one doesn't have to PLAY THEIR GAME !!! And also I'd be a frequent WRITER to the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR collums in the Islands letting EVERYONE KNOW what a scam it is & not to play it!!! One person CAN make a difference and has many times in History!!! ONE vote changed the Presidential outcome in America many years ago & it still happens today that ONE PERSON makes a DIFFERENCE !!! Aunt Barbie

Answer 2

Significantly more expensive. My brother lived on Kauai for a year or so and said the prices were very high. Like a head of lettuce being sold by the per pound price instead of just a per head price.

Answer 3

Yes, I think this is true. Everything perishable has to be flown to Hawaii, which is expensive, and even shipping non-perishables by ship to Hawaii is much more expensive than trucking them to a mainland city.

Answer 4

Of course its going to be more expensive. because its a tourist destination and its location is a million miles from the earth. everythang has to be imported. good thang the locals love spam cause a frigging mickey Ds cheeseburger costs 10 bucks

Answer 5

My daughter lives in Hawaii and according to her - EVERYTHING is more expensive in Hawaii. Think about it - if it's not grown there - it has to be imported - and that's where the expense comes from.

Answer 6

My cousin and I both bought the same mountain bike several years ago, he paid 125.00 more than I did in Massachusetts because he was on his base in Hawaii... importing is expensive!!!

Answer 7

10 t0 15 percent

Answer 8

Of course cuz it comes from other place by plane or ship!

Answer 9

some item(s) are and it is due to the fact that they have to have the item(s) imported, which can be expensive