Ground beef, 80/20 price in San Diego.

How we got these numbers

• Instacart — Aldi:Calibrated estimate against retailer-specific multiplier ($5.40)
• Walmart+:Live observation from May 11 ($5.65)
• Amazon Fresh (Prime):Category multiplier against Walmart base, adjusted for West Urban ($6.82)
• Instacart — Whole Foods:Calibrated estimate against retailer-specific multiplier ($9.19)

Live observations come from public weekly ads (Aldi, Whole Foods) and BLS Average Retail Food Prices, refreshed daily. Estimates use a per-category multiplier calibrated to NPR, Consumer Reports, and Tasting Table grocery comparison studies.

Why this category prices the way it does

Meat is the highest-variance category by retailer — Walmart's in-house meat program runs ~30% cheaper than Whole Foods' grass-fed/organic-leaning case for comparable cuts.

San Diego grocery context

San Diego's grocery scene leans heavily on Vons and Ralphs (both Kroger), with Sprouts as the primary organic-and-natural option. Whole Foods has a smaller SD footprint than LA. Aldi opened its first San Diego stores in 2022-2023 (Chula Vista, El Cajon) and delivery coverage is still expanding. The Mexican border proximity means many SD shoppers cross-shop in Tijuana for produce — a habit that delivery services have eroded but not eliminated.

Without strong Aldi coverage, Walmart+ becomes the default cheapest option for most San Diego zips. Sprouts via Instacart is the best produce-and-natural-foods alternative to Whole Foods at noticeably lower prices.

Ground beef, 80/20 prices in other cities

• Los Angeles, CA
• Phoenix, AZ
• San Jose, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Denver, CO