According to NationMaster[1], we're the 43rd most expensive. Notables that are more expensive than the U.S. include Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, France, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Japan, Belgium, the UK, Canada, Austria, Italy.
Notables with cheaper groceries are Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Poland, Ukraine.
Given we're talking about why salaries are higher in the US, i think it's fair to point out the comparison of items that are possible to buy in a normal supermarket here. I searched for parmesan in Walmart and could only buy an entire wheel for ~$26/lb.
The people who I'm comparing myself to in the US strive to buy imported European food, so that's the comparison I'm going to end up making.
Even basic things like fresh vegetables and fresh meat far more expensive than they are in supermarkets here.
In 2014 the US was spending ~ 6.5% of household expenditure on food, on the lower end compared to the listed European nations (Germany, France, Italy, and Greece in particular).
There are many other links with a similar premise.
My own travels have taken me to Spain, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Canada - other than Vietnam I've always found prices to be comparable or greater than in the US. Obviously the cost is influenced by what you are buying, what is in season, and where you are a shopping. YMMV though!
To be fair, Germany has the lowest consumer prices on food of almost any EU country due to the economies of scale it can leverage, similar to pre-Brexit UK. Meanwhile, Austria and Denmark have the most expensive food prices in the EU while salaries aren't higher than Germany, at least not in Austria. And for the sake of contrast, let's talk about the insane groceries prices in Switzerland (not EU but borders Germany). Romania and Bulgaria have the lowest prices in the EU, but when you adjust to median income, they're actually really high "thanks" to the EU's ease of trade where Romanian/Bulgarian producers can make more money selling their goods to the richer countries rather than locally therefore reducing the local supply, resulting in increased prices for the locals as a consequence.
And, AFAIK, it's the same in North America, with the US having the lowest consumer prices and highest salaries while neighboring Canada has to make due with higher prices and lower wages.
My point is, the perceived expense of goods varies wildly based on your region's economic leverage, and large, rich countries with powerful economies and huge supply chains tend to be much better off at dampening these effects than the rest.
My experience of grocery shopping in the US and europe is that the US is substantially more expensive, and €5 per day is probably equivalent in purchasing power to $10-12 per day which is definitely more doable. $150 is more than the average family of 4's shopping bill in the UK
I’ve never seen food being cheaper in Europe. Maybe eating out, but grocery store prices in France and Germany always seemed a bit high to me, though a bargain compared to Switzerland.
Huh? I was in California and food is not expensive at all in the supermarket there. And I'm not talking about Aldi quality food but organic.
Especially when you consider how much richer Californians are VS Europeans.
Maybe it's because California has got a performant agriculture.
Mostly housing, healthcare and education are more expensive in the US but consumer prices are generally significantly lower. Check numbeo.
I was really surprised how expensive basic food is in New York compared to UK[0]. Things like fruit, veg, cheese, cereal were more than twice the price. The only things that were cheaper were hotdogs and hotdogs buns. Eating out is very expensive in scandinavia but I don’t think supermarket food is expensive compared to the US.
[0] Prices at the large supermarkets don’t vary much if at all between shops across the UK
Where are you getting a fixation on groceries from a comment that talks about "almost anything" being more expensive? Real estate is more expensive in France too, it's actually among the most expensive in Europe.
Sure, if it were cheaper then less of your money would go towards your mortgage. And if wages in France were cheaper than in Germany upkeep and repairs would be cheaper. And if English were their national language, you'd not have to learn French. None of that is true of course but if it were we could rave about it on HN.
You are saying that we don't do food better because it's more expensive? But it's expensive to you. The local purchasing power in Denmark is higher than it in the US. To Danish people (such as myself), it doesn't feel expensive. Although, it doesn't feel cheap either. We are quite aware that we have the third highest cost of living.
But seriously, food being expensive is not the same as not doing food right. The few times I've been in the US, I've always been disappointed about the food available in supermarkets. It's hard to find stuff such as good milk or butter.
Most western countries? I find the produce, especially if it's in season, is much cheaper than the produce in Canada, and it's fresher too. Food in the United States is ridiculously inexpensive.
What? I've shopped in the U.K., Spain, Greece, Switzerland and Sweden. The U.K. Was pretty much on par with the US for basic staples. The others were the same or more.
Unless your comparing to some boutique grocery in the US.
Notables with cheaper groceries are Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Poland, Ukraine.
[1] - http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Cost-of-livin...
reply