Here’s how much more chocolate costs in NYC than the rest of the US
From rent to groceries to transportation, everything seemingly costs more in New York City, and apparently our chocolate-eating habits are not exempt from that fact. (NYC is one of the most expensive cities to be happy in the US, after all, and what sparks more happiness than chocolate?)
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According to a new report from consumer resource site CouponBirds, NYC residents pay more for chocolate than the rest of the country—way more. In fact, a regular old bar of chocolate will cost a New Yorker 20.66% above the national average, per the study’s findings. For example, when compared to the national average, Hershey’s milk chocolate has a 23.11% price premium in New York City; Dove milk chocolate Promises cost 30.62% more here and snack-sized Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are 22.49% higher.
For their report, the CouponBirds team researched the price by ounce of the most popular chocolate products at Target in America’s biggest cities using data from Instacart. They then calculated the average price per ounce for each product by brand for each city and state and compared them to the national average to find the local premium on branded chocolate goods.
So what’s the reason for the price discrepancy between NYC and other major American cities? In New York, the price of cocoa beans reached a record $5,500 per metric ton in February, per the study. Gothamites also have to deal with “grocers that face high rental and running costs in addition to the delivery delays and limited storage space associated with an urban center of this density.”
In fact, New York State overall is the second most expensive state in the country when it comes to chocolate prices, with mark-ups being 10.70% higher than the national average. The priciest chocolate-loving state? That designation goes to Hawaii, with the cost of the sweet treat being 12.90% higher than the national average of $0.75 per ounce. Meanwhile, chocolate is at its cheapest in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine, where it’s 3.64% less than the national average. Lucky!