America’s cheapest city to grab a cheeseburger, fries and soda isn’t where you’d expect

A cheeseburger, fries and a soda remain one of America's classic comfort meals, but what Americans pay for that combo depends heavily on where they live, according to the so-called Cheeseburger Index.

A new DoorDash State of Local Commerce report, which compares the average price of a cheeseburger, fries and a soda across U.S. cities, found the average price of the meal is lowest in Austin, Texas, at $12.94.

DoorDash said cities in the South and Southeast tend to be more affordable because of structurally lower operating costs, helping the region rank well across both grocery and restaurant price indexes.

The highest cost topped out in Anchorage, Alaska at $28.28 for the same meal, according to the report.

The 10 best-value cities in the study are concentrated in the Midwest and Texas, with four cities in the Lone Star State making the list — Laredo, Texas ($13.39), Lincoln, Nebraska ($13.86), Detroit ($14.99) and Philadelphia ($15.41) rounded out the top five.

The rankings come as eating out continues to get more expensive, even as prices for many grocery and household staples have stabilized.

DoorDash found the average price of a cheeseburger, fries and soda climbed 3.2% over the past year.

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While rising beef prices have drawn attention this year, DoorDash said higher restaurant prices appear to reflect broader operating costs — including labor, rent and energy — rather than food costs alone.

Local labor markets and operating expenses also help explain why the same meal costs less than $13 in Austin than in Anchorage where it's more than double that cost.

"There isn't one economy. There are a lot of local economies," Jessica Lachs, chief analytics officer at DoorDash, told Fox News Digital.

She said the Cheeseburger Index was designed to illustrate how those local differences translate into everyday prices for consumers.

"Really, the story here is local variation," Lachs said. "The same basket of goods — a cheeseburger, fries and a drink — costs $12.94 on average in Austin, Texas, but $28.28 in Anchorage, Alaska. Same basket, same quarter, but a very different local reality."

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The Cheeseburger Index is one of three affordability measures included in the State of Local Commerce Report. DoorDash also publishes a Breakfast Basics Index, which tracks the cost of common breakfast items, and an Everyday Essentials Index, which measures the price of household staples. 

Sections of the report found prices for many household essentials remained relatively flat, while some grocery items have begun climbing again.

Egg prices, which helped pull grocery costs lower earlier this year, have eased, but avocado and milk prices rose 12.4% and 8.3%, respectively, from the previous quarter.

"The Cheeseburger Index is a really great way to distill the information into a simple, fun and relatable metric," Lachs said.

"If you were to place that same order for a cheeseburger, fries and a drink every month, how much would it cost you? It's a great way to showcase price changes," she added.