Is Your Starbucks Habit Killing Your Budget?

The cost of a cup of coffee is a hot topic these days. With the economy in seemingly constant flux, it’s a little luxury that often gets maligned as one of the first expenses to cut in order to save money. Don’t worry, coffee lovers, that notion has long been debunked. However, it’s wise to understand exactly how much that daily cup costs you, and it turns out that amount depends entirely on where you live. 

In early May, Coffeeness, a website that is entirely dedicated to coffee, released the findings of its analysis that examined exactly how many minutes Americans must work to afford their daily coffee.

To reach its conclusion, the team gathered the average price of a regular coffee and a Starbucks coffee in each state. It then used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify average hourly earnings in each state. (It noted it “refrained from using minimum wage data, seeing as coffee is considered a non-essential purchase.”) Next, it assumed the purchase of “one cup of coffee per day from a coffee shop,” which it defined as “coffee from a diner or coffee shop without creamer, flavorings, or add-ons.” It also excluded specialty coffee and espresso from boutique roasters. The team then calculated how much of an hour’s wage was needed to afford that cup.

After all that digging into data, it was found that Hawaii has the most expensive cup of coffee.

“It’s to be expected that coffee prices by state will differ somewhat. Still, Hawaii really stands out as the state with the most expensive cup of joe,” the findings stated. It noted that on average, a cup of black coffee costs $4.98, or “more than a dollar more than you’ll pay in California.” And while Hawaii’s average hourly wage is a healthy $37.88, that doesn’t help offset much of the cost when viewed as a percentage of an hour of work. “In fact, the cost of a coffee equals over 13% of an hour’s work. In other words, it takes almost eight minutes of work to pony up for a cup.”

Other expensive spots include New Mexico at No. 2, where a cup costs $3.31, which represents 6.82 minutes of work, followed by Louisiana at $3.26 per cup, or 6.57 minutes; Arizona at $3.51 per cup, or 6.13 minutes; and Nevada at $3.23, or 6.11 minutes.

“Another state with expensive regular coffee is Washington,” the findings added. “However, thanks to all those tech jobs, workers in this state are among the highest hourly earners in the USA. In fact, they only need to put in a 5.25-minute shift to pay for a cup of regular coffee.” 

When it comes to the most affordable spot for coffee, that honor goes to Nebraska, where the average cup costs $2.12. And, with the state’s average hourly wage of $32.82, it takes less than four minutes for locals to earn enough to pay for a cup.

Starbucks, despite being a global brand, varies widely in affordability across the United States. In some states, notably Arkansas, the chain’s coffee is shockingly out of reach relative to local wages. Arkansas doesn’t have the priciest Starbucks brew, but it ranks as the least affordable: residents must work for well over 10 minutes to afford a single cup. Mississippi and New Mexico also stand out, where low average wages paired with relatively high Starbucks prices mean over 17% of an hourly wage is needed to buy that coffeehouse staple.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Washington, D.C., tops the list for Starbucks affordability. Even though the price tag is one of the highest in the country, the capital’s strong average wages more than make up for it. With just 5.67 minutes of work required, D.C. residents get their caffeine fix with minimal effort — beating out even Massachusetts, the next most affordable state, where it takes nearly seven minutes of labor for the same cup.

There is at least one piece of good news for Hawaii: While regular coffee is the most expensive in the nation, Starbucks offers a relative bargain, ranking among the ten most affordable states for the brand. “Those employed in the Aloha State still have to spend close to eight minutes working for a cup of Starbucks,” the analysis shared. “However, in comparison, Hawaii has some of the most affordable Starbucks around, outranked by only nine other states.”  

States where Starbucks costs the least
STATE	PRICE	AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS	AFFORDABILITY	MINUTES TO WORK
District of Columbia	$5.20	$55.02	9.45%	5.67
Massachusetts	$4.75	$42.65	11.14%	6.68
Washington	$4.78	$42.17	11.34%	6.80
Connecticut	$4.75	$39.14	12.14%	7.28
Colorado	$4.92	$40.31	12.21%	7.32
California	$5.07	$40.97	12.37%	7.42
New Jersey	$4.77	$38.36	12.43%	7.46
Maryland	$4.47	$35.90	12.45%	7.47
Minnesota	$4.93	$39.01	12.65%	7.58
Hawaii	$4.79	$37.88	12.65%	7.59