A TikToker Shared Grocery Prices In Alaska & You Don't Want To Know How Much Milk Costs
If you've been complaining about inflation and the soaring cost of your groceries lately, consider yourself lucky that you don't have to buy milk in Alaska.
An American living in rural Alaska is spilling all the tea on TikTok about the price of groceries there, and let's just say the sticker shock is real.
The user, Emily, recently posted a video to her account showing how much everything costs at her grocery store and one carton of cow's milk is actually tagged at a whopping US $18.29 (CA $23.53).
I don't even want to know how much a carton of oat milk costs.
The video has already amassed over 3.5 million views, with many users in shock over just how expensive the basics are at Emily's store.
A block of cheddar, for instance, is listed at US $24.99 (CA $32.15).
@emilyinalaska_ $18 for milk 🥴 #alaskatok #ruralalaska #fyp #ASOSChaoticToCalm #groceryprices
Other grocery items were not any better. Coffee-Mate coffee creamer is priced at US $13.19 (CA $16.97), deli ham and turkey meat are $10.29 (CA $13.24), salsa is $7.99 (CA $10.28) and coffee beans are anywhere between $15.69 (CA $20.19) to $29.99 (CA $38.59).
"Goods are priced higher since they have to travel farther by plane or barge to get to rural areas," Emily wrote in a caption over the video.
"The cost of living in Alaska is 24% higher than the national average," she added.
That's in the right ballpark but the cost of living is actually 26% higher in Alaska, according to RentCafe, a site dedicated to sharing costs in various parts of the USA.
People in the comments were stunned by all the prices in Emily's store, and many brought up that the hourly minimum wage clearly can't keep up with the cost of food.
One user commented: "You gotta basically work 2hrs to afford a block of cheese?"
It turns out that even 2 hours of work wouldn't cut it to buy a block of cheddar in Alaska since the minimum wage is only $10.34, according to Alaska's Department of Labor and Workforce Development website.
"$10.34 min wage means that there's a lot of food insecurity there," said another commenter.
Another user said: "I'd simply be having sleep for dinner."
Note to self: don't move to Alaska.
