You'll pay the most for coffee in these states, new report finds

(NEXSTAR) — The year was 2004. MySpace was the best social media site, movies like ‘Shrek 2’ and ‘Spider-Man 2’ were box office hits, and the newly-released Motorola Razr was the hottest piece of tech. 

You could also walk into a coffee shop and expect to pay less than $3 for a cup of coffee.

According to a report by GOBankingRates, the average cost of coffee in 2004 was just $2.15. At some places, it was even less than that — Starbucks made headlines for raising their prices in 2004, pushing a tall house blend from $1.40 to $1.50 (that’ll cost you roughly $3 these days).

Now, the national average for a regular cup of coffee is $3.08, according to a new report from Toast, a restaurant point of sale and management system. The company reviewed the restaurants that use its platform and analyzed their prices for regular coffees through the first few months of 2024. 

In New York, the average cup of coffee costs $3.24, ranking it the 16th most expensive state, according to the report.

Despite being above the national average, New York prices compare favorably to other states in the Northeast.

Based on data from Toast, the average price of a cup of coffee is higher in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont. All four states charge more than $3.30 for a cup of coffee, with Massachusetts being the most expensive at $3.49.

The interactive map below shows how much a cup of coffee will set you back in each state, based on Toast’s data.

Nowhere was coffee more expensive than in Hawaii, where the average price was nearly $5 between January and March. California had the second-highest average coffee price at $3.88. 

How fancy your coffee is will, of course, impact how much you pay. Let’s say you’re ordering a cold brew coffee. It’ll still be the most expensive in Hawaii, coming in at around $6.29, Toast found. California was close behind, with the average price just 10 cents lower. 

According to the latest Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, coffee prices (roasted and instant) were down about 2.5% in May over May 2023.