(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.
While the average was just over $3 for a regular coffee, that price varied greatly across the U.S. Restaurants in the West, for example, were most likely to charge closer to $4 for a cup of coffee, Toast determined.
Nowhere was coffee more expensive than Hawaii, where the average price was nearly $5 between January and March. California had the second-highest average coffee price at $3.88.
If you’re looking for 2004-priced coffee, you’ll need to head to Nebraska, where the average cost was $2.12, according to Toast’s analysis.
The interactive map below shows how much a cup of coffee will set you back in each state, based on Toast’s data.
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.
You’ll need to travel well across the country to West Virginia to find the cheapest average cold brew at $4.61. But, if you’re getting coffee in Nebraska, you could travel south to Kansas and pick up a cold brew for roughly the same price at $4.63.
Maybe you’re more of a latte drinker. Hawaii and Alaska restaurants charged the most for those, Toast determined, coming in at $6.69 and $6.09, respectively. They were the only states with average latte prices above $6. The national average in Toast’s data was $5.46.
Kansas was, again, on the lower end, with an average latte cost of $5.09.
The company attributes Hawaii’s remoteness, as well as Alaska’s, for the high costs of its beverages. Kansas, meanwhile, has frequently ranked as one of the more affordable places to live.
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. But costs at your favorite coffee shop may still feel expensive.
Earlier this month, Starbucks rolled out its own value menu in an attempt to win back budget-conscious consumers. That includes a tall hot or iced coffee or tea with a butter croissant, which starts at $5 — far more than you probably would have paid in 2004.
