How much are Americans spending on groceries?
When looking to move to a new area, it’s important to consider how much cost-of-living expenses will affect your budget. Grocery prices in particular have taken a big bite out of consumers’ incomes in recent years.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, American households spent an average of $1,174 per month on groceries in Oct. 2023, up from $1,108 in Nov. 2022. That marks an average increase of nearly 6% in nearly a year, but grocery bills in 24 states grew even more rapidly during that period.
With grocery prices spiking over such a short period, were wages able to keep up across the U.S.? To find out, ConsumerAffairs compiled 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau on household spending and income to determine how much of consumers’ wages were spent on groceries and where in the U.S. spending increased or decreased the most.
U.S. households spent an average of 13% of their monthly income on groceries in 2023.
Jump to insightHawaii residents spent the most on groceries, averaging $1,451 per month, while Wisconsin residents spent the least, at $962 per month.
Jump to insightNew Mexico saw the biggest increase in grocery costs between 2022 and 2023, rising over 20% from $1,034 to $1,244. Meanwhile, West Virginia experienced the largest decrease, with grocery bills dropping nearly 8% from $1,129 to $1,039.
Jump to insightAmong 15 of the biggest U.S. metropolitan areas, Miami had the highest average monthly grocery bill in 2023, at around $1,425.
Jump to insightHave wages kept up with rising food costs?
Consumer prices constantly shift in the U.S. due to factors like inflation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not a cause for concern.
“When households are complaining about the cost of living rising and the cost of groceries in particular, they’re not imagining things,” David Andolfatto, an economics professor at the University of Miami, told ConsumerAffairs.
In terms of wages, households spent an average of 13% of their monthly income on groceries in 2023. That was a slight increase from 12% in 2022, the year price increases recently peaked and began to slow down.
Andolfatto said wages have grown in recent years to keep pace with higher grocery bills. Nearly every state saw an increase of 1% or less in the share of household income going to groceries between 2022 and 2023. However, grocery prices are still a major pain point for Americans following a spike in inflation driven by economic shocks from the coronavirus pandemic. In 2023, 29 states spent a higher share of household income on groceries than the national average.
Southern states feel the strain
Although inflation has come down in recent years after skyrocketing in 2022, many Americans feel that grocery prices are still too high today. Seventy-four percent of the people surveyed by the U.S. Census Bureau in August and September 2024 said they felt prices of key goods and services, including groceries, had increased over the previous two months. Only 31% said they had no difficulty paying for these weekly expenses.
Andolfatto told ConsumerAffairs that the pain from grocery bills is felt especially in poorer states with lower average incomes, such as in the South, where a bigger share of wages go to necessities like groceries, rents and mortgages. However, he said many lower-paid workers have seen historically high wage growth between 2019 and 2023.
“The question is: Have we caught up and are we back on this general downward trend?” he said.
Grocery spending differs across the U.S.
Hawaii and Alaska, known for expensive food due to import costs and limited agriculture, had the highest average monthly grocery bills in 2023, at around $1,451 and $1,428, respectively. The states with the next highest grocery bills were California ($1,294), Nevada ($1,281) and Mississippi ($1,263).
Mississippi had the highest share of residents’ income going to groceries, which may be partly due to a new 7% tax on food sales. State residents spent an average of around 20% of their monthly income on groceries in 2023. Louisiana and New Mexico residents spent the next highest share of their incomes on groceries that year, at 18% and 17%, respectively. Other states with similar marks included Oklahoma (17%), Arkansas (17%), Alabama (17%) and Kentucky (16%).
Conversely, residents in New Hampshire spent the lowest share of their monthly incomes on groceries in 2023, at around 10%. That followed a trend among other Northeastern states, which fall on the higher end of U.S. household incomes. Massachusetts and New Jersey residents also spent 10% of their monthly incomes on groceries in 2023.
State | Monthly grocery bill (2023) | Monthly income (2023) | Percentage of monthly income spent on groceries (2023) |
---|---|---|---|
United States | $1,174 | $9,097 | 13% |
Alabama | $1,180 | $7,128 | 17% |
Alaska | $1,428 | $9,517 | 15% |
Arizona | $1,181 | $8,718 | 14% |
Arkansas | $1,134 | $6,755 | 17% |
California | $1,294 | $11,208 | 12% |
Colorado | $1,217 | $10,382 | 12% |
Connecticut | $1,155 | $10,917 | 11% |
Delaware | $1,070 | $9,124 | 12% |
Florida | $1,248 | $8,636 | 14% |
Georgia | $1,209 | $8,596 | 14% |
Hawaii | $1,451 | $10,393 | 14% |
Idaho | $1,119 | $8,221 | 14% |
Illinois | $1,171 | $9,244 | 13% |
Indiana | $1,039 | $7,658 | 14% |
Iowa | $988 | $7,829 | 13% |
Kansas | $1,090 | $7,815 | 14% |
Kentucky | $1,106 | $6,958 | 16% |
Louisiana | $1,229 | $6,942 | 18% |
Maine | $1,086 | $8,096 | 13% |
Maryland | $1,156 | $10,781 | 11% |
Massachusetts | $1,182 | $11,543 | 10% |
Michigan | $1,027 | $7,817 | 13% |
Minnesota | $1,089 | $9,441 | 12% |
Mississippi | $1,263 | $6,359 | 20% |
Missouri | $1,062 | $7,756 | 14% |
Montana | $1,071 | $7,839 | 14% |
Nebraska | $1,022 | $8,439 | 12% |
Nevada | $1,281 | $8,589 | 15% |
New Hampshire | $1,040 | $10,375 | 10% |
New Jersey | $1,194 | $11,513 | 10% |
New Mexico | $1,244 | $7,149 | 17% |
New York | $1,158 | $10,186 | 11% |
North Carolina | $1,157 | $8,178 | 14% |
North Dakota | $1,152 | $8,194 | 14% |
Ohio | $1,103 | $7,792 | 14% |
Oklahoma | $1,213 | $7,138 | 17% |
Oregon | $1,083 | $8,935 | 12% |
Pennsylvania | $1,082 | $8,548 | 13% |
Rhode Island | $1,112 | $9,424 | 12% |
South Carolina | $1,105 | $7,715 | 14% |
South Dakota | $1,114 | $8,054 | 14% |
Tennessee | $1,175 | $7,848 | 15% |
Texas | $1,243 | $8,879 | 14% |
Utah | $1,210 | $9,813 | 12% |
Vermont | $1,084 | $8,828 | 12% |
Virginia | $1,129 | $10,261 | 11% |
Washington | $1,250 | $10,763 | 12% |
West Virginia | $1,039 | $6,382 | 16% |
Wisconsin | $962 | $8,158 | 12% |
Wyoming | $1,105 | $7,775 | 14% |
How grocery bills have changed in U.S. states
New Mexico experienced the biggest increase in average monthly grocery bills, rising around 20% to $1,244 in 2023 from $1,034 in 2022. The states with the next-highest increases were North Dakota (16%), Colorado (16%) and Oklahoma (15%). Reports suggest New Mexico has higher grocery prices than its neighbors because it has a smaller population and smaller grocery stores that struggle to compete with bigger chains.
West Virginia residents saw the biggest decrease in grocery bills. Those costs fell by approximately 8%, to $1,040 in 2023 from $1,129 in 2022. West Virginia was among only seven states that saw grocery bills go down year over year, but the other states on that list saw more modest decreases. They include New Jersey (4%), Hawaii (2%) and Alabama (1%).
Cities with the highest grocery prices
Among 15 of the biggest U.S. metropolitan areas, Miami had the highest average monthly grocery bill in 2023, at around $1,425, and the highest share of income spent on groceries, at 15%. The cities with the next-highest share of monthly income on groceries included Riverside, California (14%), Houston (14%) and Detroit (13%). The average increase in monthly grocery bills from 2022 to 2023 among metropolitan areas was around 12%.
San Francisco, which had the top household income of $15,323 in 2023, is known for people dining out — it had the lowest share of money going to groceries, at 9%. It nearly tied with Washington, D.C. (9%) and Boston (9%).
How grocery bills have changed in U.S. cities
Average monthly grocery bills shot up nearly 19% in the Houston metropolitan area to around $1,315 in 2023 from $1,108 in 2022. The cities with the next-highest increases included San Francisco (17%), Miami (16%) and Chicago (15%).
Various factors influence differences in grocery costs from city to city, including rent, labor and differences in shopper preferences for certain foods, according to the U.S Department of Agriculture.
Only Riverside and New York had declines in grocery bills, at 2% and 0.12%, respectively.
Final thoughts: What to know if you live in an area with high food costs
Whether you're planning to move to a new area or already live somewhere with high grocery prices, several strategies can help you manage food expenses and stay within your budget. You can start saving money by creating a weekly meal plan and shopping list based on your budget and what’s already in your pantry to avoid unnecessary purchases. Use coupons, store loyalty cards and weekly specials to maximize savings. Shopping for store-brand products and buying in bulk for non-perishables or frozen foods can also stretch your food dollars.
Methodology
ConsumerAffairs reviewed two Household Pulse surveys by the U.S. Census Bureau that asked about weekly food spending in states and major metropolitan areas in Oct. 2023 and Nov. 2022.
We multiplied the average weekly dollar amounts for “food prepared at home” to represent what is spent on groceries every month and then divided by the average household monthly incomes estimated by the U.S. Census for 2022 and 2023 to determine the share of income going to groceries.
We then ranked states and cities by their share of income going to groceries and calculated percent and dollar changes between 2022 and 2023 to draw comparisons.
Reference policy
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References
- U.S. Census Bureau, “Week 63 Household Pulse Survey: October 18 - October 30.” Accessed Oct. 1, 2024.Link Here
- U.S. Census Bureau, “Week 51 Household Pulse Survey: November 2 - November 14.” Accessed Oct. 1, 2024.Link Here
- U.S. Census Bureau, “Phase 4.2 Cycle 09 Household Pulse Survey: August 20 – September 16.” Accessed Oct. 1, 2024.Link Here
- U.S. Census Bureau, “Income in the Past 12 Months (in 2023 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars).” Accessed Oct. 1, 2024.Link Here
- U.S. Census Bureau, “Income in the Past 12 Months (in 2022 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars).” Accessed Oct. 1, 2024.Link Here