With grocery prices climbing to nearly 30% over the past five years, WalletHub, the personal-finance company, has released its latest report on the States Where People Spend the Most & Least on Groceries. The report sheds light on where Americans are feeling the biggest pinch when it comes to food costs.
WalletHub examined the prices of 26 common grocery items across all 50 states, then compared the total cost to each state’s median household income to see where people are spending the largest share of their income on groceries.
| Highest % of Income Spent | Lowest % of Income Spent | |
| 1. Mississippi (2.60%) | 41. California (1.66%) | |
| 2. West Virginia (2.54%) | 42. Washington (1.66%) | |
| 3. Arkansas (2.44%) | 43. Virginia (1.63%) | |
| 4. Louisiana (2.38%) | 44. Colorado (1.61%) | |
| 5. Kentucky (2.37%) | 45. Connecticut (1.61%) | |
| 6. Alabama (2.33%) | 46. Utah (1.58%) | |
| 7. New Mexico (2.30%) | 47. New Hampshire (1.56%) | |
| 8. Oklahoma (2.22%) | 48. Maryland (1.55%) | |
| 9. South Carolina (2.21%) | 49. New Jersey (1.51%) | |
| 10. Tennessee (2.19%) | 50. Massachusetts (1.51%) | |
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
“While grocery prices have gone up tremendously in recent years, the states in which people spend the greatest percentage of their income on groceries actually aren’t those with the highest prices. Instead, the median incomes in these states are quite low, so even with reasonable grocery prices, residents end up shelling out a higher percentage of their earnings than people in states with more expensive products.”
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“People in Mississippi spend the most on groceries, which have an average cost of 2.6% of the median monthly household income, the highest percentage in the country. Interestingly, grocery prices in Mississippi are actually relatively low – the sixth-cheapest in the nation. The main problem lies in the fact that Mississippi has the lowest median annual household income in America, at just $54,915. So even with relatively low grocery prices overall, Mississippians are spending a higher percentage of their income on groceries than people in any other state.”
- Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst
Expert Commentary
What tips do you have to help people avoid overspending on groceries?
“Unless you only need a small amount of an item, it's usually better to focus on price per unit, rather than the total price of the item you're buying. A six-pack costing $10 is more costly than a 12-pack costing $16, for example. It's also a good idea to consider the nutritional value of what you're getting. Ramen is famously cheap, for instance, but a baked potato will get you more nutrition per dollar.”
JP Krahel, CPA, Ph.D. – Professor, Loyola University Maryland
“Budgeting is key, but it’s really hard to stay on budget if you don’t know whether your needs have a chance of fitting within it. So, beyond having a budget that helps you avoid impulse purchases, you need to plan a shopping list. You can reduce food waste and ensure your list is targeted to your actual food needs if you create that list by identifying what you need for meals for, say, a week. You can further reduce impulse purchases by allowing yourself (but minimizing) certain snack purchases and by avoiding shopping while hungry (you’ll want more) or under time constraints (you won’t be able to price compare as well). In store, you may also consider having substitutes in mind in case something is on sale or cheaper – you can swap out one protein for another in some dishes, or if the central element of a dish just went way up in price, think about what other dish you could substitute. Also, realize that private labels (i.e., store brands) are sometimes virtually the same product as national brands; you may have some products for which you want to stick with national brands, but experiment to find out where you can regularly economize.”
Daniel Villanova, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, University of Arkansas
How important is budgeting when it comes to saving money on groceries?
“Budgeting is huge with groceries, mostly because people don’t realize how much they’re spending. Food spending is sneaky. It’s spread across grocery stores, coffee stops, Target runs, and delivery apps. Without a budget, it all blends together and feels smaller than it is. A grocery budget isn’t about eating the cheapest food possible. It’s about knowing your number. Once you know roughly what you can spend each week or month, your decisions change. You start asking, ‘Is this worth it?’ instead of just throwing things in the cart. Budgeting also helps with trade-offs. Maybe you spend more on quality groceries, but you cut back on food delivery. Or you keep meals simple during the week so you can eat out on weekends without guilt. Without a budget, every decision feels emotional. With a budget, it’s just math. Meal planning makes budgeting easier, and budgeting makes meal planning realistic. When you plan meals, grocery spending becomes predictable. When it’s predictable, you stop feeling like food expenses are constantly getting away from you. The other thing budgeting does is reduce stress. When people say groceries feel expensive, a lot of the time they mean unpredictable. A budget gives you boundaries. You don’t have to be perfect — you just have to be consistent enough that food stops being a constant financial surprise.”
Stephen Heath – Professor, College of San Mateo
“Budgeting is central to grocery savings because food spending is one of the most frequent and flexible household expenses. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey show that the average U.S. household spends roughly 12 – 13% of total expenditures on food, split between groceries and dining out. Without a defined budget, grocery spending tends to drift upward gradually due to small, repeated overages rather than one-time large purchases. A grocery budget creates a reference point that improves decision-making at the margin – such as choosing between convenience foods and basic ingredients. Behavioral research consistently shows that households with category-specific budgets are more likely to compare prices, delay discretionary food purchases, and reduce waste. Importantly, budgeting does not require extreme precision. Even a simple weekly or monthly grocery cap, reviewed periodically, can meaningfully reduce overspending by increasing awareness and accountability.”
Ali Muqadas Jaffri, Ph.D., CFA – Assistant Professor of Practice, North Dakota State University
How do you think the current social and economic environment is influencing household spending on groceries decisions?
“Uncertainty always raises stress levels, especially when it's for a basic necessity like food. I worry that people may elect to hoard perishable food and let it go to waste out of an unnecessary abundance of caution. If you're going to overbuy in preparation for worse times, focus on shelf-stable goods.”
JP Krahel, CPA, Ph.D. – Professor, Loyola University Maryland
“The current economic environment is exerting significant upward pressure on grocery spending while simultaneously changing how households’ shop. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, food-at-home prices rose sharply during 2022–2023 and, while inflation has moderated, price levels remain elevated relative to pre-pandemic norms. This has forced households to adjust not only how much they spend, but what they buy. Higher interest rates and housing costs have also tightened household budgets, making grocery spending one of the few categories where consumers feel they can actively economize. As a result, USDA and Census data indicate a shift toward cheaper protein sources, increased reliance on discount grocers, and reduced purchases of premium or convenience foods. Socially, time constraints and dual-income households continue to increase demand for convenience, but price sensitivity has tempered this trend. Many households are balancing convenience against cost by cooking more meals at home while simplifying meal choices. Overall, grocery decisions today are shaped by a combination of persistent price pressure, tighter household cash flow, and heightened consumer price awareness, rather than short-term inflation alone.”
Ali Muqadas Jaffri, Ph.D., CFA – Assistant Professor of Practice, North Dakota State University
6 Tips for Saving on Your Groceries
- Budget carefully: Creating a budget will help you determine how much money you’re able to spend on groceries, which can keep you from splurging and making impulse purchases that would put you over the limit.
- Use the right credit card: Getting one of the best credit cards for groceries can save you anywhere from 1.5% to 6% at checkout. That adds up quickly, and can help to offset how much prices have inflated in recent years.
- Take advantage of discounts: In addition to regular sales, many grocery stores offer coupons on items. You just need to be willing to find them and redeem them at checkout. Some stores also offer discounts that are exclusive to members of their free loyalty programs, so you should make sure to join these programs.
- Buy store-brand items: Many store-brand products are virtually identical to name-brand foods in taste but cost significantly less. You can save a ton of money by replacing most goods with generic products.
- Look for clearance items: Some stores will put items that are close to their sell-by date on steep discount to avoid having to throw them away. As long as you use the food relatively quickly, it’ll still be perfectly good.
- Buy in bulk: Warehouse stores offer groceries in bulk at far lower prices than it would cost to buy the same number of items individually. Getting a membership to one of these stores is especially worthwhile for people with big families.
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