What state spends the most on groceries? Hint: It’s actually not California
The cost of groceries across the nation has risen in recent years, moving quickly past income growth.
Since 2019, grocery prices have surged nearly 30%, according to the USDA. These increases on food and other essentials are forcing households to spend a larger portion of their income on necessities. And according to PBS, the increase in oil prices could drive up grocery costs if the higher prices stick around.
WalletHub analyzed the prices of 26 commonly purchased grocery items across all 50 states and compared the total cost with each state’s median household income to find where residents spend the largest portion of their income on groceries.
Here’s what to know:
What state spends the most on groceries?
Mississippi ranked at no. 1 in the country for the state that spends the most on groceries with 2.6% of residents’ median monthly household income going to purchasing groceries.
The Magnolia State’s grocery prices are relatively low, landing as the sixth cheapest in the nation, according to WalletHub.
Residents of Mississippi make among the lowest median household income in the nation, at just $54,915, offsetting the low cost of living and groceries.
“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,” according to WalletHub.
Where did California rank?
The Golden State ranked no. 41 with the cost of groceries resulting in 1.66% of the median monthly household income.
California has ranked among the most expensive states to live in and with it has the third most expensive groceries in the country following Hawaii and Alaska, according to data by Visual Capitalist.
Regardless of the cost of groceries, the median household income ranks as the fifth highest in the country, offsetting the heightened cost of groceries, according to U.S. News.
“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,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub writer and analyst. “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.”
What 10 states spend the most and least on groceries?
According to WalletHub, these are the 10 states that spend the most of their median household income on groceries. Many of the states at the top of this list are in the South.
- Mississippi - 2.6%
- West Virginia - 2.54%
- Arkansas - 2.44%
- Louisiana - 2.38%
- Kentucky - 2.37%
- Alabama - 2.33%
- New Mexico - 2.3%
- Oklahoma - 2.22%
- South Carolina - 2.21%
- Tennessee - 2.19%
The states that spend the smallest percentage of their household income are predominantly in the Northeast. The no. 1 state spends the smallest ratio on their groceries in the nation, according to WalletHub.
- Massachusetts - 1.51%
- New Jersey - 1.51%
- Maryland - 1.55%
- New Hampshire - 1.56%
- Utah - 1.58%
- Connecticut - 1.61%
- Colorado - 1.61%
- Virginia - 1.63%
- Washington - 1.66%
- California - 1.66%
Where did this data come from?
In order for WalletHub to gather enough data to determine the states that spend the most and least on groceries, the organization analyzed the price of 26 components ranging from meat, dairy, vegetables and fruits to frozen food and cleaning products across the 50 states, according to WalletHub.
WalletHub summed up the individual costs of the 26 components and adjusted the resulting figure to the median monthly income in each state, before using the results to rank order the sample.
