Inflation 2023: Cities Spending the Most — and Least — on Groceries

The high cost of buying groceries is no surprise to American shoppers, who have watched the price of staples go up along with inflation in the wake of the pandemic. Still, even as inflation has started to ease, the U.S. Labor Department reported that food costs climbed 0.2 percent in May from the previous month.

To get an idea of how big of an expense groceries are for Americans, GOBankingRates identified where households are spending the most and least to put food on the table. First, GOBankingRates found the average annual U.S. household expenditure on food at home using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Then, Sperling’s Best Places’ grocery cost index rating for the 50 biggest cities was used to calculate the average amount spent on groceries in each of those cities annually.

On average, Americans shell out $5,259 annually — $202.27 per biweekly paycheck — on food prepared at home. The top 10 cities where annual grocery spending was higher than the national average were identified as cities that spend the most on groceries. The top 10 cities with the lowest annual grocery spending below the national average were identified as cities that spend the least.

Read on to see how much grocery spending varies from city to city and how it compares to your own grocery spending. If your spending is high, you might need to find ways to be more strategic about grocery purchases.

In these cities, residents are accustomed to a high cost of living. In Sacramento, California, for example, the cost-of-living index is 21.6% above the national average. It follows, therefore, that grocery costs are higher in these 10 cities, too. Here, this group is ranked from lowest to highest spending on groceries.

• Population: 518,605
• Overall cost-of-living index: 121.6
• Grocery cost index: 104.8
• Total annual grocery spending: $5,511.43

• Population: 440,807
• Overall cost-of-living index: 122.4
• Grocery cost index: 107.3
• Total annual grocery spending: $5,642.91

• Population: 726,054
• Overall cost-of-living index: 168.0
• Grocery cost index: 108.7
• Total annual grocery spending: $5,716.53

• Population: 1,385,398
• Overall cost-of-living index: 160.4
• Grocery cost index: 109.7
• Total annual grocery spending: $5,769.12

• Population: 437,548
• Overall cost-of-living index: 176.5
• Grocery cost index: 111.3
• Total annual grocery spending: $6,131.99

• Population: 672,814
• Overall cost-of-living index: 153.4
• Grocery cost index: 111.4
• Total annual grocery spending: $5,853.27

• Population: 1,013,337
• Overall cost-of-living index: 215.0
• Grocery cost index: 113.7
• Total annual grocery spending: $5,979.48

• Population: 683,154
• Overall cost-of-living index: 150.6
• Grocery cost index: 114.1
• Total annual grocery spending: $6,000.52

• Population: 865,933
• Overall cost-of-living index: 244.0
• Grocery cost index: 116.6
• Total annual grocery spending: $6,131.99

• Population: 8,736,047
• Overall cost-of-living index: 168.6
• Grocery cost index: 116.6
• Total annual grocery spending: $6,131.99

The cost of groceries in these cities is lower than the national average, which plays a significant role in why grocery spending is lower in these places. Cities are listed from highest to lowest spending.

• Population: 538,167
• Overall cost-of-living index: 95.7
• Grocery cost index: 95.5
• Total annual grocery spending: $5,022.35

• Population: 394,574
• Overall cost-of-living index: 81.6
• Grocery cost index: 95.0
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,996.05

• Population: 410,652
• Overall cost-of-living index: 82.0
• Grocery cost index: 94.9
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,990.79

• Population: 673,183
• Overall cost-of-living index: 84.0
• Grocery cost index: 94.7
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,980.27

• Population: 880,104
• Overall cost-of-living index: 84.9
• Grocery cost index: 93.6
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,922.42

• Population: 634,139
• Overall cost-of-living index: 77.5
• Grocery cost index: 93.3
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,906.65

• Population: 578,198
• Overall cost-of-living index: 85.0
• Grocery cost index: 92.9
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,885.61

• Population: 676,395
• Overall cost-of-living index: 82.0
• Grocery cost index: 92.0
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,838.28

• Population: 1,434,540
• Overall cost-of-living index: 90.0
• Grocery cost index: 91.4
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,806.73

• Population: 645,658
• Overall cost-of-living index: 88.7
• Grocery cost index: 89.0
• Total annual grocery spending: $4,680.51

Cameron Huddleston contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: To find the most (and least) expensive groceries in U.S. cities, GOBankingRates gathered a list of the 50 most popular cities in the country sourced from the American Consumer Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. For each city, the grocery cost-of-living was sourced from Sperlings’ Best Places, then multiplied by the national average annual grocery expenditure cost sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey. GOBankingRates then analyzed the highest cost of living and lowest cost of living to find the resulting cities that spend the most and least on groceries. All data was collected and is up to date as of June 5, 2023.