9 States Where Retirees Are Spending the Most on Groceries

For retirees on a fixed income, every little expense counts. While it can be easy to avoid discretionary expenses like world cruises or brand-new cars, there’s no getting around spending on necessities like groceries.

This is such a big expense that for some retirees, it can actually make sense to live in a different state to make life more affordable. Data shows that the average annual cost of groceries in the United States is $4,797. However, in some states, that cost can be more than 26% higher. And for some seniors, there’s not enough wiggle room to allow for this type of increased expense.

However, it’s important to remember that grocery expenses don’t exist in a vacuum. Some states that have very high grocery expenses, for example, have lower overall costs, allowing retirees to balance their budgets with a few adjustments.

Minnesota, for example, has the 15th-highest grocery expense in the nation, running about $110 above the national average. But the overall annual expenditures in the state run more than $3,000 below the national average, meaning retirees can likely more than absorb the higher-than-average grocery costs.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the 10 states where retirees are spending the most on groceries.

• Annual groceries expenditures: $6,068.21

Alaska is known for having higher costs than most states in the Union, due in large part to its location far away from the U.S. continental mainland. Weather also plays a factor in the grocery costs in Alaska. Although the state has plenty of wide-open land, its harsh winters make it a tough state in which to build a thriving agricultural industry. Overall, grocery costs are the highest in the nation, running more than 26% above the national average.

• Annual groceries expenditures: $5,953.08

Hawaii has a thriving agricultural industry, but it’s actually cheaper for the state to import most of its food. Even still, grocery costs are through the roof, roughly $100 per month more than the national average.

Of course, Hawaii residents can’t seem to catch a break anywhere, as the state is the most expensive in the country in terms of overall expenses, averaging a whopping $107,657.12 per year.

• Annual groceries expenditures: $5,387.03

According to the USDA, California is America’s greatest producer of agricultural products (crops and livestock), contributing over 13% of the entire nation’s output, including half of its nuts, fruits and vegetables. But this doesn’t seem to be keeping a lid on grocery costs in the state, where its residents pay more than 12% more than the national average.

• Annual groceries expenditures: $5,204.75

Oregon has some of the lowest utility costs in the nation, coming in about $450 below the national average for the year. Grocery expenses eat up most of these savings, running about $408 above the national average.  

• Annual groceries expenditures: $5,195.15

Washington makes it a clean sweep for the West Coast in terms of expensive groceries, with Oregon and California — and Alaska and Nevada, if you want to expand the radius — joining the list as well. Just like Oregon, Washington has very low utility costs, but its higher grocery costs negate those savings.

• Annual groceries expenditures: $5,075.23

Overall annual expenses in Vermont are about $8,500 above the national average, making it a pricey state. Grocery costs alone are about 5% above the countrywide average, costing residents an additional $250 per year.

• Annual groceries expenditures: $5,041.65

While not in the league of states like Hawaii, California and Massachusetts, Maryland has very high housing costs, running about 42% above the national average. By comparison, grocery costs aren’t all that bad, although they do run 5% above the U.S. average. 

• Annual groceries expenditures: $5,022.46

Florida has higher-than-average expenses across the board, with utilities, healthcare, housing, groceries, and transportation costs all coming in above the national averages. However, it’s not an exorbitantly expensive state, as total annual expenditures run just about $1,800 above national norms.

• Annual groceries expenditures: $4,988.88

Considering how expensive it is to live in Masschusetts, groceries may seem downright affordable to its residents, even though they run 4% above the national average. By comparison, average annual expenses come in at a whopping $25,613 above the U.S. average, costing residents $83,431.17 per year. 

Methodology: In order to find how long $5,000,000 will last across the country, GOBankingRates first found (1) the national average annual expenditures for people 65 and older, sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Then, GOBankingRates created (2) state-level annual expenditure estimates by multiplying the national figure by each state’s overall cost of living index score for Q1 2024 from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Finally, GOBankingRates found (3) how many years $5,000,000 will last in each state by dividing $5,000,000 by each state’s average annual expenditures estimate. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were then ranked with No. 1 being the state where $5,000,000 will last the longest and No. 51 being the state where it will run out most quickly. GOBankingRates provided supplemental information on the average annual cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and healthcare for people 65 and older in each state by again using MERIC’s cost of living indices for each category to factor out national estimates from the CEX. All data was collected on and up to date as of July 10, 2024.