U.S. households that earn less spend a higher share of income on food

Households spend more money on food as their incomes rise, but the amount spent represents a smaller share of their overall budgets. U.S. households were divided into five equal groups, or quintiles, by household income. Households in the lowest income quintile had an average after-tax income of $16,171 and spent an average of $5,278 on food (about $102 a week) in 2023, which amounted to 32.6 percent of their income. Households in the middle income quintile had an after-tax income of $66,606 and spent an average of $8,989 on food (about $173 a week), representing 13.5 percent of their income. Households in the highest income quintile, with an average after-tax income of $211,042, spent an average of $16,996 on food (about $327 a week) in 2023. The share of income spent on food for that group was much smaller at 8.1 percent. As households gain more disposable income, they often shift to more expensive food options, including dining out. Food spending as a share of income rose across all income quintiles in 2023, as food prices increased faster than the overall inflation rate of 4.1 percent. Total food prices increased 5.8 percent in 2023, and food-at-home (grocery) prices increased 5.0 percent. However, despite higher-than-average food price increases from 2020–23, households’ share of income spent on food in 2023 was lower than in 2019 for the lowest three income quintiles and slightly higher for the highest two income quintiles. This chart appears in the Food Prices and Spending section of the USDA, Economic Research Service’s Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials data product.

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