Groceries are continuing to take a large bite out of shoppers’ budgets, even as monthly food prices have dipped, but overall grocery prices remain higher than a year ago.
According to data from the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the cost of food at home went down in September by 0.1% but remained 1.8% higher than a year ago.
A new WalletHub study analyzed the U.S. cities where people spend the most and least on groceries. The study reviewed 26 common items in 100 cities and compared their costs with the median household income to determine where Americans spend the greatest percentage of their income on groceries.
Shoppers in Detroit Spend Most; Fremont, California, Spends Least
Detroit, Cleveland and Birmingham, Alabama, ranked as the top three cities where shoppers spend the largest share of their income on groceries for the second year in a row.
Three cities in California — Fremont, San Jose and San Francisco — remained the cities with the lowest grocery spending burdens, according to the analysis.
“The biggest commonality among the cities where residents spend the largest share of their income on groceries is that they tend to have lower household incomes, rather than exceptionally high grocery prices,” Chip Lupo, a writer and analyst with WalletHub, told USA TODAY.
Detroit has the lowest median annual household income in the country, at $39,938, while Cleveland has the second-lowest, at $40,801, Lupo said. However, Detroit’s grocery prices are the 39th-highest among the 100 cities in the study and Cleveland’s prices rank 41st.
“This shows that even average grocery prices can put a significant strain on household budgets when incomes are low,” he said. “Overall, the findings show that grocery affordability depends not just on prices at the checkout, but also on how much households earn.”
What Cities Spend the Most on Groceries?
Here are some results from WalletHub’s analysis, which ranked 100 U.S. cities based on where people spend the most and least on groceries. The top-ranked city had the most expensive groceries as a share of the median monthly household income.
- Detroit (4.03%)
- Cleveland (3.93%)
- Birmingham, Alabama (3.45%)
- Toledo, Ohio (3.20%)
- Newark, New Jersey (3.15%)
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana (3.11%)
- Buffalo, New York (3.10%)
- Memphis (3.07%)
- Cincinnati, Ohio (3.05%)
- Hialeah, Florida (2.99%)
What Cities Spend the Least on Groceries?
Here are the cities where shoppers spent the least on groceries:
91. Scottsdale (1.46%)92. Plano, Texas (1.46%)93. Seattle (1.44%)94. Huntington Beach, California (1.42%)95. Santa Clarita, California (1.34%)96. Gilbert, Arizona (1.32%)97. Irvine, California (1.21%)98. San Francisco (1.10%)99. San Jose, California (1.07%)100. Fremont, California (0.91%)
Some Cities Saw Big Swings
Lupo said the biggest surprise in this year’s analysis was how much some other cities’ rankings changed. Baton Rouge, Louisiana moved up from 11th place in 2025 to 6th in 2026 with grocery costs increasing from 2.86% to 3.11% of monthly household income.
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota also moved up in rankings from 67th to 56th and 44th to 33rd respectively.
In contrast, New York City fell from 47th to 64th with income share spent on groceries declining from 2.06% to 1.94% while Honolulu dropped from 46th to 70th, with spending going from 2.08% to 1.88%.
“Although the cities at the extremes remained largely the same, the relative burden of grocery costs changed in several places,” Lupo said.
Some Grocery Prices Are Higher, Lower Than a Month Ago
According to the latest CPI, released on Oct. 14, overall, the food at home index had some prices go up and some prices go down. Overall, the index fell by 0.1% in September.
The milk index fell the most — by 2% — while the beef index fell 1%. The carbonated drinks index rose 1.5% while the index for fruits and vegetables was up 0.5% and the index for cereals and bakery products rose by 0.1%.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which breaks down complex consumer and financial news. Subscribe here.
Reporting by Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY
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