A weekly supermarket run is taking a bigger bite out of budgets than usual these days, but people in some parts of the country may be feeling sticker shock more than others. New research shows the states where a family of four is now paying the most for groceries, and some of them are surprising.
- The financial assistance experts from the nonprofit Ex Felons Support crunched the numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, which tracks grocery spending in all 50 states.
- They found that Hawaii tops the list, with a week of groceries for a family of four costing an estimated $389.66. That adds up to over $20-thousand a year ($20,262) at the supermarket alone.
- Alaska is second with $383.62 a week, or $19,948 a year.
- Both of these states face extreme challenges, since both import a large amount of food. Hawaii’s grocery prices tend to be about a third higher than the national average.
- But some of the states where Americans are spending the most on groceries are surprising, including Mississippi, which is fifth on the list. It tends to have lower grocery prices overall, as well as one of the lowest median household incomes in the U.S.
The 10 States Where A Family of Four Spends the Most on Groceries
- Hawaii — $389.66 a week / $20,262 a year
- Alaska — $383.62 a week / $19,948 a year
- California — $347.45 a week / $18,067 a year
- Nevada — $343.99 a week / $17,887 a year
- Mississippi — $339.18 a week / $17,637 a year
- Washington — $335.71 a week / $17,457 a year
- Florida — $335.24 a week / $17,432 a year
- New Mexico — $334.22 a week / $17,379 a year
- Texas — $333.98 a week / $17,367 a year
- Louisiana — $330.20 a week / $17,170 a year
Source: NY Post