Are New Yorkers Spending This Much (Or Little) On Groceries?

It's been a hot topic for quite some time, and is on many people's minds these days as the new administration promised to get grocery prices down immediately. Obviously, things haven't trended in a downward direction, in fact CNBC reports that inflation in the month of January 2025 jumped 2.9% from December, making the fourth straight month of increases.

Between that, and the severe impact that the bird flu has had on our egg prices, New Yorkers, just like most everyone else, have been hyper focused on how much our regular grocery bills have been adding up to.

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When Compared To Other States...

Surprisingly, when compared to the rest of the states, New Yorkers didn't rank on the higher end when it comes to states spending the greatest percentage of their income on groceries. Of course, that could be heavily swayed by the average income across New York State.

People in the state of Mississippi ranked #1 on the list for 2025, sending an average of 2.6 of the median household income on groceries, however, Mississippi has the lowest 'median annual household income' in the states, $52,985.

Mississippi's number one ranking at 2.6, when compared to number 50, New Jersey, at 1.6% of the average income on grocery costs, is telling. The Census Bureau reports that the median household income in New Jersey between 2019 and 2023 was a little over $101,000.

SEE ALSO: When It Comes To Educated States, New York...

New York's Grocery Spending Habits

Ranking at number 35, the state of New York, nestled between North Dakota and Illinois, spends an average of 1.87% of the annual household income on groceries. The US Census Bureau reports that between 2019 and 2023 the medan household income in the state was $79,713.

With those figures in mind, WalletHub indicated that the average cost of groceries in New York state, currently, is $126.59. Residents are 3rd when it comes to average price of soft drinks, 4th for bananas, and 17th for average price of potatoes and ground beef when compared to the rest of the states.

In order to compile these statistics, WalletHub looked at the prices of 26 common grocery items in each of the 50 states, and then added the costs together, comparing them with the median household income for each state to figure out who was spending the greatest percentage of their income on groceries.

The full report can be accessed here.