How Much Does the Average American Spend on Food per Month?
Recent data released by the United States Department of Labor shows that food makes up the country’s third-largest consumer spending category, after housing and transportation.
But how much does the average American spend on food per month? Below, we take a look at the average amount of money spent on food in recent years.
How much does the average American spend on food per year: table
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
|
Food at home |
$5,259 |
$5,703 (+8.4%) |
$6,053 (+6.1%) |
|
Food away from home |
$3,030 |
$3,639 (+20.1%) |
$3,933 (+8.1%) |
|
Total |
$8,289 |
$9,343 (+12.7%) |
$9,985 (+6.9%) |
How much do Americans spend on food: 2023
The report on US consumers’ annual expenditure shows that food spending hit $9,985 per household in 2023. This figure excludes expenses on alcoholic beverages.
Breaking this down, the average monthly spend on food corresponds to $832.08. This represents a 6.9% rise from the previous year, which is an increase larger than that of households’ average annual expenditure, which was recorded at 5.9%.
Of the $9,985 American households spent on food in 2023, more than half was for home consumption. $6,053 (60.6%) was spent on food at home, which averages to $504.42 per month. The average monthly spend on food at home in 2023 was also a 6.1% increase from the previous year.
This begs the question: How much do Americans spend on food away from home? The same report shows that $3,933 was spent on eating out in 2023, representing an average of $327.75 per month. Not only was this an 8.1% annual increase, it was also less than half the growth rate of the same category a year before.
How much does the average American spend on food per year: 2021–2022
The average amount of money spent on food has been rising year after year. In 2021, overall food spending per household was recorded at $8,289—or $690.75 every month. This rose by 12.7% in 2022, to $9,343, an average of $778.58 per month.
Food expenses away from home surged by 20.1%, from $3,030 ($252.50 per month) in 2021 to $3,639 ($303.25 per month) in 2022. Meanwhile, expenditure on food consumed at home increased at a much slower pace and by a smaller margin—from $5,259 ($438.25 per month) in 2021 to $5,703 ($475.25 per month) in 2022, an annual rise of 8.4%.