New Study Shows Tennessee Ranks 9th in Grocery Cost Burden

With grocery prices rising more than 25% over the past five years, WalletHub released its report on the states where people spend the most and least on groceries to offer insight into where Americans are having the most trouble affording food.

WalletHub analyzed the prices of 26 everyday grocery items in each state, added these costs, and compared them to the median household income to determine where people spend the most significant percentage on groceries. Overall, Tennessee ranks ninth out of 50 states. The number one state is Mississippi.

Below is a list of the top 10 states that spend the highest percentage of income on groceries:

1. Mississippi – 2.64%
2. West Virginia – 2.57%
3. Arkansas – 2.49%
4. Kentucky – 2.41%
5. Louisiana – 2.39%
6. New Mexico – 2.36%
7. Alabama – 2.34%
8. South Carolina – 2.27%
9. Tennessee – 2.23%
10. Oklahoma – 2.21%

For comparison, the lowest 10 states are:

California –  1.69%
Hawaii –  1.68%
Colorado – 1.67%
Virginia – 1.66%
Minnesota – 1.66%
Utah – 1.63%
Connecticut – 1.62%
New Hampshire – 1.60%
Massachusetts – 1.54%
Maryland – 1.54%
New Jersey – 1.50%

Here’s a look at how some common food items rank in Tennessee.

Grocery Spending in Tennessee (1=Most Expensive; 25=Avg.):
Average Cost of Groceries as % of Median Monthly Household Income: 2.23%

24th – Average Price of Ground Beef
22nd – Average Price of Eggs
19th – Average Price of Potatoes
27th – Average Price of Bananas
15th – Average Price of Sugar

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