Household food expenditure rises with income in the latest U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey figures, but food takes a much larger share of income for lower-income households. The data below separates grocery-oriented food-at-home purchases from food away from home and identifies each measurement year and income definition.
Contents
- The 2023 income-quintile picture
- Food-at-home spending
- Food away from home
- Income deciles and household food costs
- Food spending as a share of after-tax income
- What changed in the 2024 figures
The 2023 income-quintile picture
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports average annual figures for U.S. consumer units in its Consumer expenditures in 2023 report. Income quintiles rank consumer units by before-tax income, with each quintile representing one-fifth of the ranked population. These are nominal annual dollars, not inflation-adjusted amounts.
Before-tax income ranged from $15,596 for the lowest income quintile to $264,518 for the highest in 2023. The second quintile averaged $40,751, the middle quintile $71,057, and the fourth quintile $116,717. Average annual expenditures also increased across the groups: $33,776 for the lowest quintile, $48,923 for the second, $65,487 for the middle, $87,922 for the fourth, and $150,093 for the highest.
Food spending followed the same broad income pattern. The lowest income quintile spent an average of $5,278 on food in 2023. The second quintile averaged $7,100, the middle quintile $8,989, the fourth quintile $11,550, and the highest quintile $16,996.
| 2023 income quintile | Before-tax income | Total annual expenditures | Food spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest | $15,596 | $33,776 | $5,278 |
| Second | $40,751 | $48,923 | $7,100 |
| Middle | $71,057 | $65,487 | $8,989 |
| Fourth | $116,717 | $87,922 | $11,550 |
| Highest | $264,518 | $150,093 | $16,996 |
Source: BLS, Consumer expenditures in 2023. Income and expenditure values are average annual consumer-unit figures for 2023.
The ordering matters for meal-planning comparisons. A household in the highest quintile spent more in annual dollar terms, while a household in the lowest quintile had far less income against which to manage its food budget. The BLS figures describe group averages; they do not establish what any individual household should spend.
Food-at-home spending
Food at home covers purchases from grocery stores and similar retailers. In 2023, the lowest income quintile spent an average of $3,707 on food at home, compared with $9,198 for the highest quintile, according to the BLS Consumer expenditures in 2023 tables.
The intermediate quintiles were $4,680 for the second, $5,756 for the middle, and $6,917 for the fourth. This gives a five-group view of grocery-oriented spending without combining it with restaurant or takeout purchases.
| 2023 income quintile | Food at home |
|---|---|
| Lowest | $3,707 |
| Second | $4,680 |
| Middle | $5,756 |
| Fourth | $6,917 |
| Highest | $9,198 |
Within food at home, the BLS reports several useful category averages. Cereals and bakery products accounted for $481 in the lowest income quintile, $635 in the second, $789 in the middle, $925 in the fourth, and $1,321 in the highest. Fruits and vegetables ranged from $606 in the lowest quintile to $1,522 in the highest, with $739 for the second, $934 for the middle, and $1,141 for the fourth.
The 2023 average for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs was $786 for the lowest income quintile. The supplied BLS figures identify that lowest-quintile value but do not provide corresponding values for every other quintile in this category, so no additional group comparison is made here.
For readers building meal-planning guides, these categories show why a grocery budget is not a single uniform line item. Food-at-home spending includes multiple types of purchases, and the reported averages differ by income group. The figures are descriptive survey estimates for 2023 rather than a recommended allocation for a particular household size, location, or dietary pattern.
Food away from home
Food away from home includes restaurant, takeout, and other meals prepared outside the home. The BLS reported average 2023 spending of $1,571 for the lowest income quintile and $7,797 for the highest. The second quintile averaged $2,421, the middle quintile $3,234, and the fourth quintile $4,633.
| 2023 income quintile | Food away from home |
|---|---|
| Lowest | $1,571 |
| Second | $2,421 |
| Middle | $3,234 |
| Fourth | $4,633 |
| Highest | $7,797 |
Source: BLS, Consumer expenditures in 2023.
The same BLS report also gives selected decile observations for food away from home. The lowest 10 percent of income-ranked consumer units spent $1,613 on average in 2023. The third income decile spent $2,243, the fifth spent $2,924, the eighth spent $5,277, and the highest income decile spent $8,982.
These decile observations are not interchangeable with the five quintiles. A quintile contains 20 percent of income-ranked consumer units, while a decile contains 10 percent. The lowest quintile and lowest decile therefore describe different-sized portions of the income distribution, even though both use before-tax income ranking in the BLS tables.
Food away from home is especially relevant when a meal plan includes convenience meals, restaurant occasions, or takeout. The available figures show a clear increase in average dollar spending across income groups, but they do not specify the number of meals, household composition, prices paid, or reasons for the purchases.
Income deciles and household food costs
Deciles provide a more granular way to describe the income distribution. In 2023, average before-tax income was $8,438 for the lowest income decile, $34,351 for the third, $62,076 for the fifth, $130,851 for the eighth, and $353,318 for the highest, according to the BLS Consumer expenditures in 2023.
The income levels are not a complete list of all ten deciles, so they should be read as selected reference points rather than a full decile schedule. They still illustrate the wide spread between the bottom and top of the before-tax income ranking: the reported average rises from $8,438 in the lowest decile to $353,318 in the highest decile.
The food-away-from-home observations likewise rise at the reported points: $1,613 for the lowest 10 percent, $2,243 for the third decile, $2,924 for the fifth, $5,277 for the eighth, and $8,982 for the highest decile. Because only selected deciles are available here, the figures do not support estimates for unreported deciles or a complete decile-by-decile trend.
For practical reading, the decile and quintile views answer different questions. Quintiles are useful for a broad five-group comparison of total food, food at home, and food away from home. Deciles show selected points in a finer income ranking, particularly for food away from home. Neither grouping is a personal spending target.
Food spending as a share of after-tax income
Dollar amounts alone do not show how much pressure food spending represents in a household budget. The USDA Economic Research Service compares 2023 food spending with after-tax income in U.S. households that earn less spend a higher share of income on food. This comparison uses after-tax income, unlike the before-tax income ranking used in the BLS tables.
In 2023, the lowest income quintile had average after-tax income of $16,171 and average food spending of $5,278. Food spending represented 32.6 percent of after-tax income for that group. The middle income quintile had after-tax income of $66,606 and food spending of $8,989; food represented 13.5 percent of after-tax income. The highest income quintile had after-tax income of $211,042 and food spending of $16,996, with food representing 8.1 percent of after-tax income.
| 2023 income quintile | After-tax income | Food spending | Food share of after-tax income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest | $16,171 | $5,278 | 32.6% |
| Middle | $66,606 | $8,989 | 13.5% |
| Highest | $211,042 | $16,996 | 8.1% |
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, 2023 comparison.
The pattern is important for interpreting household food expenditure by income. The highest-income group spent more dollars on food than the lowest-income group, but the lowest-income group devoted a larger share of after-tax income to food. The income basis also matters: after-tax income is used in this USDA comparison, while the BLS quintile labels are ranked by before-tax income.
What changed in the 2024 figures
The latest supplied USDA chart, Food spending as a share of income declines as income rises, reports three 2024 income-quintile observations. It lists average food spending of $5,498 for the lowest income quintile, $9,097 for the middle quintile, and $16,989 for the highest quintile.
The same 2024 chart reports food spending as 33.0 percent of before-tax income for the lowest quintile, 12.2 percent for the middle quintile, and 6.4 percent for the highest quintile. These percentages use before-tax income, so they should not be directly treated as the 2023 USDA after-tax percentages above.
| 2024 income quintile | Food spending | Food share of before-tax income |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest | $5,498 | 33.0% |
| Middle | $9,097 | 12.2% |
| Highest | $16,989 | 6.4% |
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, 2024 chart.
The 2024 chart provides three explicitly reported quintile observations. It does not provide the second and fourth quintiles in the figures used here, so those groups are not inferred. The available observations continue to show a lower food-income share at higher income levels, while average food spending in dollars is higher for the middle and highest groups than for the lowest group.
For meal-planning readers, the clearest takeaway is to keep three measures separate: total food spending, food at home, and food away from home. Also keep the income definition and measurement year attached to every comparison. The BLS 2023 figures are nominal annual consumer-unit averages, the USDA 2023 comparison uses after-tax income, and the USDA 2024 percentages use before-tax income.