Map: Here are the cities that spend the most on groceries, data shows

By
FOX Local
Published October 13, 2026 4:21 PM CDT

FILE - A shopper browses dairy products at a grocery store in Wilmington, North Carolina, US, on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (Photographer: Allison Joyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Brief

    • Detroit residents spend the largest share of their income on groceries among 100 major U.S. cities.
    • Grocery costs take a much smaller share of incomes in affluent California cities like Fremont, San Jose and San Francisco.
    • Analysts say income differences, rather than grocery prices alone, largely drive the disparities.

As food prices continue to climb, many Americans are dedicating more of their income to groceries. 

Residents in some cities spend more on groceries than others.

A WalletHub study analyzed 100 major U.S. cities and tracked the cost of 26 staple items against median household incomes.

The report revealed that the financial burden of essential food depends far more on local earning power than on store shelf prices alone.

Here’s a look at the top 20 cities that pay the most for groceries:

For the full ranking, click here. 

Detroit spends the most on groceries

Dig deeper:

Detroit topped the list as the city where residents spend the highest share of their income on groceries at 4.03%, followed closely by Cleveland at 3.93% and Birmingham, Alabama, at 3.45%. 

In contrast, affluent hubs like Fremont, California (0.91%), San Jose, California (1.07%), and San Francisco, California (1.10%), occupy the bottom of the list, where food costs account for roughly 1% or less of monthly earnings.

Big picture view:

The primary driver behind this divide is income inequality rather than local grocery inflation, according to WalletHub.

Cities at the top of the spending list often maintain average or low grocery prices, but they also have some of the lowest median household incomes in the nation—such as Detroit's median income of under $40,000 per year—forcing everyday food purchases to swallow a disproportionate share of take-home pay.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from a WalletHub analysis based on data collected as of Sept. 9, 2026 from the U.S. Census Bureau and Council for Community and Economic Research. This story was reported from San Jose. 

MoneyEconomy