Grocery spending statistics show two different sides of a food budget: what consumer units actually spent and what food-at-home prices and planning benchmarks looked like. In 2024, U.S. consumer units averaged $6,224 in annual food-at-home spending. USDA benchmarks published for December 2025 provide a separate planning reference for individuals in four-person households, while the latest CPI figures describe price movement rather than dollar spending.
Contents
- U.S. household grocery spending baseline
- Where food-at-home dollars went
- How spending changed
- USDA monthly benchmarks for children
- USDA monthly benchmarks for females
- USDA monthly benchmarks for males
- 2025 grocery price movement
U.S. household grocery spending baseline
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditures—2024 report puts average annual total expenditures at $78,535 per consumer unit in 2024. The same report records $10,169 in total annual food spending and $6,224 in food-at-home spending. In this context, a consumer unit is the spending unit used by the Consumer Expenditure Surveys, so the figures are not necessarily a count of people living in one home.
Food-at-home spending rose 2.8%, from $6,053 in 2023 to $6,224 in 2024. Total food spending rose 1.8%, from $9,985 to $10,169 over the same period. These are nominal annual averages: they describe dollars spent in the stated years and are not inflation-adjusted comparisons.
The difference between total food spending and food-at-home spending is useful for meal planning. The food-at-home figure covers groceries and other food prepared at home, while the larger food figure includes the consumer unit’s total food spending. A household comparing its grocery receipts with the $6,224 benchmark should therefore avoid treating it as a complete food budget.
Where food-at-home dollars went
The 2024 BLS category amounts show that grocery spending was spread across several broad food groups. Average annual spending per consumer unit was:
| Food-at-home category | 2024 average annual spending |
|---|---|
| Cereals and bakery products | $779 |
| Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | $1,414 |
| Dairy products | $631 |
| Fruits and vegetables | $953 |
| Other food at home | $2,447 |
The largest listed category was other food at home, at $2,447. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs followed at $1,414, while fruits and vegetables averaged $953. Cereals and bakery products averaged $779, and dairy products averaged $631.
These categories are useful for reviewing a grocery plan because they separate spending patterns that can behave differently from one another. A monthly plan that tracks only a single grocery total can hide whether a change came from meat and eggs, produce, dairy, bakery products, or the broad other-food category. The category figures are annual averages for consumer units, not recommended allocations for every household.
How spending changed
The year-to-year changes in the BLS report do not all cover the same comparison period. Cereals and bakery products spending increased 16.6% from 2022 to 2023. Dairy spending increased 13.2% over that same period, while other food-at-home spending increased 15.2%.
Fruits and vegetables spending moved in the opposite direction in that comparison, decreasing 10.1% from 2022 to 2023. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs spending increased 21.5% from 2023 to 2024. Because these changes use different year pairs, they should be read as category-specific reported movements rather than as one synchronized annual ranking.
The overall household baseline changed more modestly in the latest BLS comparison: annual food-at-home spending rose 2.8% from 2023 to 2024, and total annual food spending rose 1.8%. Category movement can therefore differ substantially from the change in the overall grocery average.
For meal planning, the practical implication is to review both the total and the category detail. A stable overall grocery budget can still contain a sharp increase in one category and a decrease in another. The BLS amounts also represent nominal spending, so they should not be interpreted as pure price changes or as evidence that households bought identical quantities.
USDA monthly benchmarks for children
The USDA Official Food Plans for December 2025 provide monthly food-at-home benchmarks for individuals in four-person households. The plans describe food prepared at home and are benchmarks, not observed household spending. USDA states that monthly figures are weekly costs multiplied by 4.333 and rounded.
For children, the December 2025 monthly ranges were:
| Age | Low-Cost | Moderate-Cost | Liberal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $159.70 | $180.00 | $218.30 |
| 2–3 years | $167.50 | $200.50 | $243.90 |
| 4–5 years | $173.50 | $214.10 | $259.40 |
| 6–8 years | $255.00 | $295.30 | $345.40 |
| 9–11 years | $262.50 | $338.20 | $394.10 |
The benchmark for a 1-year-old was $159.70 on the Low-Cost Plan, $180.00 on the Moderate-Cost Plan, and $218.30 on the Liberal Plan. For ages 2–3, the corresponding amounts were $167.50, $200.50, and $243.90. Ages 4–5 were listed at $173.50, $214.10, and $259.40.
The older child groups had higher listed benchmarks. Ages 6–8 were $255.00, $295.30, and $345.40 across the three plans. Ages 9–11 were $262.50 on the Low-Cost Plan, $338.20 on the Moderate-Cost Plan, and $394.10 on the Liberal Plan. These figures can help a meal planner compare plan levels, but they are not a required spending target for a particular child or household.
USDA monthly benchmarks for females
The USDA December 2025 female benchmarks vary by age and plan. For ages 12–13, monthly food-at-home costs were $260.40 on the Low-Cost Plan, $310.80 on the Moderate-Cost Plan, and $388.90 on the Liberal Plan. For ages 14–18, the amounts were $262.40, $313.60, and $387.90.
For females aged 19–50, the monthly benchmarks were $267.80 on the Low-Cost Plan, $326.50 on the Moderate-Cost Plan, and $416.00 on the Liberal Plan. For ages 51–70, the figures were $260.10, $320.40, and $385.90. For age 71 and older, they were $260.70, $319.70, and $381.50.
The largest listed female benchmark in this set was $416.00 per month for ages 19–50 on the Liberal Plan. The lowest was $260.10 for ages 51–70 on the Low-Cost Plan. Those values describe the USDA’s U.S.-average plan assumptions for the specified household context, not observed spending by all females in those age groups.
USDA monthly benchmarks for males
The December 2025 USDA table lists these Low-Cost Plan monthly food-at-home costs for males:
- Ages 12–13: $307.60.
- Ages 14–18: $311.70.
- Ages 19–50: $308.40.
- Ages 51–70: $289.70.
- Age 71 and older: $288.00.
Within the supplied Low-Cost Plan figures, the highest male benchmark was $311.70 per month for ages 14–18. The lowest was $288.00 for age 71 and older. The male figures above are Low-Cost Plan amounts only; they should not be expanded into Moderate-Cost or Liberal estimates without the corresponding USDA table values.
Together, the child, female, and male benchmarks show why a household grocery plan cannot be built from one universal monthly number. Age, plan level, household assumptions, and the distinction between food prepared at home and total food spending all affect the appropriate comparison.
2025 grocery price movement
The BLS Consumer Price Index December 2025 release reports price-index changes for the U.S. city average. CPI figures are not dollar spending. The food-at-home CPI rose 0.7% from November to December 2025 and rose 2.4% from December 2024 to December 2025.
| Food category | November–December 2025 | December 2024–December 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Food at home | +0.7% | +2.4% |
| Cereals and bakery products | +0.6% | +1.5% |
| Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | −0.2% | +3.9% |
| Dairy and related products | +0.9% | −0.9% |
| Fruits and vegetables | +0.5% | — |
| Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials | — | +5.1% |
Cereals and bakery products rose 0.6% month over month in December and 1.5% over the 12 months ending that month. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs fell 0.2% month over month but rose 3.9% over the year. Dairy and related products rose 0.9% in December while falling 0.9% over the 12 months ending December 2025.
Fruits and vegetables rose 0.5% from November to December 2025. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials rose 5.1% over the 12 months ending December 2025. The December 2025 release notes that October and November 2025 CPI values were unavailable because of the lapse in appropriations, an important limitation when interpreting the timing of the monthly comparisons.
For a meal-planning budget, these CPI movements are best used as context for reviewing category assumptions. They do not tell a household how many dollars it spent, and they do not replace a household’s own receipts. A useful comparison keeps the BLS spending averages, USDA planning benchmarks, and CPI price changes separate because each measures a different aspect of grocery costs.