Alabama residents spend a higher share of their household income on groceries than people in most other states, ranking sixth-highest nationally, according to a new WalletHub analysis examining grocery affordability across the country.
The report found that Alabama households spend 2.33% of their median monthly household income on groceries, placing the state behind only Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kentucky. While grocery prices have risen sharply nationwide, WalletHub’s findings show that income levels — not grocery prices — are the primary factor driving the rankings.
WalletHub analyzed the prices of 26 commonly purchased grocery items across all 50 states and compared the total cost with each state’s median household income to determine where residents devote the largest percentage of earnings to food.
“While grocery prices have gone up tremendously in recent years, the states in which people spend the greatest percentage of their income on groceries actually aren’t those with the highest prices,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub writer and analyst. “Instead, the median incomes in these states are quite low, so even with reasonable grocery prices, residents end up shelling out a higher percentage of their earnings than people in states with more expensive products.”
For Alabama families, that dynamic means grocery affordability is being shaped more by wage levels than by shelf prices alone.
WalletHub reported that grocery prices have increased by nearly 30% since 2019, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, while income growth has failed to keep pace. As a result, households in lower-income states like Alabama are spending a larger share of their earnings just to meet basic food needs.
By comparison, residents in states like Massachusetts and New Jersey, which ranked last on the list, spend around 1.5% of their income on groceries, despite often facing higher grocery prices overall.
Alabama’s ranking reflects a broader regional trend identified in the report. The states where residents spend the highest percentage of income on groceries are concentrated largely in the South and Appalachian regions, areas that also report some of the lowest median household incomes nationwide.
The top ten states on the list were:
1. Mississippi (2.60%)
2. West Virginia (2.54%)
3. Arkansas (2.44%)
4. Louisiana (2.38%)
5. Kentucky (2.37%)
6. Alabama (2.33%)
7. New Mexico (2.30%)
8. Oklahoma (2.22%)
9. South Carolina (2.21%)
10. Tennessee (2.19%)
WalletHub noted that Mississippi, which ranked first, actually has some of the lowest grocery prices in the nation, but also the lowest median household income, illustrating how affordability is driven more by earnings than by food costs alone.
Data for the study was collected as of January 15, 2026, using information from the Council for Community and Economic Research and the U.S. Census Bureau.
As food costs remain high nationwide, the report suggests income growth — not just price stabilization — will play the biggest role in reducing the share of household budgets going toward groceries.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
