How Montana Ranks For Grocery Costs Compared To Other States

If your grocery bill feels higher than it used to, you are not imagining it. Food prices have climbed close to 30% since 2019, based on federal agriculture data. On top of that, wages have not increased at the same pace in most states. That equation means families are now using a larger portion of their income just to keep the fridge stocked.

A recent WalletHub study looked at the cost of 26 everyday grocery items in every state. They added those totals up and compared them to each state’s median household income to see where residents are spending the biggest share of what they earn on food. One takeaway is simple, and we all know it. More money out the door.

Source: WalletHub

Montana landed at number #12 on the list, with grocery costs making up 2.15% of the median monthly household income.

Mississippi ranked highest, with households spending about 2.6% of their income on groceries. States like New Jersey and Massachusetts were at the low end, closer to 1.5%. This was surprising to me, but the difference largely comes down to income levels. Mississippi has one of the lowest median household incomes in the country, so even cheaper grocery prices take up a bigger slice of their paychecks.

In Montana, many products cost more because they are shipped in. At the same time, places like Bozeman and Big Sky, as we know, have a wide range between high big-time earners and everyone else. So it's interesting to see where we landed.