A $100 grocery budget doesn’t buy the same cart everywhere. Depending on your state, that bill can stretch nearly a third further or fall well short of what it covers nationally.
The numbers come from a recent GOBankingRates study that measured the buying power of a $100 grocery budget in all 50 states. Researchers started with what U.S. households spend on groceries, using the 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, then adjusted for each state’s grocery cost of living.
Grocery prices rose 2.9% in the year through April 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and they’ve kept climbing month to month, federal data shows. In 24 states, nearly half the country, a $100 budget still covers what would cost $100 or more nationally. The rest pay a premium.
Where $100 goes furthest
The most affordable states are in the South and the Midwest. A household in Arkansas spends an average of about $5,745 a year on groceries at home, the lowest figure in the country.
Here are the five states where $100 buys the most, according to GOBankingRates, with the average value for $100 in groceries and the average annual household spending on groceries:
Arkansas: $100 covers $108.34 in groceries, the best value in the country. The average household spends $5,745 a year.
Mississippi: $106.04, with an average annual bill of $5,869.
North Dakota: $106.04, also $5,869 a year.
Texas: $105.71, at $5,888 a year.
Oklahoma: $105.60, at $5,894 a year.
GOBankingRates flagged Utah as an outlier in the top 10. It landed at No. 8, where $100 buys $95.70 worth, even though its annual cost of living runs above $57,000. The top five states for grocery affordability all have an average annual cost of living that fall in the range of $35,231 in Arkansas to $41,763 in Texas.
The other nine states in the top 10 were all in the South or Midwest.
Where $100 buys the least
Here are the five states where $100 stretches the least:
Hawaii: $100 covers just $76.63 in groceries, the worst value nationally. The average household spends $8,122 a year.
Alaska: $80.39, with an average annual bill of $7,743.
Vermont: $92.94, at $6,697 a year.
California: $93.02, at $6,691 a year.
Maryland: $93.46, at $6,660 a year. It tied with Connecticut for the fifth spot.
Hawaii and Alaska land at the bottom, and both lean heavily on imported food. Grocery prices run 31.4% above the national average in Hawaii and 25% above it in Alaska, according to Visual Capitalist, which ties the gap to the two states’ geographic isolation and reliance on shipping.
Hawaii’s costs will likely increase more this year. In late 2025, state regulators approved a 25.75% rate increase for the sole barge service that moves food and supplies between the islands, which took effect in January 2026, as reported by When In Your State. Grocery stores are expected to pass the cost along.
Where the money goes
Meat and produce make up the bulk of the bill in every state.
Americans spend at least $1,305 a year on meat, poultry, fish and eggs, the largest grocery category anywhere. Fresh fruits and vegetables cross $1,000 a year in 10 states. Both reach their highest totals in the priciest markets:
Meat, poultry, fish and eggs: Range from an average annual cost of $1,305 in Arkansas to an average cost of $1,845 per year in Hawaii.
Fruits and vegetables: Range from an average cost of $880 per year in Arkansas to $1,244 in Hawaii and $1,186 in Alaska.
The spread is wide at the household level. A typical family in the priciest states can pay $2,000 or more above what the same groceries cost in the cheapest ones, Visual Capitalist found, a gap that holds up against the GOBankingRates figures showing roughly $2,400 between Arkansas and Hawaii.
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