Detroit Tops US Cities for Grocery Income Share

A WalletHub analysis of grocery costs in 100 large U.S. cities found that Detroit residents spend the largest share of median household income on groceries, at 4.03%, followed by Cleveland at 3.93%. Lower household incomes—not necessarily unusually high grocery prices—help explain the burden: Detroit has the lowest median household income among the cities studied, and nearly a third of its residents live below the poverty line. Toledo and Cincinnati also ranked among the top 10, while Fremont, California, had the smallest grocery-cost share at 0.91%. Nationally, the lowest-earning fifth of U.S. households spent 33% of pretax income on food at home and away in 2024, compared with a 12.9% average across households.