Is Food Expensive In New York?

Inflation is rising quickly in the United States. This is mostly because food prices are going up. Food is on average 8% more expensive in cities across the country than it was a year ago, and American families are feeling the pinch.

The Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank, says that in 2022, two adults and two children in a family of four can expect to spend about $9,835 on food. This amount is different in each state, though.

According to the EPI’s Family Budget Calculator, a family of four in New York can expect to spend an average of $11,180 on food in 2022. This is the fifth most of any state. This amount is based on the idea that two adults and two children eat a healthy diet where almost all of their food comes from a grocery store and is cooked at home.

Food prices are partly based on what people can afford, and states with higher food prices tend to have higher than average family incomes, and vice versa. New York isn’t any different. Both food prices and incomes are higher than average in New York. The average family in the state makes $87,270 a year, while the average family in the country makes $80,069.

The average American is less likely than a New Yorker to need help from the government to buy food. About 15.2% of the state’s population depends on SNAP benefits, which used to be called food stamps. This is more than the national rate of 12.1%.

The numbers in this article about food costs are estimates for 2022 from the EPI, and the numbers about family income and SNAP recipients are estimates for the next five years from the 2020 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.