Residents of Detroit spend the largest share of their income on groceries — nearly 3.8% — followed closely by Cleveland and Birmingham, Alabama, according to a new report from personal finance website WalletHub. At the other end of the spectrum, residents in Fremont, California, spend less than 1%.

“In the cities where people spend the most money on groceries, residents often have low incomes on top of seeing high sticker prices on common grocery items,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub writer and analyst.

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Detroit and Cleveland have some of the lowest median household incomes in the country — $39,575 and $39,187, respectively, according to Data USA.

Cities with higher living costs such as San Francisco and San Jose, California, meanwhile, typically have higher incomes that balance out expenses.

Americans in some cities are spending nearly four times more of their income on groceries than others, according to a new study. (iStock)

The top five cities where residents spend the most on groceries are Detroit; Cleveland; Birmingham, Alabama; Newark, New Jersey; and Toledo, Ohio.

The five cities where residents spend the least are Fremont, California; San Jose, California; San Francisco; Irvine, California; and Gilbert, Arizona.

Grocery prices have climbed nearly 30% since before the COVID pandemic, according to federal data, and rose by as much as 0.6% between July and August, marking one of the largest monthly increases in the past three years.

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To conduct its survey, WalletHub selected 26 grocery items covering a broad range of common household items, including meat, dairy, vegetables and fruits, frozen food and cleaning products, Lupo told Fox News Digital.

Meat and dairy prices drive most of the grocery cost gaps nationwide, with items like chicken, milk and eggs varying sharply by region, Lupo said. Produce tends to fluctuate less, he said.

Meat prices are fueling the biggest differences in grocery costs across the country, a WalletHub analyst said. (iStock)

Those in lower-income cities like Detroit and Cleveland, said Lupo, feel a bigger squeeze because even modest grocery bills eat up a larger share of limited paychecks, while people in high-income cities such as San Francisco and Washington, D.C., can better absorb inflated prices.

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Lupo said grocery prices have also risen more sharply in the Midwest and parts of the South than in many coastal cities.

“Midwest cities like Detroit and Cleveland and southern cities such as Birmingham show some of the highest grocery costs relative to income,” he said, adding that inflation and lower local wages play a big role. In high-cost coastal cities, higher incomes tend to offset the inflated prices.

Experts recommend comparing prices, choosing store brands and taking advantage of discount programs. (iStock)

He noted that the WalletHub analysis focused on 100 of the largest U.S. cities for which complete grocery cost data was available.

A spokesperson for Detroit declined to comment. Other recent reports have found that Detroit and Cleveland still rank among the most affordable cities in the U.S. based on overall living costs.

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Grocery prices have stabilized but at elevated levels, driven by inflation and supply constraints, Lupo said.

“Shoppers will need to rely on budgeting, discounts and smart buying to manage the increased costs,” he said.

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WalletHub’s experts also recommend sticking to a shopping list, joining store loyalty programs, buying generic products and comparing unit prices to avoid overspending.

Andrew Burnstine, an associate professor at Lynn University in Florida, told WalletHub the key to saving is planning meals, shopping with a list, comparing unit prices, choosing store brands and setting a firm grocery budget.

Buying in bulk at warehouse clubs can save money. (iStock)

Jeff Shockley, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, added that shoppers can cut costs by buying in bulk at warehouse clubs like Costco, taking advantage of discounts and loyalty programs and steering clear of impulse purchases.

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Dana DiPrima, the New York-based founder of the nonprofit For Farmers Movement, which supports American farmers, also recommended shopping seasonally and locally, buying and storing staples properly, sharing bulk purchases, seeking end-of-day or “ugly” produce deals — and using every part of the food, such as beet greens and carrot tops.

“At this time of year, you can also stock up on staples and things that you need all winter that store really well, like potatoes, carrots, onions and other roots,” DiPrima told Fox News Digital.

Deirdre Bardolf is a lifestyle writer with Fox News Digital.

The post Grocery bills in America: Here are the most and least expensive cities appeared first on My Blog.

The Rapid Response 47 account on X wrote Friday, “The White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history.”

“Due to the Democrat Shutdown, surveyors cannot deploy to the field — depriving us of critical data. The economic consequences could be devastating,” the post said.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, celebrated a strong stock market performance, as newly released Labor Department figures showed that inflation for the month came in at a better than expected 3%.

The U.S. Capitol is seen during the 23rd day of the federal government shutdown and a driver pumping gas in Miami amid rising fuel prices contributing to inflation. (Celal Güneş/Anadolu via Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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That’s the highest since January and up from 2.9% in August. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also rose 3%, down from 3.1% in the previous month. Cooler inflation data for September sent Wall Street surging Friday.

“THE STOCK MARKET IS STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF TARIFFS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

It comes as investors bet on another Federal Reserve rate cut following the new inflation figures.

Core inflation, excluding food and energy, also eased to 0.2% monthly and 3.0% annually, showing modest cooling, while gasoline prices — the biggest driver of inflation — surged 4.1% following several months of declines.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed the figures in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Inflation came in below market expectations in September thanks to President Trump’s economic agenda,” Leavitt said.

President Donald Trump hailed news that the stock market was surging Friday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“This is good news for American families, and it’s a shame the Democrats are using them as leverage to fund health care for illegal aliens. Democrats choosing to keep the government closed will likely result in no October inflation report, which will leave businesses, markets, families, and the Federal Reserve in disarray,” Leavitt said.

“Because surveyors cannot deploy to the field, the White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history,” the administration added in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Republicans have blamed the shutdown on Democrats, arguing that they refused to fund the budget in an attempt to reinstate taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants through Democrat lawmakers’ continuing resolution, which would include extending the expiring Obamacare tax credits.

Democratic leadership has disputed the claims, saying that Trump and Republican lawmakers are really behind the shutdown.

The report comes as the broader economy shows steady growth but slower hiring, creating a mixed picture for consumers and markets.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Oct. 9, 2025. Stocks rallied to record highs Friday after new inflation data came in cooler than expected, fueling bets on another Federal Reserve rate cut. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Rents rose just 0.2%, the smallest yearly gain in nearly four years, while consumer prices increased 3% in September from a year earlier, the highest since January, and up from 2.9% in August.

The figures show that inflation continues to rise more slowly than many economists expected when Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April. Economists estimate that the tariffs are adding roughly 0.4 percentage points to annual inflation.

Some of those duties were later reduced as part of trade deals, while many companies have only passed on part of the tariff cost to consumers out of concern that doing so would reduce sales. Businesses may shift more costs to consumers in the coming months if the duties appear permanent.

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The smaller increase will come as a relief to the Federal Reserve, which has signaled it will cut interest rates again next week — the second time this year — even as inflation remains above its 2% target.

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, echoed Leavitt’s optimism, saying the latest numbers show inflation continuing to move in the right direction despite the shutdown pause in reporting.

“This is actually a really great report,” Hassett told Fox News. “The market is responding appropriately to good news, because 48 Bloomberg economists said this number was going to go way up. If you look at core CPI — the measure economists rely on most — it was down from August, below expectations and headed in the right direction.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to cut interest rates again next week. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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“The top-line number was slightly higher only because of a refinery shutdown in September that temporarily drove up gas prices, but those have already come down,” he said. “The next time we get a CPI release, once the government reopens, we’ll see even further reductions in inflation.”

Hassett added that the brief rise in gas prices doesn’t change the overall outlook, pointing to steady progress in cooling inflation.

“The bottom line is the markets are responding not because they think inflation is going up, but because they believe, as we know is true, that inflation is headed in the right trajectory,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

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