Average grocery cost per month for 1 person
Two ways to see it for one adult aged 19 to 50, shown as a woman and as a man because the USDA prices them differently: what the USDA says a nutritious home-cooked diet costs, and what one person households actually spend.
Checked October 22, 2026
The two numbers answer different questions. The USDA prices a healthy diet made at home. The BLS counts what households say they spent. If you are setting a monthly grocery budget for one person, the USDA range shows what different ways of eating cost, and the BLS figure shows where real households land.
Average grocery cost per month for one person, by USDA food plan
The USDA publishes a monthly price for a nutritious diet at four levels, with every meal and snack made at home. Its September 2026 reports were issued in October 2026. For this page we used one adult aged 19 to 50, shown as a woman and as a man because the USDA prices them differently.
| Person | Thrifty | Low-Cost | Moderate-Cost | Liberal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woman, 19 to 50 | $253.90 | $276.30 | $336.40 | $429.60 |
| Added up | $253.90 | $276.30 | $336.40 | $429.60 |
| USDA adjustment for one person: add 20 percent | +20% | +20% | +20% | +20% |
| One woman, 19 to 50, per month | $305 | $332 | $404 | $516 |
| Person | Thrifty | Low-Cost | Moderate-Cost | Liberal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man, 19 to 50 | $319.00 | $317.70 | $398.40 | $486.80 |
| Added up | $319.00 | $317.70 | $398.40 | $486.80 |
| USDA adjustment for one person: add 20 percent | +20% | +20% | +20% | +20% |
| One man, 19 to 50, per month | $383 | $381 | $478 | $584 |
To redo it for your own age, look up each person's age and sex in the USDA reports, add their monthly costs, then add 20 percent. That is exactly the method the reports give.
What one person actually spend on groceries
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey asks households what they spend. For 2024, it put average food at home for one person at $3,395 a year. Divide by 12 and that is about $283 a month, or about $283 a person.
| View | Per month | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| USDA Thrifty | $305 to $383 | $344 |
| USDA Low-Cost | $332 to $381 | $357 |
| USDA Moderate-Cost | $404 to $478 | $441 |
| USDA Liberal | $516 to $584 | $550 |
| BLS 2024, food at home | $283 | $283 |
The same figures by week and by day
| View | Per month | Per week | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA Thrifty | $305 | $70 | $10.03 |
| USDA Low-Cost | $332 | $77 | $10.92 |
| USDA Moderate-Cost | $404 | $93 | $13.28 |
| USDA Liberal | $516 | $119 | $16.96 |
| BLS 2024, food at home | $283 | $65 | $9.30 |
Both are averages, so they will not fit anyone exactly. The BLS number is from 2024 and grocery prices have moved since. The USDA numbers are updated every month.
Grocery budget for one person: ways to bring it down
These come from the USDA's “Eat Right When Money's Tight” handout.
- Know how much you have to spend on food, and make a shopping list based on that and what you need.
- Plan your weekly meals and snacks, and plan to prepare and eat the foods you already have at home first.
- Buy only what you can use before it spoils. Frozen, canned and shelf-stable foods last longer.
- Eat before you shop. It is easier to stick to the list when you are not hungry.
- Try store brands and compare unit prices and the Nutrition Facts labels to get the best product for your money.
- Use coupons and a store discount card, but only on foods you normally eat.
- Buy large bags of frozen vegetables, fresh fruit in season, and dried beans, which can last a year or more.
- Choose milk, yogurt and cheese in the largest size you can use before it spoils. Larger containers cost less per serving.
- Buy regular brown rice and old-fashioned oats instead of instant ones.
- Freeze big purchases of meat in meal-size packages, and use the foods with the earliest dates first.
Other household sizes
See the table for every size, or go straight to 2 people, a family of 3, a family of 4, a family of 5 or a family of 6.
Questions people ask
What is the average grocery cost per month for one person?
On the USDA's food plans for September 2026, groceries for one adult aged 19 to 50, shown as a woman and as a man because the USDA prices them differently come to $305 to $383 a month on the Thrifty plan, $332 to $381 on Low-Cost, $404 to $478 on Moderate-Cost and $516 to $584 on Liberal. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that one person households spent about $283 a month on food at home in 2024.
How much should one person spend on groceries a month?
There is no single right number. The USDA's four plans give a range from $305 to $383 to $516 to $584, and one person households spent about $283 a month on average. Pick a line you can keep, then check it against your own receipts for a few months.
Why are the USDA numbers and the BLS number different?
They measure different things. The USDA prices a nutritious diet in which every meal and snack is made at home, for the ages you give it. The BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey reports what households say they spent on food at home, with no assumption about diet or ages.
How much is that a week for one person?
Our arithmetic: the monthly figure times 12, divided by 52. For one person, that is about $70 a week on the Thrifty plan and $119 on the Liberal plan, or about $65 a week at the BLS average.
Do these figures include eating out?
No. The USDA plans assume all meals and snacks are prepared at home, and the BLS figure used here is food at home only. Restaurants, takeout and delivery are counted separately, so keep them in their own budget line.
How do I work this out for my own age?
Find each person's age and sex in the table above, add up their monthly costs, then add 20 percent (the USDA's adjustment for a household of 1). That is the whole method, and the USDA publishes it in the same report.
Why does the USDA adjust for household size?
Its costs are for people in a household of 4. The USDA's report says to add 20 percent for 1 person, add 10 percent for 2, add 5 percent for 3, no adjustment for 4, and subtract 5 percent for 5 or 6, because food costs less per person when more people share a kitchen.
Sources
4 sources · read October 22, 2026
Every number on this page comes from fns-prod.azureedge.us, bls.gov and snaped.fna.usda.gov. If a source has changed since, the source is right.
- 1USDA: Official USDA Food Plans, Cost of Food at Home at Three Levels (Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, Liberal), U.S. Average, September 2026fns-prod.azureedge.us
- 2USDA: Official USDA Thrifty Food Plan, U.S. Average, September 2026fns-prod.azureedge.us
- 3U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Table 1400, Size of consumer unit, 2024bls.gov
- 4USDA: Eat Right When Money's Tight (FNS-492)snaped.fna.usda.gov
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