Who Pays More For Groceries: Minnesotans Or Wisconsinites?
One of the things people in both Minnesota and Wisconsin can agree on these days is that groceries have gotten a lot more expensive in recent years.
While eggs have been a significant talking point lately as prices continue to skyrocket due to bird flu, a variety of factors have pushed prices up on products in aisles around the grocery store no matter if you live in Milwaukee or Minneapolis - or anywhere else in either state..
While everyone is cringing at the checkout, some people around the country are feeling the price pinch more than others.
As the team at WalletHub revealed in a new study, the pressure on the wallet at the grocery store varies from state to state.
How they came up with their results
The team at WalletHub looked at the price of 26 commonly purchased items like meat, dairy, vegetables and fruits, frozen foods, and cleaning products to come up with their totals.
They looked at the cost of each of these items on average in each state, then figured out how much the grand total would be in comparison to the average median household income.
In developing their dollar amounts for each state, they only tallied the price of one package/container of each of the 26 items on that common items list and they figured on only one trip to the store in a month.
While this gives an apples-to-apples comparison as to which states might have a heavier burden when comparing the state's overall income and average grocery prices, it doesn't account for a few things.
Factors like families who might be buying more than just one of each of these 26 items, items households might be buying beyond the limited 26-item shopping list they looked at, households that make less/more than the state's median household income or the need for more than one trip to the grocery store each month.
So while the estimates they came up with that I'll show you below will likely be lower than your family's actual monthly grocery bill, it gives you an idea of grocery costs compared to the overall household budget from state to state.
Here's a look at how things compare in Minnesota and Wisconsin versus the rest of the country.
How much are Wisconsinites spending on groceries in 2025?
According to WalletHub, 2.00% of the median Wisconsin household income is spent on groceries using data from early 2025.
This places Wisconsin at the 24th most in the country in terms of how much of the median household income in the state is spent on the most common grocery items people generally buy.
How much is that in dollars?
According to the US Census Bureau, the median household income in Wisconsin is $75,670 based on the most recent data. Using the 2.00% portion of that amount WaletHub says Wisconsinites spend on groceries, that works out to $1,513.40 per year.
On a monthly scale, that comes out to $126.12 per month.
NOTE: Being this data only accounts for 26 specific items purchased just once a month, the numbers are likely low compared to what most people actually pay. A lot of variables like what other items are bought, how many people are being fed, and how often you shop can quickly increase what you might actually pay per month.
How much are Minnesotans spending on groceries in 2025?
Across the border in Minnesota, WalletHub says 1.66% of the median Minnesota household income is spent on groceries using data from early 2025.
This makes Minnesota the 7th best (#44 overall from highest to lowest) state in the country in terms of the percentage of the median household income in the state spent on the most common grocery items people generally buy.
How much is that in dollars?
According to the US Census Bureau, the median household income in Minnesota is $87,556 based on the most recent data. Using the 1.66% portion of that amount WaletHub says Minnesotans spend on groceries, that works out to $1,453.43 per year.
On a monthly scale, that comes out to $121.12 per month.
As I explained in the Wisconsin section, real-life numbers are likely higher for most Minnesota households being WalletHub only accounted for specific items purchased once a month at arbitrary quantities.
While the numbers may be lower than real-life grocery bills, the method they used to compare between states should be proportional.
Who pays more for groceries?
While the average Minnesotan has slightly more buying power due to a higher median household income, WalletHub suggests that Minnesotans still pay slightly less than Wisconsinites do for the same common grocery items.
Buying power and prices aren't always connected, however.
An example WalletHub uses is Mississippi, where the cost of groceries is the 9th cheapest in the country. Being the state's median household income is the lowest in the country, it makes their percentage of household income spent on groceries the highest in the country.
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