As much as housing skyrocketed in cost during and after the pandemic, food prices rose even faster.
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From 2020-2024, the USDA reports that food prices rose by 23.6%, compared to 23.0% for housing. But food inflation slowed dramatically in 2024, from a rate of 11.4% in 2022 to 5.0% in 2023 to just 1.2% in 2024.
So how do U.S. grocery prices and affordability compare to our neighbors in Canada and Mexico, and to the second largest economy in the world, China?
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United States Grocery Affordability
Grocery Cost Index: 71.75 (Numbeo)
Share of Average Consumer Spending: 6.8% (USDA data processed by Our World in Data)
In absolute terms, groceries cost more in the U.S. than in China, Canada or Mexico.
“The U.S. imports groceries from other countries like Mexico and Canada, for year-round availability,” explains consumer finance expert Aaron Razon of CouponSnake. “Add in the high cost of local labor and the impact of trade policies and tariffs on grocery prices, it’s really no surprise that groceries would cost more in the U.S. than it does in these other countries.”
But as a share of the average American’s budget, groceries take up the smallest percentage across these four countries, at just 6.8%. That makes grocery affordability in the U.S. better than its neighbors and chief rival.
Canada Grocery Affordability
Grocery Cost Index: 65.35
Share of Average Consumer Spending: 9.7%
Groceries cost a little less north of the border. Specifically, Numbeo reports that groceries cost 5.8% less in Canada when priced in the same currency.
However, the median Canadian also earns less than the median American. The average Canadian household spends 9.7% of its budget on groceries.
Mexico Grocery Affordability
Grocery Cost Index: 38.22
Share of Average Consumer Spending: 25.7%
That effect becomes much more pronounced in Mexico, where both incomes and grocery prices are lower. Numbeo reports that groceries cost 42.3% less in Mexico, in absolute terms.
Accountant Shalini Dharna of Dharna CPA explains further.
“In general, consumers in Mexico tend to have less disposable income than in the U.S. and Canada, so in relative terms groceries are more affordable in the U.S. than in Mexico.”
Plus, Mexican households have less access to imported foods than Americans do. Outside of major cities, many Mexican families primarily eat locally grown food.
China Grocery Affordability
Grocery Cost Index: 34.18
Share of Average Consumer Spending: 21.2%
Groceries cost even less in China: 53.1% less, to be exact.
“China’s large-scale agricultural production and low labor costs put them at an advantage when it comes to affordability,” says Razon.
The raw numbers don’t tell the whole story, however. China has enormous wealth and cost-of-living divides, especially between rural and urban areas. Food takes up a large portion of the average Chinese household’s budget — particularly for those low-wage rural workers providing that cheap labor.
Editor’s Note: Grocery cost indexes from Numbeo.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Here’s How Much Groceries Cost in the US Compared to Mexico, Canada and China
