Tennesseans spend less on groceries than most of the rest of the country

NASHVILLE (WDEF) – As Tennessee lawmakers once again debating the future of the grocery tax, we point out that shoppers still spend less here than in most states.

A new analysis from Trace One looks at how much we spend on groceries on a state-by-state basis.

Tennesseans spend about $700 a month on them.

That’s 44.1% of our total food spending and 7% of all our purchases.

We spend $887 a month on eating-out.

Our spending ranks #41 nationally, but is even better when compared to the percentage of food costs.

There has been a national trend of exempting groceries from sales tax.

Tennessee lawmakers have rejected doing that in the past, but it’s back again this session.

Nationally, grocery prices rose 0.7% in December, the largest one-month gain since the Covid outbreak.