USDA grocery cost reference

Estimate grocery costs with USDA Food Plans.

Enter your household to compare four USDA food-at-home reference levels. Use the result as a starting point, then compare it with your actual food spending. Reference data: July 2026, Mainland US.

Updated September 11, 2026.

Household calculator

Compare all four USDA reference levels.

Data month: July 2026 · Source and method

The interactive calculator needs JavaScript. The USDA method, limits, and source data remain available below.

Get an estimate in one click

Start with an example household. Family examples use one Female and one Male adult row from the USDA tables.

Choose an example, or enter your own household below.

Enter or adjust your household
Your household

Enter ages 1–120. For anyone age 12 or older, choose the Female or Male row from the USDA source table. Entries stay in this browser and are not sent to Radish.

Household member 1

USDA table for age 12+

Your next step

What did you actually spend on food?

A supermarket total includes more than food. Scan your receipts with Radish to see the items and categories behind it.

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For iPhone · No bank connection

One supermarket trip · Illustrative example

Bank transaction$126.40

The items tell you more

Food & drinks
$98.70
Household supplies
$19.80
Personal care
$7.90

Compare the food portion with your USDA reference.

See a worked example for four people

Worked four-person example

July 2026 USDA Food Plan references

No household-size adjustment

Household used: age 30 on the USDA Female row, age 30 on the Male row, and children ages 7 and 10. Four people use the published sums without a household-size adjustment.

Thrifty

$1,024.90 / month

$236.60 / week · $12,298.80 / year

Low-Cost

$1,127.90 / month

$260.40 / week · $13,534.80 / year

Moderate-Cost

$1,391.10 / month

$321.00 / week · $16,693.20 / year

Liberal

$1,682.90 / month

$388.40 / week · $20,194.80 / year

See the official USDA citations and normalized July 2026 data. Weekly and monthly values use the published one-decimal amounts; annual values equal the monthly reference multiplied by 12. A different household can produce different results.

Grocery costs for example households

Food prepared at home · Mainland US · July 2026. Family examples use Female and Male adult rows. Household-size adjustments are included.

July 2026 USDA Food Plans · monthly amounts, with weekly amounts below
Example householdThriftyLow-CostModerate-CostLiberal
1 adult · Female tableAge 30$304.70$70.30 / week$331.30$76.40 / week$404.50$93.40 / week$516.20$119.20 / week
1 adult · Male tableAge 30$383.00$88.40 / week$380.90$88.00 / week$478.40$110.40 / week$585.00$135.00 / week
2 adultsBoth age 30 · Female + Male tables$630.40$145.50 / week$652.90$150.70 / week$809.40$186.80 / week$1,009.50$233.00 / week
2 adults · age 60Female + Male tables$569.70$131.50 / week$625.40$144.30 / week$777.00$179.40 / week$933.90$215.60 / week
Family of 4 · younger kidsAdults 30 · children 3 and 5$934.60$215.70 / week$946.60$218.50 / week$1,165.10$268.90 / week$1,438.60$332.00 / week
Family of 4 · older kidsAdults 30 · children 7 and 10$1,024.90$236.60 / week$1,127.90$260.40 / week$1,391.10$321.00 / week$1,682.90$388.40 / week

Different ages and table selections change the estimate. Enter your own household or read the USDA sources and method.

How the calculation works

  1. Match each age to a USDA row. Children under 12 use the Child rows. Beginning at age 12, the source tables split costs into Female and Male rows.
  2. Add each member’s food cost. The calculator separately sums the published weekly and monthly values for the selected plan.
  3. Apply household size. USDA says to increase the sum by 20% for one person, 10% for two, and 5% for three; use no change for four; decrease it by 5% for five or six and 10% for seven or more.
  4. Round to the nearest 10 cents. This follows the rounding precision in the published tables. Annual figures are the adjusted monthly amount multiplied by 12.

How to read the four results

USDA publishes Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans. The figures are national reference levels for food and beverages purchased for preparation at home. This calculator shows all four without selecting one as right for your household.

The Thrifty Food Plan also supports federal nutrition-program administration, but this page does not calculate SNAP eligibility or benefits.

Official source and transparent data

The calculator uses USDA Food and Nutrition Service Food Plan tables for July 2026. USDA describes the four plans, food-at-home scope, monthly updates, household-size adjustment, and rounding method on its official pages.

The public JSON preserves the plan names, age bands, weekly and monthly values, source workbook URLs, file hashes, and household-size factors used by this calculator.

Grocery budget calculator FAQ

How does the grocery budget calculator work?

It matches each household member to the applicable USDA age table, adds the published food costs, and applies USDA’s adjustment for household size. The page then shows Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal reference amounts.

What do the four USDA Food Plans mean?

They are four national food-at-home reference levels published by USDA: Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal. They are not four promises about what a specific household can or should spend.

Why do people age 12 or older need a Female or Male USDA table selection?

The source tables publish separate Female and Male cost rows beginning at age 12. The selector only chooses which published USDA row the calculator uses; Radish does not store the choice or infer anyone’s identity.

Does the estimate include restaurants, takeout, or delivery fees?

No. USDA Food Plans cover food and beverages purchased for preparation at home. Restaurant meals, takeout, delivery fees, household supplies, and other non-food purchases are outside this estimate.

Does the calculator cover Alaska and Hawaii?

No. This calculator uses the Mainland U.S. tables in the published dataset. USDA publishes separate Alaska and Hawaii tables, which are not represented here.

Is this a personalized budget, financial recommendation, or SNAP benefit estimate?

No. It is a transparent calculation from national USDA reference tables. It does not know your income, location, dietary needs, local prices, benefits, pantry inventory, or financial goals.

What are the July 2026 USDA Food Plan costs for this four-person example?

For age 30 on the USDA Female row, age 30 on the Male row, and children ages 7 and 10, Thrifty is $236.60 a week and $1,024.90 a month; Low-Cost is $260.40 and $1,127.90; Moderate-Cost is $321.00 and $1,391.10; Liberal is $388.40 and $1,682.90. A four-person sum has no household-size adjustment.