Grocery Budget Per Person Calculator
Knowing what you spend on groceries per person makes it easy to set a fair budget and spot creep. Enter your total monthly grocery spend and how many people you feed. The calculator gives a per-person monthly amount, breaks it down to weekly and daily figures, and projects the household yearly total. Compare your per-person figure against the USDA Cost of Food Plans, the official US benchmark at four spending levels, to see whether you are thrifty or generous. Every figure is yours, so the result reflects your household, not an assumed cost.
Grocery budget formula
Per person monthly = monthly spend / people
Per person yearly = per person monthly * 12
Per person daily = per person yearly / 365
Per person weekly = per person daily * 7 ; Household yearly = monthly spend * 12
Using 365 days for the daily figure is more accurate than dividing a month by 30.
Budgeting notes
- The USDA Food Plans give four official spending levels by age and sex.
- Track dining out separately; this tool covers home groceries.
- Compare your per-person figure against the plan that fits your household.
- Planning meals and buying in season are reliable ways to spend less.
- Children and adults have different food costs; the USDA plans break this out.
Grocery budget per person: frequently asked questions
How does the grocery budget per person calculator work?
Enter your total monthly grocery spend and the number of people in the household. The calculator divides spend by people to give a per-person monthly figure, then breaks that down to per-person weekly and daily amounts, and projects the household yearly total.
What is a reasonable grocery budget per person?
The USDA publishes monthly Cost of Food estimates under its Food Plans (Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate, and Liberal) by age and sex. These are the official US reference points. Compare your per-person figure against the plan that fits your household to see where you stand.
Should I count dining out?
This tool is for groceries you buy to prepare at home, which is what the USDA Food Plans measure. Track restaurant and takeout spending separately, or add it if you want a single total food figure, but the per-person comparison works best with groceries only.
How is the daily figure calculated?
The per-person monthly amount is multiplied by 12 to get a yearly figure, then divided by 365 for a daily figure. This is more accurate than dividing the monthly amount by 30, because months vary in length.
Why compare against the USDA Food Plans?
The Food Plans are the federal benchmark for the cost of a nutritious diet at four spending levels. Comparing your per-person spend against the relevant plan shows whether you are spending thriftily or generously, and helps set a realistic target.
Official sources
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service: USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Budgeting resources.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 17 June 2026. See our methodology.