Grocery Costs in Mississippi
How much do groceries cost in Mississippi?
A family of four in Mississippi spends about $1,016 a month on groceries, $12,192 a year, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator's food cost estimates. That puts Mississippi about 5% below the median state. Here is the full picture for Mississippi households, and how to come in under it. Mississippi is one of the kinder states for a grocery budget: the MIT figure sits about 5% under the median state ($1,074 a month).
A family of four in Mississippi spends about $1,016 a month on groceries, $12,192 a year, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator's food cost estimates. That puts Mississippi about 5% below the median state. Here is the full picture for Mississippi households, and how to come in under it.
Monthly grocery costs in Mississippi by household
| Household | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Family of four (2 adults, 2 children) | $1,016 | $12,192 |
| Family of two (2 adults) | $636 | $7,637 |
| One adult | $347 | $4,166 |
| Per person, in a family of four | $254 | $3,048 |
MIT Living Wage Calculator food estimates. MIT builds its food figures from the USDA low cost food plan and adjusts them for price levels in each state, Mississippi included. For Mississippi, the figures cover food made and eaten at home.
How Mississippi compares
Mississippi is one of the kinder states for a grocery budget: the MIT figure sits about 5% under the median state ($1,074 a month). Over a year, a family of four in Mississippi spends about $694 less on groceries than the same family in the median state, which is real money in a Mississippi family budget: roughly a month of childcare in a cheaper state, or a solid start on an emergency fund. Food is labor, land and transport priced locally, which is why the Mississippi state line moves this number so much.
Shopping and stretching dollars in Mississippi
Walmart sets the pace for grocery prices in much of Mississippi, with Kroger strong in the north and around Jackson, and Piggly Wiggly and Winn-Dixie still important in communities where they are the hometown store. Unlike the exempt states, Mississippi taxes groceries at a reduced rate of 5 percent, so families do pay extra at checkout and need to count that in the weekly total. SNAP is handled by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, while WIC comes through the Mississippi State Department of Health for pregnant and postpartum women and children under five. Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, so the federal $7.25 applies, which makes careful food planning essential.
Budgeting by family size in Mississippi instead? Mississippi households can also start from the USDA food plan figures for a family of four and the rest of the family size tables, then run your real numbers in the grocery budget calculator. If your income is tight in Mississippi, check the maximum SNAP benefits by household size too.
Frequently asked questions
How much do groceries cost per month in Mississippi?
The MIT Living Wage Calculator puts food costs in Mississippi at $1,016 a month for a family of four (two adults and two children), $12,192 a year. In Mississippi, two adults come to $636 a month and one adult to $347 a month. The Mississippi figures cover food prepared and eaten at home, not restaurants.
How does Mississippi compare with other states?
Mississippi ranks 8 of 50 states for a family of four, about 5% below the median state of $1,074 a month. The cheapest state in the MIT data is Texas at $948 a month and the most expensive is Hawaii at $1,319 a month; Mississippi comes in at $1,016 a month.
How can I spend less than the Mississippi figure?
Treat the Mississippi numbers as budget benchmarks, not a floor. For a Mississippi family, meal planning around store sales, cooking once and eating twice, and keeping a running pantry list routinely trim 10% or more. On Mississippi's family of four figure, 10% is about $102 a month, $1,224 a year. Our grocery budget calculator helps you compare your real Mississippi spend with this benchmark.
Keep exploring
Neighboring states in the alphabet: Minnesota · Missouri
All states: grocery costs by state and family size · Tools: Grocery budget calculator · Family budget planner
Source: MIT Living Wage Calculator (livingwage.mit.edu), food cost estimates by state and household size, retrieved 2026-10-18. For Mississippi, MIT starts from the USDA low cost food plan and adjusts for state price levels. The Mississippi figures are planning benchmarks for food at home, not a quote for any one store.