Grocery Costs in Utah
How much do groceries cost in Utah?
A family of four in Utah spends about $1,043 a month on groceries, $12,517 a year, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator's food cost estimates. That puts Utah about 3% below the median state. Here is the full picture for Utah households, and how to come in under it. Utah is one of the kinder states for a grocery budget: the MIT figure sits about 3% under the median state ($1,074 a month).
A family of four in Utah spends about $1,043 a month on groceries, $12,517 a year, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator's food cost estimates. That puts Utah about 3% below the median state. Here is the full picture for Utah households, and how to come in under it.
Monthly grocery costs in Utah by household
| Household | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Family of four (2 adults, 2 children) | $1,043 | $12,517 |
| Family of two (2 adults) | $653 | $7,841 |
| One adult | $356 | $4,277 |
| Per person, in a family of four | $261 | $3,129 |
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, Utah included. For Utah, the figures cover food made and eaten at home.
How Utah compares
Utah is one of the kinder states for a grocery budget: the MIT figure sits about 3% under the median state ($1,074 a month). Over a year, a family of four in Utah spends about $370 less on groceries than the same family in the median state, which is real money in a Utah 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 Utah state line moves this number so much.
Grocery runs along the Wasatch and beyond
Smith's does much of the heavy lifting in Utah, alongside Walmart, the local favorite Harmons, and WinCo Foods for big stock up trips. Food is not fully tax free in the checkout line. The state rate on groceries is a reduced 1.75 percent, and the combined statewide rate on food comes to 3 percent once other pieces are added, so a large shop still carries noticeable tax. If income is tight, SNAP is handled by the Utah Department of Workforce Services, while WIC comes through the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Utah follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which means two careful budgets, not one, often have to cover a growing family's weekly food run.
Budgeting by family size in Utah instead? Utah 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 Utah, check the maximum SNAP benefits by household size too.
Frequently asked questions
How much do groceries cost per month in Utah?
The MIT Living Wage Calculator puts food costs in Utah at $1,043 a month for a family of four (two adults and two children), $12,517 a year. In Utah, two adults come to $653 a month and one adult to $356 a month. The Utah figures cover food prepared and eaten at home, not restaurants.
How does Utah compare with other states?
Utah ranks 17 of 50 states for a family of four, about 3% 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; Utah comes in at $1,043 a month.
How can I spend less than the Utah figure?
Treat the Utah numbers as budget benchmarks, not a floor. For a Utah family, meal planning around store sales, cooking once and eating twice, and keeping a running pantry list routinely trim 10% or more. On Utah's family of four figure, 10% is about $104 a month, $1,248 a year. Our grocery budget calculator helps you compare your real Utah spend with this benchmark.
Keep exploring
Neighboring states in the alphabet: Texas · Vermont
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 Utah, MIT starts from the USDA low cost food plan and adjusts for state price levels. The Utah figures are planning benchmarks for food at home, not a quote for any one store.