A state-by-state look at who spends the most and least on fast food
FILE: Combined Taco Bell and KFC restaurant, San Francisco, California, January 22, 2026. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
With fast food prices up 60% since 2014, those "affordable" drive-throughs don’t seem so economical anymore.
According to data from WalletHub, fast food is only a tiny fraction of American household spending, but it varies from state to state. WalletHub data showed people in poorer states tend to spend more of their income on fast food, though McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said in May that fast food visits by customers with household incomes of $45,000 or less are still declining overall. The spike in gas prices won’t help, he said.
What they're saying:
"It’s fair for consumers to wonder whether the convenience of having food in minutes is really even worth it anymore," WalletHub writer and analyst Chip Lupo said in a statement. "Where you live can have a big impact on how much you shell out for fast food, too; it costs around 1.8 times more in the most expensive states than the cheapest states, relative to the median income."
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Where do people spend the most on fast food?
Local perspective:
To identify where people spend the most on fast food, WalletHub looked at the prices of fast-food burgers, pizza and fried chicken sandwiches in every state. Researchers compared those combined costs with the median household income from each state. Here’s what they found:
Mississippi ranked No. 1 for the state where people spend the most on fast food. New Jersey, meanwhile, ranked last.
Dig deeper:
WalletHub analysts said with the rising costs of fast food – and its reputation for not being the healthiest – reducing spending on fast food can benefit both your wallet and your health.
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How to budget for fast food
What you can do:
If you still want to incorporate fast food into your budget, analysts recommend adding it in as a "luxury" at the bottom of your budget, when you’re identifying your "wants."
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It’s more important, they said, to have enough for essential expenses, paying down debt and putting money away for savings.
The Source: This report includes information from WalletHub and The Associated Press.