In the past, I’ve showed data on on the relationship between income and food spending. With help from my colleagues in the Purdue Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS), we’ve created a new data dashboard showing how consumer food spending varies over time and by income.
We make use of Bureau of Labor Statistics data on from their annual consumer expenditure survey, and one of their main reports that indicates spending on different categories of food by income quintile.
The dashboard can be used to show inflation-adjusted spending by income over time, and food spending as a share of total income (these are so-called Engel curves). Here’s a screenshot of the dashboard showing spending on food at home in the years 1984, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. At all income levels, one can see that inflation-adjusted spending on food has fallen over time.
It is also possible to see trends for individual food items and different income quintiles. For example, here is spending on fresh fruits and vegetables by the highest income consumers since 1984 both in total and as a share of income.
And, now, the same data but for the lowest income consumers.
Want to see a different food group? Or different income level? Play around with the dashboard yourself.: enjoy!