Consumers fret over food costs; here’s where they hurt most

Consumer confidence has been dropping in recent weeks as food prices remain high. Some foods, like eggs, remain extremely high because of a plague sweeping the country’s bird population.

USAToday recently reported on a study by WalletHub that showed people are paying the highest percentages of their incomes for food mostly in southern states.

*Food prices remain stubbornly high. Here are the states feeling the most pain.*

States where shoppers spend the highest percentage of income on groceries are:

Mississippi (2.64%)
West Virginia (2.57%)
Arkansas (2.49%)
Kentucky (2.41%)
Louisiana (2.39%)
New Mexico (2.36%)
Alabama (2.34%)
South Carolina (2.27%)
Tennessee (2.23%)
Oklahoma (2.21%)

“The top states also coincide with the states where the median income is the lowest in the country, said Chip Lupo, writer and analyst for WalletHub,” USAToday reports. U.S. food prices have risen a total of roughly 25% in the past five years, the newspaper reports.

All this is happening even before possible trade wars spell even higher food prices. Mexico and Canada combined account for 42% of the U.S. food imports, for example.

Check our food inflation stories for tips on how to cope with high food prices. Just click here for all the stories we’ve done on that topic in recent years.