# How much do you pay for food compared to housing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992 "2011-03-09T01:36:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/1 "2011-03-09T01:36:00Z")
I’m curious if you add up the total food expenditure for your household (groceries, restaurants, bars etc.) and the total housing expenditure for your household (rent, mortgage, utilities etc) and compare them, what it would be. edit: post monthly figures in the thread if you’re comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/2 "2011-03-09T01:42:53Z")
revising answer in new post. (deleted) ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/3 "2011-03-09T01:55:04Z")
I ran out of time to edit my previous post, so I just deleted it. 2.93% of our annual income goes to groceries, restaurants, and other food items. We don’t drink, so no bars. 10.1% of our annual household expenditures goes to groceries, restaurants and other food items. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/4 "2011-03-09T02:06:05Z")
I assume that #3 was supposed to be “I spend between 1.5x & 5x more on housing than food.” I’m not sure exactly how much I spend on food (I buy other things at the store), but assuming I subtract my flatmate’s share from the rent, I’m somewhere between 5x and 10x. No bars or restaurants, but I do occasionally indulge in snacks or takeout. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/5 "2011-03-09T03:16:29Z")
I don’t have a mortgage or pay rent, but I’ve added up council rates, water rates, electricity costs etc. Even so, they’re still less than food costs. My quick approximation gives a ratio of food costs to housing costs of about 3 to 2. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/6 "2011-03-09T03:30:36Z")
Technically, I spend an infinite amount more on food than housing: I own my house free and clear and am not paying a mortgage. If you factor in taxes, though, they’re both about equal. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/7 "2011-03-09T03:55:51Z")
We spent between 1.5x and 5x more on food than on housing. The mortgage on our house is paid off, all we pay is the real estate tax (which isn’t peanuts). ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/8 "2011-03-09T04:01:56Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I don’t have a mortgage or pay rent, but I’ve added up council rates, water rates, electricity costs etc. Even so, they’re still less than food costs. My quick approximation gives a ratio of food costs to housing costs of about 3 to 2. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Technically, I spend an infinite amount more on food than housing: I own my house free and clear and am not paying a mortgage. If you factor in taxes, though, they’re both about equal. You could use the fair rental value of your place for your housing cost–after all, you are paying rent, just to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/9 "2011-03-09T13:35:27Z")
Mrs. Homie and I aren’t very efficient with regard to our food spending. We eat out way too much, we aren’t very good shoppers, etc. So we probably spend more on food than we should. Still, it’s not _that_ expensive. About $50-75 per week for the two of us, not counting eating out. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/10 "2011-03-09T13:57:20Z")
I don’t spend a lot on food, and if it weren’t for going out to eat once or twice a week, it’d be even considerably less. Only two of us to feed, and almost no packaged, processed stuff makes groceries cheap. I think avocados (currently expensive) and ribeye (always expensive) constitute half of my grocery spending. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/11 "2011-03-09T14:33:01Z")
Housing: 9.1% Groceries and dining out: 7.5% Our mortgage payment is kinda low. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/12 "2011-03-09T14:50:46Z")
Shouldn’t option 3 be: I spend between 1.5x & **5** x more on housing than food? That was my pick. It probably comes in around 3:1. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/13 "2011-03-09T14:57:46Z")
Expenses on housing, including rent, gas, electric, cable, water, is approximately three times expenses on food, including groceries, eating out, bars, and keeping my liquor cabinet stocked. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/14 "2011-03-09T21:04:01Z")
Crud. I messed up the math, going the wrong way. We spend half as much on groceries as the house payment, and the utilities double housing, not the food. I spend 3 or 4 times as much on housing, not the same amount. So take 1 vote off 4 and put it on 3. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/15 "2011-03-09T21:31:26Z")
I don’t see an answer for this–I spend about a little more than 3 times more on housing than I do on food. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/16 "2011-03-09T22:39:02Z")
It’s the third one, was supposed to be "between 1.5 to 5 times " ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/17 "2011-03-09T22:49:32Z")
I spent an average of $1200 a month for groceries, bars and restaurants in 2010 which puts me at about 1.5-2:1 housing to food. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/18 "2011-03-10T01:06:22Z")
Each month we spend an average of $1800 on bills–mortgage, home insurance, internet, netflix, car insurance, minor repair bills, etc, and $1000 on groceries/entertainment/dry goods etc. Further breaking it down would be more complicated. But I do think our housing costs are a lot lower than many people (yay for flyover states!) ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/19 "2011-03-10T01:11:52Z")
Live in the Bay Area (California) with a mortgage. Spend almost 30x more on housing than food. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Defenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/13edae/32.png) [@The\_Defenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Defenestrator)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992/20 "2011-03-10T01:37:06Z")
31% housing ($660/month) 16% food (~$350/month) So on housing I spend roughly 2x the amount I spend on food. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-food-compared-to-housing/573992.md?page=2)