Average Cost of Food per Month for a College Student

Report Highlights. The average cost of food per month for a college student is $673.

• College students spend on average $410 a month eating off-campus.
• Meals cooked at home average $263 a month when the cost of eating off-campus is included.
• A campus meal plan averages $570 a month.
• A vegan diet cooked exclusively at home averages $281 a month.
• College students spend over $78 billion on food and groceries, which has increased nearly $10 billion in the past year.

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Average Grocery Budget for a College Student

The USDA outlines a monthly meal plan at 4 different levels of cost. In order of expense, there is the thrifty meal plan, the low-cost meal plan, the moderate-cost meal plan, and the liberal meal plan.

• These meal plans do not include the cost of eating off-campus or enrolling in a college meal plan.
• The average of all 4 meal plans is $335 a month.
• Since there are 84 meals in a 30-day month, each meal averages out to $3.98.

Monthly Cost of Groceries for College Students by State

The cost of an average monthly grocery bill varies by state. The average cost of groceries for an individual is $416. The average cost of groceries for a college student is $250. The difference of $166 was used to calculate the average grocery bill of each state.

• Hawaii had the most expensive grocery bills for college students.
• Wyoming had the cheapest grocery bills for college students.
• The table below only accounts for the cost of groceries – it does not include the cost of eating off-campus or enrolling in a college meal plan.

Monthly Cost of Eating Off-Campus for College Students

Eating off-campus is the largest monthly food expense for college students without a campus meal plan. Combining the average cost of eating off-campus with the remaining cost to cook meals at home, a college student with no campus meal plan pays roughly the same amount as a college student with a campus meal plan.

• College students spend on average $410 a month eating off-campus.
• This is a stand-alone average that does not take into account the amount of money students spend grocery shopping.
• When eating off campus, college students should take advantage of student discounts, such as 10% off discounts at fast-food restaurants.
• The average American orders take out 4 to 5 times per month and eats at a restaurant 3 times per month.
• The average American spends approximately $300 eating out each month.
• College students average $102 a week eating off-campus.

Comparison Cost of Campus Meal Plans

Freshmen living on campus are sometimes required to have a campus meal plan their first year in college. In response to budget cuts and pushback on the cost of tuition, colleges may raise the price of meal plans to offset their loss in revenue.

• A campus meal plan averages $570 a month.
• Semester meal plans generally include a set number of meals and an allowance for food purchases outside the dining halls.
• The allowance may have names such as “Flex bucks” or “Meal plan points”.
• Colleges generally have comparable meal plans with each other but do not share the same exact number of meals.
• The example below uses costs from meal plans that averaged 12 to 15 meals per week.

Average Cost of Meal Delivery Kits

Meal kits are an alternative food plan for college students besides campus meal plans and grocery shopping. For students unused to cooking for themselves, a meal kit is a viable option because it offers instructions and pre-assembled ingredients.

• For most delivery services, there is a minimum and a maximum number of meal kits a person can order per week.
• Most delivery kit plans are for 3 to 4 times a week – students cannot completely rely on meal kits for all their meals in the week.
• Grocery stores such as Publix and Fresh Market offer meal kits in person.
• Amazon meal delivery kits require a subscription to Amazon Prime and Amazon Fresh.
• Meal delivery services may offer student discounts on the first boxes or ongoing 15% off discounts for students.

Average Cost of a Vegan Meal Plan

Newer studies suggest that plant-based diets may be cheaper than meat-based diets. The monthly cost of vegan meal plans falls into the cheaper brackets of the USDA’s suggested meal budgets.

• Campus meal plans often come with alternative vegan options served in the dining hall.
• On average, a vegetarian diet may save a college student 16%.
• In a 30-day month, a college student would save $40 off their grocery bill with a plant-based diet.

Monthly Cost of Alcohol

In the fall of 2012, roughly 80% of the 21.6 million students nationwide admitted to drinking alcohol at some point during the school semester. Because of its prevalence in the college lifestyle, students may be interested in evaluating the overall cost of alcohol.

• On average, students spend $42 a month on alcohol.
• Including alcohol, the monthly grocery bill for a college student would be $292.
• Binge drinkers may spend $96 or more a month on alcohol.
• The grocery bill for a binge-drinking college student would be upwards of $346 a month.

Monthly Cost of Coffee

92% of college students have consumed caffeine over the past year. The cheapest way to save on coffee for a college student would be to make it at home.

• The cost of a cup of coffee from a store averages $2 to $4.
• If a college student bought a cup of coffee daily, they would spend $63 a month on average.
• Most Americans spend $20 or less each month buying cups of coffee from cafes or coffee shops.
• If coffee were made exclusively at home, it would average $15 a month instead.
• Most Americans spend between $11 and $30 each month to make coffee at home.

Sources

1. USDA Food and Nutrition Service U.S. Department of Agriculture: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels, U.S. Average, January 2024
2. Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, The Cost of Convenience: College Meal Plans
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26. College Data, 75+ Best Student Discounts to Use in College