Illinois Grocery Budget Calculator
$1,373/mo for 4 in Illinois on the USDA Moderate-Cost plan ($3.76 per person per meal). No state tax on groceries; your city or county may add its own.
At Illinois grocery prices, USDA's Moderate-Cost food plan for a family of four costs about $1,373 a month — about $317 a week, or $3.76 per person per meal. Illinois charges no state tax on groceries (Public Act 103-0781 (Illinois Department of Revenue)), but your city or county may add its own: enter that rate in the calculator, which starts at 0% and so shows $0 of tax on that basket until you do. $16,475 a year is 19.8% of Illinois's $83,211 median household income. Official vs modeled: USDA does not publish a state-specific food-plan cost for Illinois, so the Illinois figure is StateCalc's model of USDA's national August 2026 figure at Illinois's grocery prices.
Estimate only — these are not official figures
USDA's August 2026 national plan figures × Illinois's C2ER grocery price index of 98.9; USDA publishes no Illinois figure, so the result is modeled
Do not rely on these amounts for budgeting or payment. For exact amounts, check the USDA Cost of Food at Home reports for the national plan figures.
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Additional Details
Pre-filled: C2ER Cost of Living Index, Grocery component (via MERIC)
Monthly Grocery Budget
Estimated • Based on your inputs
Total Monthly Food Cost
$1,322.83
Food as % of Illinois's Median Income
19.08%
Detailed Breakdown
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Results should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional for your specific situation.
How This Calculator Works
Calculation methodology and assumptions
Illinois inputs: grocery price index 98.9 (C2ER Grocery component, Q2 2026, via MERIC), so USDA's August 2026 national plan figures are multiplied by 0.989 rather than by the overall cost-of-living index of 94.5. A family of 4 in Illinois: Thrifty ~$1,012, Low-Cost ~$1,113, Moderate ~$1,373, Liberal ~$1,660 a month. Illinois charges no state tax on groceries, but your city or county may add its own (Public Act 103-0781 (Illinois Department of Revenue)). State grocery tax used here: 0%; add your city or county rate in the calculator's local-rate box, which starts at 0%. Food as a share of income divides by Illinois's $83,211 median household income, and restaurant meals default to $17. Those are modeled figures; the USDA method every state shares is explained on the grocery budget hub.
Key State Information
Illinois food cost context: grocery price index 98.9 (below the U.S. 100) | cost of living index 94.5 | State grocery tax rate: 0% (your local rate is not included) | median household income $83,211.
Example Calculation
Let's build a realistic grocery budget for a family in Illinois.
Illinois's grocery price index is 98.9 (C2ER Grocery component, Q2 2026, via MERIC; 100 = national average), which scales USDA's national Moderate-cost figure for a family of four to roughly $1,373/month here.
Result: Recommended monthly grocery budget in Illinois: approximately $1,373. The Thrifty plan (about $1,012/month) is achievable with meal planning and cooking from scratch. Switching from the Liberal plan (~$1,660/month) down to Moderate saves roughly $3,444/year per family — mostly by cutting convenience foods and eating out less.
Worked example: groceries for a family of four in Illinois
$1,388.20 (USDA Moderate-Cost, reference family of four, August 2026) × 0.9890 (Illinois's C2ER grocery index, 98.9 in Q2 2026) = $1,372.93 a month, $16,475.16 a year.
Illinois stopped collecting its 1% statewide grocery tax on January 1, 2026; a municipality or county can keep taxing groceries by passing its own ordinance. This page models no local rate: type your city or county grocery rate into the calculator and it adds that tax to the basket.
| Household | Thrifty | Moderate-Cost | Liberal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $340 | $436 | $543 |
| 2 people | $623 | $799 | $995 |
| 3 people | $829 | $1,102 | $1,347 |
| 4 people | $1,012 | $1,373 | $1,660 |
| 5 people | $1,202 | $1,630 | $1,972 |
Public Act 103-0781 (Illinois Department of Revenue), read 2026-10-13 at content.govdelivery.com.
StateCalc Team
Editorial Team
The StateCalc team builds free financial calculators using data from official government sources including the IRS, U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, and state revenue departments. All formulas are validated by an automated test suite and cross-referenced against published data.
Our editorial standardsFrequently Asked Questions
How much should I spend on groceries in Illinois?
On USDA's Moderate-Cost plan at Illinois prices: about $1,373 a month for a family of 4, $799 for two adults and $436 for one adult. The Thrifty to Liberal range for 4 is Thrifty ~$1,012, Low-Cost ~$1,113, Moderate ~$1,373 to Liberal ~$1,660.
What is the average meal cost in Illinois?
About $3.76 per person for a home-cooked meal: $1,373 a month ÷ 4 people ÷ 30.44 days ÷ 3 meals. Restaurant meals are separate; this page defaults them to $17.
What is the average weekly grocery bill in Illinois?
About $317 a week for a family of four and $101 for one person (the monthly figures × 12 ÷ 52).
Are groceries taxed in Illinois?
Not by the state (Public Act 103-0781 (Illinois Department of Revenue)), but cities and counties may still tax groceries. The calculator's local-rate box starts at 0%, so the $1,373 family-of-4 basket shows $0 of tax until you enter your city or county rate.
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