Consumers keep their gas and grocery spending steady

Summary

• All income cohorts increased gas spending as a share of income in 2026 while grocery spending shares decreased.
• Consumers spent slightly more of their income on gas & groceries in 2026 than in the prior year but less than four years ago.
• Lower-income households devote the largest share of their income to gas & groceries compared to other income groups.
• The pattern of rising gas shares & falling grocery shares occurred similarly across lower, middle, & higher income terciles.
• Data covers the period through September 2026 & is derived from aggregated, anonymized Bank of America transaction data.
• Grocery spending includes purchases at grocery stores, warehouse clubs, & dollar/discount stores.
• Income terciles are determined by quantitative estimates & are periodically re-assessed to reflect factors like wage inflation & social security changes.
• Per household spending data includes only active US households making a minimum of five transactions per month.