True cost
How Much Does Eating Out Cost Per Month?
The price right now
$329.00 — per month, average American (Ramsey Solutions, from BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey)
- $218.00 · singles, per month
- $498.00 · families, per month
Prices as of July 2026. This is food away from home — restaurants, takeout and delivery — not groceries. Singles average about $218/mo, families about $498/mo.
Sources: Ramsey Solutions — dining-out spend analysis (BLS CES-derived) · BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey — food away from home
What it really costs per year
| Cost item | Per year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| US average, all households | $3,948 | $329/mo x 12 (Ramsey, BLS-derived). This page's total. Ramsey Solutions — dining-out spend analysis (BLS CES-derived) · BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey — food away from home |
| Singles | varies | ≈ $218/mo ≈ $2,616/yr. Ramsey Solutions — dining-out spend analysis (BLS CES-derived) |
| Families | varies | ≈ $498/mo ≈ $5,976/yr. Ramsey Solutions — dining-out spend analysis (BLS CES-derived) |
| Total per year | $3,948 | US average, $329/mo x 12. Your figure scales with household size — singles land near $2,616/yr, families near $5,976/yr. |
The price in hours of your life
The same yearly figure, converted into working time — one year of this habit costs you:
| Income level | Hourly | Hours of work / year | Work weeks / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $7.25 | 545 | ≈ 13.6 |
| Median US full-time income | $30.83 | 128 | ≈ 3.2 |
| Higher incomeexample | $50.00 | 79 | ≈ 2 |
Sources: US DOL — federal minimum, unchanged since 2009 · BLS Usual Weekly Earnings, Q1 2026 — median weekly earnings $1,233 ÷ 40h
Prefer to start from your side of the math? Calculate your exact hourly rate first — it's remembered for the session.
Is eating out worth it?
Eating out buys time and pleasure that groceries don't, so the answer is never a flat no — but the average $3,948 a year is three-plus work weeks of median income, and most of it goes to routine meals, not memorable ones. The move isn't to stop; it's to spend the budget on the meals you'll actually remember and quietly cook the forgettable ones, converting hours of work back into savings without losing anything you valued.
For
- Time saved and experiences that home cooking can't replicate — worth real hours when it's intentional
- The most flexible line in any food budget: every skipped routine meal is money straight back
Against
- $329/mo average ≈ $3,948/yr ≈ 128 hours (3+ work weeks) of median-income work
- Families average $498/mo — nearly $6,000 a year
- Most of the spend is routine meals, not the ones you'd remember paying for
Frequently asked questions
How much does the average person spend eating out per month?
About $329 a month for the average American — roughly $3,948 a year — per Ramsey Solutions' analysis of BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Singles average around $218/month, families around $498/month.
How much is eating out per year?
The US average is about $3,948 a year ($329/month x 12). Singles land near $2,616 and families near $5,976, depending on household size and habits.
How many hours of work does eating out cost per year?
At $3,948 a year, about 128 hours of work at the median US full-time income of $30.83/hour — more than three 40-hour weeks — and about 545 hours at the federal minimum wage.
Is eating out a waste of money?
Not inherently — it buys time and experiences groceries don't. But at $3,948 a year on average, much of the spend goes to routine meals; steering the budget toward memorable meals and cooking the rest is where the hours come back.