Debating dining out again? This is how much you can save in Washington by eating at home
Washingtonians can save $14.74 per meal on average by eating at home rather than going out, a new study shows.
It’s long been the advice from self-help books, financial gurus and the like that an easy way to save money is to reduce how often you eat at restaurants. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average consumer spends nearly $3,500 per year eating out — and those costs have continued to increase with inflation.
Top Nutrition Coaching, a national dietary and nutrition website, composed its comprehensive study for Washington and every other state. The site’s analysts looked at the cost of a restaurant meal and compared it to the cost of cooking at home in every state to determine how much money people could save. The study used data from Numbeo, which dubs itself the world’s largest cost-of-living database.
The study determined that Washington is the second-most expensive state for eating out, averaging $20 per meal. Other states that Washington tied with include Connecticut, Florida, South Carolina and New Hampshire.
As further incentive for Washington residents to eat at home, it costs on average just $5.26 to eat at home; but that total is still seventh-most expensive in the nation. Other states with similar costs include Tennessee, Delaware, Alaska and Connecticut.
All-in-all, Washington ranks 10th when it comes to the difference between eating out and eating at home, putting it as one of the largest differentials in the country.
Here are other key findings from the report:
Missouri is the most affordable state for eating in, at just $3.34 per meal.
New York is the most expensive state for eating out, at $25 per meal on average.
In 84% of states, you can save more than $10 per meal by eating in.
Americans save around $12 by opting to cook and eat at home, with the average home meal costing $4.23 versus over $16 per meal at an inexpensive restaurant.
Annually, it costs over $13,000 more to eat out than it costs to prepare the same amount of food at home.
New York residents see the most drastic price difference and save $19.40 per meal made at home —nearly $3 more than New Hampshire.
Increased food costs don’t necessarily correlate with high populations. For example, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Louisiana all have above-average grocery costs, but all rank in the bottom 25 when it comes to state population.
Here is the complete list of how much it costs on average to eat in and eat out in every state.
