The grocery store has gotten expensive. And a new study shows just how many families are struggling to keep up.
The Urban Institute released data showing that food costs have climbed 32% over the last five years. That kind of increase puts a real strain on the weekly budget and it is showing up in credit card statements across the country.
More than one in four working-age Americans are now carrying credit card debt just to pay for groceries. And the problem is getting worse, not better.
The Numbers Behind the Struggle
The Urban Institute found that 63.2% of working-age adults charged at least some of their grocery purchases to a credit card last year. That alone is not unusual. What is alarming is what happened next.
More than one quarter of those people ran into trouble paying the bill. And the share who could not even make the minimum payment on their grocery-related credit card charges rose from 7.1% in 2023 to 8.7% in 2025.
Some families turned to “buy now, pay later” installment plans to put food on the table. The Urban Institute found that 8.9% of adults used these plans for food purchases. Of those, more than a third, 34.8%, missed at least one installment payment.
Middle-Income Families Are Hit Hardest
You might expect the hardest hit to be the lowest earners. But the data tells a different story. Middle-class families, those earning between 200% and 400% of the federal poverty level, saw the steepest jump in missed minimum payments on food-related credit card charges. That rate climbed from 9.3% in 2023 to 12.3% in 2025.
These are working families with jobs and income who are still falling behind at the checkout counter.
No Quick Relief in Sight
The Conference Board’s Chief Economist Dana M. Peterson told Fox News Digital that everyday Americans should expect grocery prices to stay elevated. She said the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation goal is unlikely to be reached until at least 2028.
April’s personal consumption expenditures index, one measure of inflation, rose 0.4% in a single month and was up 3.8% compared to a year earlier.
The Urban Institute put it plainly: relying too heavily on credit cards and savings to cover basic needs may provide short-term relief, but it risks longer-term financial instability if families cannot keep up with the debt.
If you are watching your own grocery spending more carefully these days, you are in very large company.
