Latest news with #foodspending
CTV News
10 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Canadian food budgets are tighter than in the U.S., survey finds
A man looks at imported bottles of sauces for sale at the Hiep Thai grocery store in Garland, Texas, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero) The average Canadian household spends one-third less on food per week than its U.S. counterpart, a new survey from Leger has found. Conducted among roughly 1,600 Canadian and 1,000 U.S. respondents, the survey found that a typical weekly food budget in Canada totals C$179, while south of the border, that average looks more like US$203, or around C$277. That represents a 35 per cent, or roughly one-third decrease for Canadian budgets, compared to the United States. Beyond international differences, demographics that showed higher average weekly food budgets included Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), university graduates and parents, Leger says. On household spending, the survey also found that Canadians were slightly more likely to say they had anxiety over rising food prices (77 per cent versus 76), more likely to accept higher prices for local goods (51 per cent versus 43) and more likely to plan their food shopping ahead (93 per cent versus 90). While roughly half of Canadian and U.S. respondents described food as 'something you need to live' (47 and 54 per cent, respectively), substantial proportions of those surveyed also said they associated it with spending time with loved ones (40 per cent and 43 per cent) and with feelings of pleasure and happiness (33 and 34 per cent). 'Food decisions are deeply personal yet strongly shaped by social and economic factors,' said Luc Dumont, Leger's senior vice-president of consumer insights, in a release. Methodology Leger conducted the CRAVE study between May 2 and 4, 2025 among a sample of 2,640 respondents, pulled from the organization's web panel. Results were weighted by factors including gender, age, region, language, education, household composition, and ethnicity. Leger notes that while a margin for error cannot be directly associated with an online survey, a comparable survey shows a margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for the Canadian sample and 3.1 percentage points for the American sample, 19 times out of 20.
CBS News
7 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Which U.S. states tip most? A new study breaks down gratuity rates across the country.
What the CBO says about Trump's proposed tax cuts and the national debt Americans often voice their frustrations over tipping, but that hasn't stopped them from doing so when eating out. Consumers spent an estimated $77.6 billion on tips for food purchased at restaurants, bars and other eateries in 2023, according to a new study by LendingTree. The analysis, which draws on the most recent government data available, gives readers a snapshot of how much Americans tip and in which states they tip the most. It found that tipping rates tend to be higher in states where people eat out more. LendingTree also looked at which states drop the most money to dine out. Hint: It's not New York as some might suspect. See where your state ranks in terms of tipping below. Where do people tip the most? New Hampshire residents are the No. 1 tippers in the country, according to the LendingTree study. On average, they leave a gratuity of 16.07% of spending on food away from home — falling within the standard range of 15% to 20% tips at restaurants. New Hampshire's average tipping rate is four times that of the nation's lowest tipping state, which is Utah at 4.09%. But that's not to say Utah residents are stingy. As LendingTree points out, average tipping rates hinge on how much people in each state spend on food outside the home — which includes full-service restaurants as well as fast food place and even vending machines. In other words, not all food that's consumed outside the home is purchased at establishments where tipping is common. "If people in one state tend to dine at full-service restaurants far more often than those in another state, it stands to reason their overall percentage spent on tips would be higher," LendingTree Chief Consumer Financial Analyst Matt Schulz wrote in the study. Next in line after New Hampshire is Washington D.C. Denizens of the U.S. capital tip roughly 12.65% on average, when they eat out. LendingTree's data indicates that the highest tippers tend to be located on the East Coast, while the lowest are concentrated in the South and Western U.S. See the full rankings below. New Hampshire: 16.07% District of Columbia: 12.65% South Carolina: 11.17% Minnesota: 10.11% North Carolina: 9.75% Washington: 9.51% Vermont: 9.31% Nebraska: 9.12% Rhode Island: 8.54% Maine: 8.18% Indiana: 7.96% Delaware: 7.77% New York: 7.27% Massachusetts: 7.26% Florida: 7.23% New Jersey: 7.02% Connecticut: 6.83% Montana: 6.81% Illinois: 6.70% Colorado: 6.52 Pennsylvania: 6.44% Hawaii: 6.39% Michigan: 6.39% Oregon: 6.38% North Dakota: 6.30% Oklahoma: 6.25% Alaska: 6.25% Tennessee: 6.22% Nevada: 6.19% Louisiana: 6.16% California: 6.15% Virginia: 6.13% Missouri: 6.02% Texas: 6.00% Wyoming: 5.96% Georgia: 5.92% Ohio: 5.88% Kansas: 5.76% Maryland: 5.73% Wisconsin: 5.67% West Virginia: 5.66% Iowa: 5.60% Arizona: 5.57% South Dakota: 5.50% Kentucky: 5.45% New Mexico: 5.43% Arkansas: 5.26% Alabama: 5.21% Idaho: 5.10% Mississippi: 4.91% Utah: 4.09% Which places spend the most on dining out? Spending at restaurants and bars has climbed in recent years as Americans swap home cooking for dining out. In 2023, spending on dining out represented approximately 56% of Americans' food budgets, a 13% increase from 2000. "Since the percentage of spending on food consumed away from home plunged in 2020 due to the pandemic, there have been three consecutive years of significant growth," Matt Schulz wrote. According to LendingTree's analysis, people eat out the most in the nation's capital. D.C. residents spent $10,291 on dining out in 2023, about $3,500 more than residents in Nevada, the runner up. Illinois, on the other hand, saw the biggest increase in money spent on eating out, with dining expenditures climbing 13.5% from 2000 to 2023. Below are the top 10 states in per-capita spending on dining out. District of Columbia: $10,291 Nevada: $6,752 Hawaii: $6,628 California: $5,072 Massachusetts: $4,626 Colorado: $4,579 New York: $4,424 Rhode Island: $4,412 New Hampshire: $4,224 Washington: $4,182 The role of tipping in America With the federal minimum wage for tipped workers set at $2.13 an hour, many workers in service jobs such as waiters, hairdressers and bartenders lean heavily on tips to subsidize their income. Even with tips they still may not reach the standard minimum wage of $7.25, in which case employers are required to step in and make up the difference, per the Fair Labor Standards Act. Tipping in the service industry has recently come into focus with the "No Tax on Tips" — a provision baked into the GOP spending bill that would remove federal taxes from tips for workers who earn less than $160,000. If passed, "No Tax on Tips" could offer relief to the 4 million people in the U.S. who work in tipped occupations, about 2.5% of all U.S. workers, according to the Yale Budget Lab.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Grocery talk with the Food Professor
Ottawa Watch The Food Professor shares his insights into a new report on Canadian food spending habits.
