Colorado Grocery Budget Calculator
$1,403/mo for 4 in Colorado on the USDA Moderate-Cost plan ($3.84 per person per meal). No state tax on groceries; your city or county may add its own.
At Colorado grocery prices, USDA's Moderate-Cost food plan for a family of four costs about $1,403 a month — about $324 a week, or $3.84 per person per meal. Colorado charges no state tax on groceries (C.R.S. 39-26-707(1)(e) and 29-2-105(1)(d)), but your city or county may add its own: enter that rate in the calculator, which starts at 0% and so shows $0 of tax on that basket until you do. $16,842 a year is 17.34% of Colorado's $97,113 median household income. Official vs modeled: USDA does not publish a state-specific food-plan cost for Colorado, so the Colorado figure is StateCalc's model of USDA's national August 2026 figure at Colorado's grocery prices.
Estimate only — these are not official figures
USDA's August 2026 national plan figures × Colorado's C2ER grocery price index of 101.1; USDA publishes no Colorado figure, so the result is modeled
Do not rely on these amounts for budgeting or payment. For exact amounts, check the USDA Cost of Food at Home reports for the national plan figures.
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Additional Details
Pre-filled: C2ER Cost of Living Index, Grocery component (via MERIC)
Monthly Grocery Budget
Estimated • Based on your inputs
Total Monthly Food Cost
$1,360.34
Food as % of Colorado's Median Income
16.81%
Detailed Breakdown
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Results should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional for your specific situation.
How This Calculator Works
Calculation methodology and assumptions
Colorado inputs: grocery price index 101.1 (C2ER Grocery component, Q2 2026, via MERIC), so USDA's August 2026 national plan figures are multiplied by 1.011 rather than by the overall cost-of-living index of 102.7. A family of 4 in Colorado: Thrifty ~$1,035, Low-Cost ~$1,138, Moderate ~$1,403, Liberal ~$1,697 a month. Colorado charges no state tax on groceries, but your city or county may add its own (C.R.S. 39-26-707(1)(e) and 29-2-105(1)(d)). State grocery tax used here: 0%; add your city or county rate in the calculator's local-rate box, which starts at 0%. Food as a share of income divides by Colorado's $97,113 median household income, and restaurant meals default to $18. Those are modeled figures; the USDA method every state shares is explained on the grocery budget hub.
Key State Information
Colorado food cost context: grocery price index 101.1 (above the U.S. 100) | cost of living index 102.7 | State grocery tax rate: 0% (your local rate is not included) | median household income $97,113.
Example Calculation
Let's build a realistic grocery budget for a family in Colorado.
Colorado's grocery price index is 101.1 (C2ER Grocery component, Q2 2026, via MERIC; 100 = national average), which scales USDA's national Moderate-cost figure for a family of four to roughly $1,403/month here.
Result: Recommended monthly grocery budget in Colorado: approximately $1,403. The Thrifty plan (about $1,035/month) is achievable with meal planning and cooking from scratch. Switching from the Liberal plan (~$1,697/month) down to Moderate saves roughly $3,528/year per family — mostly by cutting convenience foods and eating out less.
Worked example: groceries for a family of four in Colorado
$1,388.20 (USDA Moderate-Cost, reference family of four, August 2026) × 1.0110 (Colorado's C2ER grocery index, 101.1 in Q2 2026) = $1,403.47 a month, $16,841.64 a year.
Colorado exempts all sales of food from its state sales tax, but a town, city or county sales tax adopted under Title 29, Article 2 taxes food unless its own ordinance expressly exempts it. This page models no local rate: type your city or county grocery rate into the calculator and it adds that tax to the basket.
| Household | Thrifty | Moderate-Cost | Liberal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $347 | $445 | $555 |
| 2 people | $637 | $817 | $1,018 |
| 3 people | $847 | $1,127 | $1,377 |
| 4 people | $1,035 | $1,403 | $1,697 |
| 5 people | $1,229 | $1,667 | $2,015 |
C.R.S. 39-26-707(1)(e) and 29-2-105(1)(d), read 2026-10-14 at leg.colorado.gov.
StateCalc Team
Editorial Team
The StateCalc team builds free financial calculators using data from official government sources including the IRS, U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, and state revenue departments. All formulas are validated by an automated test suite and cross-referenced against published data.
Our editorial standardsFrequently Asked Questions
How much should I spend on groceries in Colorado?
On USDA's Moderate-Cost plan at Colorado prices: about $1,403 a month for a family of 4, $817 for two adults and $445 for one adult. The Thrifty to Liberal range for 4 is Thrifty ~$1,035, Low-Cost ~$1,138, Moderate ~$1,403 to Liberal ~$1,697.
What is the average meal cost in Colorado?
About $3.84 per person for a home-cooked meal: $1,403 a month ÷ 4 people ÷ 30.44 days ÷ 3 meals. Restaurant meals are separate; this page defaults them to $18.
What is the average weekly grocery bill in Colorado?
About $324 a week for a family of four and $103 for one person (the monthly figures × 12 ÷ 52).
Are groceries taxed in Colorado?
Not by the state (C.R.S. 39-26-707(1)(e) and 29-2-105(1)(d)), but cities and counties may still tax groceries. The calculator's local-rate box starts at 0%, so the $1,403 family-of-4 basket shows $0 of tax until you enter your city or county rate.
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