By Becky Hardin
Published Apr 29, 2024
What are the dinner time habits of each state? The time and types of evening meals can vary significantly around the world. But what differences are there within the United States? We conducted a study to find out more about the dinner time habits of the US and to dive into individual state habits. We’ve found out what time people in each state usually eat dinner, how much they spend on takeout, and which states are most interested in home cooking.
Average Dinner Times Across the United States
The national average time to have dinner in the US is 6:18 PM, some states eat much earlier or later. 6:00 PM is a popular dinner time, as many states choose to eat then, including Alaska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
Which states eat the earliest?
The national average time to have dinner in the US is 6:18 PM, some states eat even earlier.
People in Pennsylvania have their evening meal the earliest, with people sitting down for dinner at 5:37 PM on average. This is over one hour and 20 minutes earlier than the states where people eat the latest, Mississippi and Texas.
Maine is just behind Pennsylvania as people usually eat dinner three minutes later, at 5:40 PM.
Which states eat the latest?
People in Mississippi and Texas wait the longest for their evening meal, with the average dinner time at 7:02 PM. This is just two minutes later than those in Arkansas and Tennessee who start eating at 7:00 PM.
New York inhabitants tend to opt for a 6:41 PM dinner time, while people in North Carolina have theirs seven minutes earlier, at 6:34 PM.
Takeout Spending Changes in the last 10 Years
The amount of money spent on takeout food per person in the US has increased steadily over the past decade. It went from $2,692 in 2012 to $4,181 in 2022 — a more than 55% increase.
From 2012 to 2019, the year-on-year increase was relatively modest, typically between 2% and 4%. However, in 2020, there was a much more significant jump of over 10% in the average takeout spending per person. This large increase was likely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to many restaurants closing their dine-in services.
This pandemic effect continued in 2021 and 2022, with the average takeout spending per person rising at 7.45% and 7.81%, respectively.
Which states spend the most on Take Out?
Hawaii tops the list with an average annual spend of $5,322 per person, translating to approximately $14.58 per day, $102.35 per week, and $443.50 per month.
Closely following are New Hampshire ($5,190 annually), Maine ($5,151), and Vermont ($4,957).
Massachusetts rounds out the top five with an average annual spend of $4,789 per capita, which is $13.12 per day, $92.10 per week, and $399.08 per month.
Colorado ($4,781), Wyoming ($4,777), and Montana ($4,775) are a close trio, with differences of $6 or less between their respective average annual takeout spends per capita.
Which states spend the least on take out?
Oklahomans spend almost half as much on takeout as Hawaiians. Oklahoma had the lowest average annual takeout spending of $3,198 per capita in 2022. This is a daily average of $8.76, a weekly average of $61.50, and a monthly average of $266.50 per person — over 49% lower than the takeout bill in Hawaii.
Tennessee ($3,427 annually) and Arkansas ($3,461) follow closely behind Oklahoma, with Arkansas having a slightly higher average annual takeout spend per capita than Tennessee.
South Dakota ($3,592) and Minnesota ($3,657) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, with Minnesota’s average annual takeout spend per capita being $65 higher than South Dakota’s.
Which states have the biggest increase in take out spending?
California had the biggest jump in average yearly takeout spending per person from 2012 to 2022, with a 70.5% increase. In 2012, the average Californian spent $2,659 on takeout for the whole year, but by 2022, this amount had gone up to $4,534.
Colorado is next with a 65.7% increase, from $2,886 in 2012 to $4,781 in 2022. During those ten years, Illinois and Rhode Island also saw huge growths of 63.6% and 62.8%, respectively.
Several other parts of the country also experienced notable rises in takeout spending over the past decade. Florida’s average yearly takeout spend per person grew by 62.5%, from $2,809 in 2012 to $4,565 in 2022.
Maine and New York had the same 62.2% increase, with Maine going from $3,175 to $5,151 and New York increasing from $2,539 to $4,119. North Carolina’s takeout spending went up by 61.9%, reaching $4,163 in 2022, $1,592 more than in 2012.
Which states have the smallest increase in take out spending?
Minnesota’s average yearly takeout spend per person grew by 34.6%, going from $2,716 in 2012 to $3,657 in 2022. South Dakota saw a 36.1% increase, with its average rising from $2,639 to $3,592. Vermont’s takeout spending went up by 37.8%, reaching $4,957 in 2022, higher than $3,596 in 2012.
Which states are most interested in take out?
To find the states searching for takeout and home-cooked recipes the most, we took the average monthly searches for terms relating to the topic and compared this to the total online reach. The total reach is based on the number of Google users who were signed in.
Rhode Island has the highest percentage of searches for takeout-related terms compared to its online population. Around 12.19% of Rhode Island’s 1,160,000 online reach search phrases like ‘doordash’, ‘takeout near me’, and ‘fast food near me’ each month.
Delaware is second, with 10.74% of its 1,240,000 reach searching for takeout — an average of 141,440 monthly searches. South Carolina and Michigan also rank high, with around 10% of their online populations searching for takeouts nearby.
Which states are least interested in take out?
Under 4% of people in Mississippi are searching for takeout on Google.
Only 3.70% of Mississippi’s 4,310,000 Google users search for takeouts, with a monthly average of 159,620 searches. Iowa follows closely, with 4.81% of its 4,420,000 reach searching for takeout-related terms. Kansas also ranks among the states with the lowest search interest, with 5.09% of the total reach searching for things like ‘burger near me’ and ‘ubereats’.
While Georgia has a high number of overall searches, at 1,007,360 a month, this only accounts for 5.79% of signed-in Google users in the state.
Which states are most interested in home cooking?
People in Montana are searching for home-cooked recipes the most.
Montana is the state searching for terms related to home cooking the most. The average of 9,350 monthly searches translates to just over 1% of the total online reach in the state. Although this may seem low, it is almost five times higher than the percentage found in Mississippi.
Alaska is in second place, with 0.94% of Google users looking for dinner ideas by searching for terms like ‘dinner recipes’.
Which states are the least interested in home cooking?
Mississippi is the state least interested in home cooking.
With 8,960 monthly searches for terms relating to home cooking (on average), Mississippi is the state where people are least interested in home-cooked dinners. These searches account for just 0.21% of the total online reach of the area.
Even with 38,900,000 signed-in Google users, there are only 87,880 searches per month for home-cooking terms in New York — leaving the searches as a percentage of total reach at only 0.23%.
How to incorporate better dinner habits
Cooking dinner every day can seem daunting. And, while there’s nothing wrong with an occasional takeout, you can save money and improve your health by cooking at home. Here are some tips to help improve your dinner time habits:
1. Make meal planning a priority
Spend some time each week planning out your dinners for the upcoming days. For example, you could dedicate a few hours on a Sunday afternoon to create a weekly meal plan. This will help you ensure you have all the necessary ingredients on hand and prevent last-minute scrambling or resorting to takeout.
To help with meal planning, look online for new dishes to try out and make cooking fun again! At The Cookie Rookie, we have plenty of recipes to browse, from casserole recipes to one-pot meals and more.
2. Establish a regular dinnertime
Having a consistent time for dinner each day can help create a routine and make it easier to plan and prepare meals. While we understand this isn’t always possible when life gets in the way, having a usual dinner time also allows family members to adjust their schedules and be present for the meal.
3. Create a distraction-free environment
During dinner time, make it a habit to turn off televisions, put away phones or tablets, and avoid other distractions. This allows you to focus on the meal and engage in quality family time or mindful eating.
By adopting these habits into your dinner time routine, you can not only improve your overall nutrition and health but also take the stress out of cooking to create a more enjoyable experience for you and your loved ones.
Methodology
We used FlowingData to find the peak average dinner time for each state.
We also used BEA interactive tables to find the average spend on ‘Food and
beverages for off-premises consumption’ per capita nationally and per state for 2022, the newest data available at the time of writing. We also compared this data from 2012 to 2022.
Use search data from Google Ads Keyword Planner to determine the number of searches for takeouts. These search terms included:
- burger near me
- chinese food near me
- doordash
- fast food near me
- grubhub
- indian food near me
- justeat
- pizza near me
- takeout near me
- thai food near me
- ubereats
We then compared these to searches for home-cooked meals using these terms:
- dinner recipes
- recipes
- what to cook for dinner
- dinner inspiration
- dinner ideas
- home cooked meals
- home cooking
- easy dinner recipes
- simple dinner recipes
- things to cook for dinner
To normalize this data, we took the searches as a percentage of total reach in Google Ads Keyword Planner. Total reach is based on the number of signed-in users visiting Google sites.
All data was collected on 04/12/2024 and is correct as of then.
By Becky Hardin
Published Jul 12, 2017
This Essential Grocery List is an absolute life saver for my family on the busy weeks. When I started this journey to learn how to cook, I quickly realized that the first step in cooking is having staple ingredients on hand. I want to avoid having to run out to the grocery store every single time I prepare a new recipe. Having a well-stocked pantry has made my life in the kitchen so much simpler, because when it’s time to cook, I have what I need.
Essential Grocery List
It’s so helpful to have a basic grocery list to help me remember which foods to buy at the store. This food shopping list is my go-to!
It’s better to stock up on things like grains, seasonings and spices, baking essentials, oils, condiments, canned and frozen foods, etc. so I can just grab them when I need them. These things have a long shelf life , so I keep them in my kitchen for convenience.
However, I do have to go to the supermarket sometimes, and there’s a way to make that trip easy and hassle-free: I keep a grocery list! If I go in blindly, I’ll leave with things I don’t need, and nothing that actually helps me prepare a good meal.
In the list below, I’ve compiled everything I always have on my stock-up grocery list.
I’ve got you covered! I created an easy grocery list filled with all of the essentials. Plus there’s a free printable version that you can take with you to the grocery store. It has everything you need to stock your pantry, your freezer, and your refrigerator.
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List
What to Buy at the Grocery Store
This is the perfect grocery list filled with all the basics and essentials. It should help get you going if you’re new to cooking, or if you’re just left staring helplessly at an empty pantry and don’t know how to fill it.
When I first started cooking, things could seem overwhelming. I quickly realized that they more prepared I could be, the more confident I felt. If you already have the basics in your kitchen, then you can shop stress-free.
So print out our easy grocery list, stock up your pantry and fridge, and you’ll be cooking in no time!
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List for the perfectly stocked pantry and freezer!
Fresh Produce
- Apples
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Avocados
- Bell Peppers
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Lemons/Limes
- Onion
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Potatoes
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
GRAINS
- Breadcrumbs
- Pasta
- Quinoa
- Rice
- Sandwich Bread
- Tortillas
MEAT/PROTEIN
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Ground Beef
- Sliced Turkey
- Lunch Meat
DAIRY
- Butter
- Sliced Cheese
- Shredded Cheese
- Milk
- Sour Cream
- Greek Yogurt
BAKING GOODS
- Baking powder
- Baking Soda
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Flour
- Honey
- Vanilla Extract
- Dry Yeast
- Chocolate Chips
- Cocoa Powder
- Powdered Sugar
FREEZER
- Fruit and Berries
- Frozen Veggies (Corn, Peas, Broccoli, etc)
- Juice Concentrate
- Pizza or Other Convenience Meals
- Pie Crust
- Cookie Dough
CANNED/DRIED GOODS
- Chicken stock/broth
- Salsa
- Diced Tomatoes
- Jam/Jelly
- Peanut Butter
- Pasta Sauce
- Beans (Black Beans, Chickpeas, Baked Beans, etc)
- Soups
- Tuna
- Green Chiles
- Canned Veggies
- Coffee or Tea
Get more details on the best non-perishable and pantry foods
CONDIMENTS/SPICES
- Black Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Cinnamon
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Mayo
- Nutmeg
- Paprika
- Salt (Course Sea Salt and Kosher Salt)
- Soy Sauce
- Steak Sauce
- Hot Sauce/ Buffalo Sauce
- Salad Dressings
OILS/VINEGARS
- Apple cider vinegar
- Balsamic vinegar
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Vegetable/Canola Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- White Vinegar
- Cooking Wine
- White Wine Vinegar
SNACKS
- Crackers
- Nuts
- Quick Oats
- Popcorn
- Tortilla Chips
- Cereal
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List for the perfectly stocked pantry and freezer!
Click ☝🏻 for my FREE Grocery List Printable!
I hope this essential grocery list can help you buy what you need and make your home cooking so much easier!
Stock Your Kitchen
Find more ideas for your grocery list, stock up your kitchen, and print more cooking guides and charts to keep handy!
Non-Perishable Foods to Stock Up On
Frozen Vegetables to Stock Up On (and Recipes to Make)
Ultimate List of Cooking Herbs for Your Kitchen
Ultimate List of Cooking Spices for Your Kitchen
Cooking Oil 101: Types of Cooking Oils to Use
26 Types of Pasta and When to Use Them
What Fruits and Vegetables are in Season?
Meat Temperature Chart (Free Printable)
How to Meal Prep (Guide for Beginners)
Basic Cooking Measurements & Kitchen Conversion Chart
