• A WalletHub analysis found Mississippi spends the highest share of its median household income on groceries among US states.
• West Virginia and Arkansas ranked second and third, while New Jersey came in at No. 50 on the list.
• The three states that spend the lowest percentage on groceries also have the highest earnings.

Retail food prices have increased across the US, but Mississippians are arguably feeling it the most at the grocery store.

WalletHub, a personal finance platform, recently released an analysis examining the share of median income residents of US states allocate to groceries, and those in Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas are spending the highest percentages.

The company studied the prices of 26 common grocery items, including meat, dairy, fruits, and cleaning products, across all 50 states. It then combined the costs and compared them with the median household income in each state to identify where residents spend the highest proportion of their income on groceries.

Mississippi ranked No. 1 on the list for highest spending on groceries relative to income, with the cost of groceries reaching 2.64% of median monthly household income. West Virginia ranked No. 2 with 2.57%, and Arkansas ranked No. 3 with 2.49%.

You can hover over the map below to see the percentage of median monthly household income residents spend on groceries by state.

Despite Mississippi ranking highest on the list, the report said that "grocery prices in Mississippi are actually relatively low," with the state having the ninth lowest grocery prices in the US. WalletHub said in its findings that Mississippi is among the 10 least expensive states in 15 of the 26 products measured in the study, including items like margarine and dishwashing detergent.

However, a more significant factor is that Mississippi had the lowest median annual household income in the country, at $52,985 in 2022 dollars, per Census data spanning 2018 through 2022. That was well below the national median of $75,149.

"So even with relatively low grocery prices overall, Mississippians are spending a higher percentage of their income on groceries than people in any other state," WalletHub said.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told Business Insider that the study compared the prices in each state to median annual income because it seemed to be a better indicator on a statewide basis than solely looking at grocery prices. Lupo said that the cost of grocery prices in New Jersey "won't mean anything to someone in West Virginia."

The report said that West Virginia is "around the middle or bottom of the country" for some of its grocery prices, although some products, like eggs and potatoes, tend to be more expensive. Still, West Virginia had the second-lowest median household income in the US, bringing in $55,217 annually.

Similarly, while Arkansas, which spends the third-highest percentage of its median income on groceries, is in the top 10 states with the cheapest groceries in the US, it has the third-lowest median household income, with $56,335 annually.

Meanwhile, New Jersey ranked No. 50 on the list, meaning its residents spend the lowest percentage of their income on groceries, with Maryland and Massachusetts placing right above it. All three states have the highest median annual household incomes in the country and spend between 1.5% and 1.54% of their median monthly household income on groceries.

Lupo suggested that those who want to see their spending go down should buy store-brand versions of products, buy in bulk, and look into reward programs for grocery stores they frequent. You should also budget carefully — and try to stick to it, Lupo said.

"That will keep you from splurging," Lupo said. "And most importantly, from making those impulse buys."

• President Trump issued an executive order requiring federal workers to return to the office full-time.
• Some workers told BI that it will be a major strain on commutes and family life.
• Others say they're willing to return to the office full-time, and see the value in the mandate.

President Donald Trump has officially ordered federal workers to come into the office full-time. It has some employees rethinking their careers, while others see value in the new mandate.

The return-to-office requirement is one of Trump's first moves, and it could reshape the federal workforce. In late November, Elon Musk — the head of Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency — and former DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy proposed the RTO mandate as a cost-cutting measure. They argued that it would effectively weed out employees who didn't want to go back.

Now that federal RTO is set to become reality, Business Insider spoke to a collection of federal workers who offered split perspectives on the order. Employees were granted anonymity to allow them to speak freely about their work situations. Their identities have been verified.

Detailed below are some of the main issues highlighted by frustrated federal workers, as well as the reasoning behind those in support of RTO.

More demanding commutes

One employee at the Department of Justice told Business Insider that one reason they took the job was because of the flexibility offered by telework. Now that they're facing a potential five-days-a-week requirement, their total weekly commute time could increase to 15 hours, up from six hours a week.

"You work for the government, it's supposed to be the best place to work, and suddenly you're seeing that you're not getting the same flexibilities that you've been living with and adjusting your life for, for the last couple years," the employee said.

An employee named Tyra, who works in the Health Resources and Services Administration, said the flexibility of remote work has allowed her to work out regularly after her shift ends. She now faces a 90-minute commute each way into Washington DC, something that could cut into her training to become a Pilates instructor.

"A lot of people live a little bit further away," Tyra said. "It's just a lot to consider and change abruptly."

Another federal worker said having to work in the office every day would mean "at least 10 stressful hours a week wasted in traffic," in addition to the time spent making lunch and other elements associated with getting ready for work.

"It will cost more money in gas, car wear and tear, parking fees, and business attire," they told BI.

Family-life complications

A veteran and four-year federal employee is trying to figure out how to restructure their family's life within the RTO mandate. They told BI that they had been teleworking since they started their job, which allowed flexibility for childcare. They haven't received any formal guidance yet from their agency, but they're starting to look at other career opportunities outside the federal government.

"Everybody's trying to figure it out, and we're trying to do it with limited time and on the fly," the worker said.

A clinical psychologist for a federal entity said they won't be able to work their job if it's not remote. As a military spouse, the employee is required to move around often, making it impossible to commute five days a week to a single location far from where they're stationed.

"It honestly makes me consider just leaving entirely in the first place," they said. "I can't be working for anyone where there's this much uncertainty when I have to support my family and when I have small children."

Those who support RTO

But not everyone is opposed to the RTO mandate. One federal employee says that while they're only required to work in the office two days a week, they would be willing to expand that.

"You need us to come in five days, we'll come in five days," the employee said. "We're adapting as we go along."

The employee added that they expect to see some workers retire earlier than planned due to this mandate. While they recognize the challenges it could bring, they're grateful for the employment and willing to work with it.

"There's a majority of Americans who probably would kill to have that opportunity, and they probably don't want to hear somebody complaining about, 'Well, I got to return to the office,'" the employee said.

Another worker in the Department of Homeland Security, who has already been going to work in-person the majority of the time, told BI being in the office "really enhances collaboration," adding that "decisions often happen more quickly." They also said working in the office can create clearer "boundaries between work and home life."

"I think it's overall a positive change in our work environment," the employee said.

Depleted morale and 'brain drain'

A Social Security Administration employee who works from home twice a week said the new RTO mandate will hurt organizational culture by deepening existing worker dissatisfaction.

"Morale is so low right now in this agency," they said, adding, "we'll have even more people wanting to leave."

In addition, one Treasury employee said the RTO order would lead to losing staff, including pushing some people into retirement.

There's going to be a possible "brain drain of senior, knowledgeable employees," they said.