Iowans’ Fast Food Bill Soars: How Much is it Costing?

Fast food is easy and convenient, right? And while the costs of fast food have fluctuated quite a bit, along with the cost of food in general, it's still pretty cheap compared to a more upscale restaurant.

But about how much money do Iowans and Americans overall spend a month on fast food? Let's dig in and find out.

Fast Food is Still As Popular As Ever

It may not shock you if you drive by an Eastern Iowa McDonald's that fast food is as popular as ever. At breakfast and lunch times, lines can be quite long in drive-thrus across the state. Dinner, too certainly, can be very busy.

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With that in mind, I turned to Money Digest for some help on fast food spending. The study looked at 2023 spending habits, but I doubt much has changed since.

So what are we spending? You may be surprised.

Photo by Jurij Kenda on Unsplash

First off, as someone who worked in fast food during his college years, I know the term is supposed to be "quick service", not fast food. I can still hear my manager's voice when I type out, "fast food". Well, sorry I'm sticking with it!

Fast food is as popular as ever. It's cheaper than other options, especially amid inflation. The average American spends about $148 a month on fast food.

What is most surprising from the Money Digest story is that higher-income households are actually more likely to consume fast food regularly. As far as age groups go, millennials, spending $213.87 monthly, take the cake... I mean, burger, on spending.

Gen Xers, generally between 44 and 59 years old as of this writing, is the next age group to be most likely to consume fast food. And men consume more fast food than women.

If this shocks you, just remember, that while fast food isn't always the healthiest, it is simple and can feed a family on a budget. Even those higher-income families, apparently, enjoy a good, greasy meal!

You can read the whole story and more stats here.

Want something local? I don't blame you! Here are some great, new food options in our area.