American diets consistently fall short of recommended health standards. While household income does influence dietary choices, data from the CFDAS Consumer Food Insights Survey shows that even the highest earners fail to meet expert-defined benchmarks for a healthy diet, on average.

Monthly tracking reveals a concerning trend: while scores vary within income groups, the average diet score for each income range falls below the healthy threshold (69).

We utilize the Mini-EAT diet quality tool that computes a diet quality score based on consumption frequency for nine key food groups. Adults in households earning $100,000 or more (n=7,708) score highest at 64.4, followed by middle-income households ($50,000-$99,999; n=7,944) at 62.3, and lower-income households (less than $50,000; n=8,806 ) at 60.3.

Despite these differences, all groups remain below the healthy threshold of 69, with higher-income Americans barely surpassing the unhealthy cutoff of 61.

The data underscores a critical point: while income correlates with better dietary choices, poor nutrition remains a nationwide challenge affecting Americans across all economic levels.

Follow along with our monthly CFI reports and the Purdue American Diet Quality Index.