A new study from Bundle.com ranks Kansas 51st out of U.S. cities when it comes to the amount we spent on dining out and buying groceries in 2009. According to the 2010 Bundle Report, the average Kansas Citian spent $3,484 to dine out and $2,835 on groceries for a total of $6,319 ($195 below the U.S. average).
While the average person in the United States spends $6,514, the distribution between dining out and eating in is dramatically different. Average Americans only spend 37 percent of their income on dining out ($2,736) as opposed to Kansas Citians, who spend 55 percent of their food dollars at restaurants. For what it's worth, this data is apparently a compilation of U.S. facts and figures; financial information from Citi (one of Bundle's investors); and "third party research."
Other interesting comparisons:
Despite comparable amounts spent on food, the average person in Lincon, Nebraska, cooks almost as often as the average person in Kansas City goes out.
St. Louis residents spent $1,310 more for food, but still didn't spend as much at restaurants -- only $3,395. Either St. Louis is full of great home cooks or needs a few more top-class restaurants. But the city's residents can still lay claim to being the biggest spenders in Missouri: St. Louis was the only city from the state in the top 25.
Wichita has the biggest spenders in Kansas, with a food outlay of $7,460. But Kansas Citians still outspent them by the price of a dozen oysters at Le Fou Frog ($19).
So to those critics who would suggest that Kansas City is a flyover town with nothing except barbecue, these numbers suggest otherwise. If we're willing to eat out 55 percent of the time, then quite a few chefs are making an impression.
Home page image via Flickr: Photos8.com
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