Healthy food, cost and taste. Food barriers for Americans

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As food prices have crept up, healthy eating has become tougher for many Americans. An overwhelming majority (90%) of adults say healthy food has gotten more expensive in recent years.

And 69% say these price hikes make it more difficult for them to eat healthy. These are among the findings from a Pew Research Center survey conducted from Feb. 24 to March 2, 2025, among 5,123 U.S. adults.

Beyond supermarket sticker shock, Americans’ mealtime choices are also playing out against the backdrop of several other dynamics: rising obesity levels, proliferation of food delivery options, and a wave of diet trends and recommendations on social media.

We conducted this survey to understand U.S. adults’ priorities and behaviors around healthy food and eating. This study builds on our previous work looking at Americans’ attitudes about and experiences with emerging health issues.

Key highlights

About two-in-ten Americans describe their own diets as extremely or very healthy, with a far larger share saying their diets are somewhat healthy (59%). One-fifth say their diets are not too or not all healthy.

When deciding what to eat, how the food tastes is a high priority for a large majority (83%) of Americans. About half say the same of food healthiness.

Eating home-cooked meals is far more common than ordering takeout or delivery or eating at restaurants. Nearly nine-in-ten eat home-cooked meals at least a few times a week, compared with 17% ordering takeout or delivery and 12% eating at restaurants that frequently.

Americans who eat a home-cooked meal every day are more likely to describe their diets as extremely or very healthy, compared with those who have home cooking less frequently (29% vs. 12%).

Roughly seven-in-ten Americans say the increased cost of healthy food in recent years has made it more difficult to eat healthy. A larger share of lower-income adults than upper-income express this view (77% vs. 54%).