Americans Eat Out Statistics: Insights and Trends [2025]

July 17, 2024 0 Comments

Frequency of Dining Out

  1. Weekly Routine: Approximately 34% of Americans dine at casual restaurants once a week.
  2. Millennial Trends: Nearly 74% of millennials have eaten out in the past week.
  3. Daily Lunch Habit: On any given day, 34% of Americans grab their lunch at a restaurant.
  4. Frequent Dinner Orders: In 2019, 47% of Americans had dinner at a restaurant or got takeout at least once a week.

Spending on Eating Out

  1. Monthly Splurge: Americans collectively spend around $70.1 billion each month on dining out.
  2. Annual Expense: The average household in the U.S. spends $3,008 per year on eating out.
  3. Budget Allocation: About 20% of Americans’ total food budget goes towards dining out.
  4. Food Dollar Split: Over 49% of the money Americans spend on food is used for eating out.

Types of Meals and Ordering

  1. Breakfast on the Go: About 73% of U.S. adults purchase breakfast from a restaurant at least once a month.
  2. Pizza Popularity: Approximately 43% of Americans order pizza at least once a week.
  3. Dessert Cravings: Around 65% of Americans order dessert at least once a month when dining out.

Delivery and Takeout

  1. Dinner Deliveries: In 2020, 72% of Americans ordered takeout or delivery for dinner at least once a week.
  2. Delivery Apps: By 2021, 60% of Americans reported using a food delivery app to get their meals.

Dining Experience

  1. Meal Duration: On average, Americans spend 42 minutes on a meal when dining out.
  2. Healthier Choices: 38% of consumers believe they eat healthier when dining out compared to eating at home.

Financial Concerns and Opinions

  1. Cost Concerns: About 70% of Americans think dining out is too expensive.

Aggregate Expenditure Insights

  1. Total Expenditure: More than half (over 50%) of Americans’ food dollar expenditure is on food away from home, including restaurants, take-out, and delivery services.