News United States

Department 

of Labor

 

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/cex USDL-03-759

Technical information: 202-691-6900 FOR RELEASE: 10:00 A.M. EST

Media information: 202-691-5902 Friday, November 21, 2003

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 2002

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 2.9 percent in 2002, following 

increases of 3.9 percent in 2001 and 2.8 percent in 2000, according to results from the 

Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. 

Department of Labor. The increase in expenditures from 2001 to 2002 was more than the 1.6

percent annual average rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over this period.

The changes in expenditures from 2001 to 2002 varied among the major components of 

spending. Expenditures on health care showed the largest increase, 7.7 percent. Spending on 

entertainment and on personal insurance and pensions also rose more than the overall average, 

rising 6.5 and 4.3 percent, respectively. Spending on food, housing, transportation, and apparel 

and services all rose less than the overall average.

Annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent changes, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2000-2002

Percent change

Item 2000 2001 2002 2000-2001 2001-2002

Number of consumer units (000’s) 109,367 110,339 112,108

Income before taxes 1$44,649 $47,507 $49,430

Average age of reference person 48.2 48.1 48.1

Average number in consumer unit:

 Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5

 Earners 1.4 1.4 1.4

 Vehicles 1.9 1.9 2.0

Percent homeowner 66 66 66

Average annual expenditures $38,045 $39,518 $40,677 3.9 2.9

 Food 5,158 5,321 5,375 3.2 1.0

 At home 3,021 3,086 3,099 2.2 .4

 Away from home 2,137 2,235 2,276 4.6 1.8

 Housing 12,319 13,011 13,283 5.6 2.1

 Apparel and services 1,856 1,743 1,749 -6.1 .3

 Transportation 7,417 7,633 7,759 2.9 1.7

 Health care 2,066 2,182 2,350 5.6 7.7

 Entertainment 1,863 1,953 2,079 4.8 6.5

 Personal insurance and pensions 23,365 3,737 3,899 11.1 4.3

 Other expenditures 4,001 3,939 4,182 -1.5 6.2

1

 Income values are derived from "complete income reporters" only.

2

 See the Technical note on page 2.
Consumer Expenditure Survey data include the expenditures and income of consumers, 

as well as the demographic characteristics of those consumers. A soon-to-be-published report 

will include tables showing the 2002 data classified by income quintile, income class, size of 

consumer unit, number of earners, composition of consumer unit, age of the reference person, 

region of residence, housing tenure, type of area (urban-rural), race, Hispanic origin, 

occupation, and education.

Other available data

Detailed reports that include integrated Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey data are 

published at two-year intervals and contain tables of average annual expenditures, income, and 

characteristics for the same classifications that are shown in the annual report but with additional 

detail. The most recent two-year report included CE Survey data for 2000 and 2001 and was 

published in the fall of 2003. Also included in the two-year reports are tables showing average 

annual data over a two-year period for the following characteristics: income before taxes crosstabulated by either age, consumer unit size, or region; single consumers by gender crosstabulated by either income or age; and selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). 

Tables with the same level of detail as shown in the two-year reports including more 

current tables are available on the Internet by accessing the BLS site (http://www.bls.gov/cex). 

Other survey information also is available on the Internet, including answers to frequently asked 

questions, a glossary, and order forms for survey products. The data are available back to 

1984. Beginning with the 2000 data, standard error tables for integrated Diary and Interview 

data are available on the BLS site.

The 2002 Diary and Interview microdata soon will be available on CD-ROM. The 

Interview files contain expenditure data in two different formats: MTAB files that present 

monthly values in an item-coding framework based on the CPI pricing scheme, and EXPN files 

that organize expenditures by the section of the Interview questionnaire in which they are 

collected. Expenditure values on the EXPN files cover different time periods depending on the 

specific question asked, and the files also contain relevant non-expenditure information not 

found on the MTAB files. The Interview and Diary microdata files are available on CD-ROM 

back to 1990 and for selected earlier years. Beginning with the 1996 microdata on CD-ROM, 

files are available in a choice of either ASCII format or PC SAS datasets.

Technical note

Beginning in 2001, the Interview Survey includes information collected from 

respondents using income ranges or brackets in addition to discrete income amounts, as 

provided in the past. Respondents who are unable or unwilling to provide a specific dollar 

amount may be able or willing to estimate a range for their incomes. The bracketed data should 

provide more reliable income estimates because they increase the percentage of households 

providing income data. This also affects expenditure components derived from income data, 

such as deductions for Social Security, which are a component of personal insurance and 

pensions. Therefore, estimates subsequent to 2000 may not be strictly comparable with earlier 

estimates. 

For further information, contact the Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Office 

of Prices and Living Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., 

Washington, DC 20212-0001 or call 202-691-6900. Information in this release will be made 

available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD 

message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.