For release: 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, April 19, 2017 USDL-17-0443 

Technical Information: (202) 691-6900 • CEXInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cex

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES MIDYEAR UPDATE -- JULY 2015 

THROUGH JUNE 2016 AVERAGE

Average expenditures per consumer unit1 for July 2015 through June 2016 were up 2.3 percent 

compared with the July 2014 through June 2015 midyear average, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

reported today. Average incomes also increased, up 6.3 percent. 

Most major components of household spending increased over the 12 months ending June 2016. (See 

table A.) The 8.3-percent rise in personal insurance and pensions spending was the largest percentage 

increase among all major components, followed by a 4.5-percent rise in both food and entertainment. 

Table A. Average expenditures and income of all consumer units

Item

July 2014 - 

June 2015 

Average

July 2015 - 

June 2016 

Average

Percent change

July 2014 - June 2015 

to

July 2015 - June 2016 

Income before taxes........................... $68,662 $72,990 6.3

Average annual expenditures............... 54,992 56,258 2.3

 Food............................................. 6,887 7,196 4.5

 Food at home................................ 3,983 4,101 3.0

 Food away from home..................... 2,904 3,095 6.6

 Housing......................................... 18,128 18,495 2.0

 Apparel and services........................ 1,885 1,794 -4.8

 Transportation................................. 9,315 9,225 -1.0

 Gasoline....................................... 2,094 1,932 -7.7

 Vehicle insurance........................... 1,041 1,180 13.4

 Healthcare...................................... 4,379 4,470 2.1

 Entertainment.................................. 2,782 2,908 4.5

 Cash contributions........................... 1,761 1,813 3.0

 Personal insurance and pensions........ 6,048 6,553 8.3

 Pensions and Social Security............ 5,733 6,221 8.5

 All other expenditures........................ 3,807 3,804 -0.1

Note: Subcategories do not sum to 100%.

 

1 Consumer units include families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but who are financially 

independent, or two or more persons living together who share expenses.
- 2 - 

Spending patterns, July 2015 – June 2016 compared with July 2014 – June 2015

• Spending for food increased 4.5 percent. The increase was driven by food away from home 

which increased 6.6 percent while food at home increased 3.0 percent. 

• Healthcare spending rose 2.1 percent to $4,470 for July 2015 through June 2016. The level of 

spending for healthcare has increased every year annually from 1996 through 2015. The most 

recent increase was driven by a 3.8-percent increase in average household health insurance 

expenditures. 

• Apparel and services spending decreased 4.8 percent to $1,794, after rising 12.6 percent 

during the previous midyear period. Decreases were seen across all components of this 

category with the exception of boys, 2 to 15, and other apparel products and services. 

• Transportation expenditures edged down 1.0 percent to $9,225. Within transportation, two 

underlying components moved in opposite directions: vehicle insurance up 13.4 percent and 

gasoline down 7.7 percent. 

• Entertainment spending increased 4.5 percent after rising 8.7 percent the previous midyear 

period. 

• Personal insurance and pensions expenditures continued an upward trend and increased 8.3 

percent following a 9.0 percent increase during the previous midyear period. The 8.5 percent 

increase in pensions and Social Security continued to fuel the overall growth in the category. 

Spending by selected demographics

Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data measure how consumers allocate their spending among the 

various components of total expenditures. Table B and chart 1 compare the share allocated to selected 

expenditures by income quintiles. The lowest income quintile allocated larger shares to food and 

housing than all other quintiles. The highest income quintile allocated a larger share to personal 

insurance and pensions (including payments for life insurance, other nonhealth insurance, pensions, and 

Social Security) than any other group. No clear pattern existed for the shares allocated to transportation 

and healthcare among the income quintile groups. 

Table B. Shares of average expenditures on selected major components by income quintiles, July 2015 

through June 2016 

Item

Income quintiles

Lowest 20 

percent

Second 20 

percent

Third 20

percent

Fourth 20 

percent

Highest 20 

percent

Food.................................... 15.2 14.4 13.0 13.4 11.3

Housing............................... 40.7 37.3 34.2 32.2 29.6

Transportation....................... 14.6 16.0 18.8 16.7 15.7

Healthcare............................ 8.4 9.7 8.8 8.4 6.6

Personal insurance & pensions. 2.5 4.9 8.7 12.2 16.6
- 3 - 

Chart 1. Shares of average expenditures on selected major components by income quintiles, July 2015 

through June 2016 

Table C and chart 2 show average expenditures and income before taxes by quintile from July 2014 

through June 2016. All quintiles showed increases in income before taxes across the 12 months 

ending June 2016. Only the lowest quintile showed a decrease in expenditures. 

Table C. Percent change in average annual expenditures and income before taxes by income quintile

 

Average annual expenditures Income before taxes

Income quintile July 2014 -

June 2015 

July 2015 -

June 2016 

Percent 

change

July 2014 -

June 2015 

July 2015 -

June 2016 

Percent 

change

Lowest 20 percent $24,455 $24,020 -1.8 $10,666 $11,056 3.7

Second 20 percent 34,645 35,240 1.7 27,711 28,660 3.4

Third 20 percent 45,546 46,864 2.9 48,661 50,105 3.0

Fourth 20 percent 62,912 63,424 0.8 79,773 82,561 3.5

Highest 20 percent 107,424 111,526 3.8 176,583 192,051 8.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Food Housing Transportation Healthcare Personal insurance and

pensions

Percent

Lowest 20 percent Second 20 percent Third 20 percent Fourth 20 percent Highest 20 percent
- 4 - 

Chart 2. Percent change in average annual expenditures and income before taxes by income quintile, July 

2015 – June 2016 compared with July 2014 – June 2015 

-4.00

-2.00

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

Lowest 20 percent Second 20 percent Third 20 percent Fourth 20 percent Highest 20 percent

Percent

Income before taxes Average annual expenditures
- 5 - 

Other available data 

Standard CE midyear tables can be found at www.bls.gov/cex/midyear.htm. Data tables with the most 

detailed subcategories of expenditures can be obtained by sending a request to cexinfo@bls.gov. 

The 1996 through 2015 CE public-use microdata, including Interview Survey data, Diary Survey data, 

and paradata (information about the data collection process), are available on the CE website for free 

electronic download at www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_data.htm. The Interview Survey files contain 

expenditure data in two different formats: MTBI files that present monthly values in an item-coding 

framework based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) pricing scheme, and EXPN files that organize 

expenditures by the section of the Interview questionnaire in which they are collected. Expenditure 

values on EXPN files cover different time periods depending on the specific questions asked, and the 

files also contain relevant non-expenditure information not found on the MTBI files. For releases prior 

to 1996, users can continue to purchase USB flash drives using the public-use microdata order form at 

www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_doc.htm. 

The 2015 Annual Report, “Consumer Expenditures in 2015,” includes a brief discussion of expenditure 

changes in 2015 and tables with data classified by the standard characteristics that are included on the 

website. Recent CE-specific articles in the BLS Beyond the Numbers web report series provide analyses 

of topical economic issues and long term spending trends, as well as comparisons of CE data to other 

data series at www.bls.gov/cex/csxwebarticles.htm and www.bls.gov/cex/cecomparison.htm. Additional 

methodological and analytical articles using CE data will be published in 2017. All data published in the 

Annual Report and posted to the website are integrated from the two CE components—the quarterly 

Interview Survey and weekly Diary Survey. 

The 2016 annual news release, data tables, and public-use microdata are planned for release at the end of 

August 2017. Public-use microdata are released on an annual basis. 

Also available are the Diary Survey questionnaire and a modified version of the computer assisted 

personal interview (CAPI) instrument used to collect the Interview Survey data at 

www.bls.gov/cex/csxsurveyforms.htm. 

Information on the methodology used to calculate and collect CE data is available at 

www.bls.gov/cex/ce_methodology.htm. General articles and research papers using CE data are in the 

CE research library at www.bls.gov/cex/research_papers/research-paper-catalog.htm. 

The annual CE Microdata Users' Workshop and Survey Methods Symposium will be held July 18-21, 

2017, at the BLS national office. Registration is free. More information and the registration form are

available at www.bls.gov/cex/csxannualworkshop.htm. 

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

Living Conditions at (202) 691-6900 or by email at cexinfo@bls.gov. Information in this release will be 

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

Federal Relay Service: 1 (800) 877-8339.