For release: 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Tuesday, September 25, 2012 USDL-12-1937 

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

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

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES – 2011 

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit1 rose 3.3 percent in 2011 following a decrease of 2.0 

percent in 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The rise in spending in 2011 barely 

outpaced the 3.2-percent increase in prices for goods and services from 2010 to 2011, as measured by 

the average annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). This was the first yearly increase in 

spending since the 1.7-percent rise from 2007 to 2008, as expenditures had declined in both 2009 and 

2010. 

 

All major components of household spending increased in 2011, as shown in table A. The 8.0-percent 

rise in transportation spending was the largest percentage increase among all major components. Overall 

spending on food and cash contributions (including payments for support of college students, alimony 

and child support, and giving to charities and religious organizations) both increased by 5.4 percent. 

Other spending highlights include a 4.9-percent rise in health care spending, and modest increases in 

housing (+1.5 percent), apparel and services (+2.4 percent), entertainment (+2.7 percent), and personal 

insurance and pensions (+0.9 percent). 

Table A. Average annual expenditures and characteristics of all consumer units and percent 

changes, 2009-2011 

 Percent change 

Item 2009 2010 2011 2009-2010 2010-2011 

Number of consumer units (000’s) 120,847 121,107 122,287 

Average age of reference person 49.4 49.4 49.7 

Average number in consumer unit: 

 Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5 

 Earners 1.3 1.3 1.3 

 Vehicles 2.0 1.9 1.9 

Percent homeowner 66 66 65 

Income before taxes $62,857 $62,481 $63,685 -0.6 1.9

Average annual expenditures 49,067 48,109 49,705 -2.0 3.3

 Food 6,372 6,129 6,458 -3.8 5.4

 At home 3,753 3,624 3,838 -3.4 5.9

 Away from home 2,619 2,505 2,620 -4.4 4.6

 Housing 16,895 16,557 16,803 -2.0 1.5

 Apparel and services 1,725 1,700 1,740 -1.4 2.4

 Transportation 7,658 7,677 8,293 0.2 8.0

 Health care 3,126 3,157 3,313 1.0 4.9

 Entertainment 2,693 2,504 2,572 -7.0 2.7

 Cash contributions 1,723 1,633 1,721 -5.2 5.4

 Personal insurance and pensions 5,471 5,373 5,424 -1.8 0.9

 All other expenditures 3,404 3,379 3,381 -0.7 0.1

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 by selected demographics 

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

various components of total expenditures. For example, table B and chart 1 compare the share allocated 

to selected expenditures by income quintiles. The lowest income quintile allocated more money to food 

and housing than the other quintile groups. The highest income group allocated more money to personal 

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

Social Security) than any other group. No clear trend existed for the share allocated to transportation and 

health care among the income quintile groups. 

Table B. Shares of average annual expenditures on selected major components by income 

quintiles, 2011 

Item Lowest 20 

percent 

Second 20 

percent 

Third 20 

percent 

Fourth 20 

percent 

Highest 20 

percent 

Food 16.1 14.5 13.3 13.0 11.6

Housing 39.9 37.8 35.2 32.8 31.0

Transportation 14.8 16.0 17.9 17.8 16.1

Health care 6.8 8.1 7.8 7.0 5.4

Personal insurance & pensions 1.9 5.3 8.3 11.2 15.9

Chart 1. Shares of average annual expenditures on selected major components by income 

quintiles, 2011 
- 3 - 

Spending patterns, 2009-2011

Table C and chart 2 show amounts spent for selected expenditure components over the 3-year period 

from 2009 to 2011. Spending changes included: 

 Mortgage interest and charges for owned homes, a subcomponent of housing, fell from $3,594 in 

2009 to $3,184 in 2011.

 Natural gas expenditures fell from $483 in 2009 to $420 in 2011, a 13.0-percent decrease. 

 Expenditures on gasoline and motor oil increased 33.7 percent during the period, with a 24.5-

percent increase from 2010 to 2011. The spending increase can partly be explained by the yearly 

rise in the price of gasoline during 2010 (+18.4 percent) and 2011 (+26.4 percent), as measured 

by the CPI-U.

 Health care spending rose from $3,126 in 2009 to $3,313 in 2011. The overall increase in health 

care spending was driven by a 7.7-percent increase in health insurance spending during the 

period. The level of spending for health care has increased every year starting in 1996, while 

the level of spending for health insurance has increased every year starting in 1997. 

 Cash contributions fell 5.2 percent from 2009 to 2010, then rose almost by the same margin from 

2010 to 2011 (+5.4 percent). 

Table C. Average annual consumer expenditures for selected components, 2009-2011 

 

Item 2009 2010 2011 

Mortgage interest and charges $3,594 $3,351 $3,184

Natural gas 483 440 420

Gasoline and motor oil 1,986 2,132 2,655

Health care 3,126 3,157 3,313

Cash contributions 1,723 1,633 1,721

Chart 2. Average annual consumer expenditures for selected components, 2009-2011 

 
- 4 - 

Consumer Expenditure Survey data include the expenditures and income of consumers, as well as the 

demographic characteristics of those consumers. Tables with more expenditure detail are available at 

www.bls.gov/cex. Published tables provide 2011 CE data by standard classifications that include income 

quintile, income class, age of reference person, size of consumer unit, number of earners, composition of 

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

occupation, and education. Standard error tables are available for most of the demographic breakouts. 

Other tables available on the website include expenditures by age, region, size, or gender cross-tabulated 

by income before taxes and other demographic variables. Historical tables back to 1984 and tabulations 

for selected metropolitan areas are also available. 

Other available data

A forthcoming Annual Report will include a brief discussion of expenditure changes in 2011 and tables 

with data classified by the standard characteristics that are included on the website. Future articles in the 

BLS Beyond the Numbers web report series will highlight recent trends in prices and spending in the 

U.S. economy, and will feature 2011 CE data. Recent CE-specific Beyond the Numbers articles provide 

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

other data series (see http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxwebarticles.htm). Methodological and analytical 

articles using CE data will be published in 2013. 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. 

Other survey information available on the Internet includes answers to frequently asked questions, a 

glossary, order forms for survey products, and analytical articles that use CE data. Also available are the 

Diary Survey questionnaire form and a modified version of the computer assisted personal interview 

(CAPI) instrument used to collect the Interview Survey data. 

 

The 2011 CE public-use microdata, including Interview Survey data, Diary Survey data, and paradata 

(information about the survey process), are now available on the CE website for free electronic 

download. 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 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 MTAB files. 

Past releases of CE public-use microdata that were previously only available on CD-ROM for purchase 

will become available on the CE website for free electronic download. The 2010 release is already 

available online. Prior releases will be posted incrementally online in reverse chronological order 

through the 1996 release. For releases prior to 1996 and those not yet available online for download, 

users can continue to purchase CDs using the public-use microdata order form (see 

http://www.bls.gov/cex/pumdhome.htm). All future releases of public-use microdata will solely be 

available online for free electronic download. 

 

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

Living Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20212-

0001 or call (202) 691-6900; E-mail: 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.