News United States

Department 

of Labor

 

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/cex USDL-05-2243

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

Media information: 202-691-5902 Tuesday, November 29, 2005

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 2004

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 6.3 percent in 2004, following 

increases of 0.3 percent in 2003 and 2.9 percent in 2002, 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 2003 to 2004 was more than the 2.7 

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

Changes in expenditures from 2003 to 2004 for the major components of spending

were generally larger than a year earlier. Among the components, the 2004 increases for food 

(8.3 percent), housing (3.6 percent), apparel (10.7 percent), and healthcare (6.5 percent) were 

statistically significant. (Average annual expenditures and expenditures for personal insurance 

and pensions are not strictly comparable to previous data. See “Changes in 2004” on page 2.)

Average annual expenditures and characteristics of all consumer units and percent changes, Consumer 

Expenditure Survey, 2002-2004

Percent change

Item 2002 2003 2004 2002-2003 2003-2004

Number of consumer units (000’s) 112,108 115,356 116,282

Income before taxes 1$49,430 $51,128 $54,453

Average age of reference person 48.1 48.4 48.5

Average number in consumer unit:

 Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5

 Earners 1.4 1.3 1,3

 Vehicles 2.0 1.9 1.9

Percent homeowner 66 67 68

Average annual expenditures $40,677 $40,817 $43,395 0.3 6.3

 Food 5,375 5,340 5,781 -.7 8.3

 At home 3,099 3,129 3,347 1.0 7.0

 Away from home 2,276 2,211 2,434 -2.9 10.1

 Housing 13,283 13,432 13,918 1.1 3.6

 Apparel and services 1,749 1,640 1,816 -6.2 10.7

 Transportation 7,759 7,781 7,801 .3 .3

 Healthcare 2,350 2,416 2,574 2.8 6.5

 Entertainment 2,079 2,060 2,218 -.9 7.7

 Personal insurance and pensions 3,899 4,055 4,823 4.0 18.9

 Other expenditures 4,182 4,094 4,461 -2.1 9.0

1

 Income values are derived from "complete income reporters" only prior to 2004.
Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data include the expenditures and income of 

consumers, as well as the demographic characteristics of those consumers. Tables with more 

expenditure detail than is shown in this news release will be available November 30, 2005 by 

accessing the BLS website (http://www.bls.gov/cex). Tables show 2004 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. Other 

tables available on the website include expenditures by age, region, size, or gender crosstabulated by income before taxes and other demographic variables. Historical tables back to 

1984 and tabulations by Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) are also available.

Other available data

A forthcoming annual report will include a brief discussion of expenditure changes in 

2004 and tables with data classified by the standard characteristics listed above. Detailed 

reports that include CE data are published at two-year intervals and include the standard 

tabulations and cross-tabulations at the same level of expenditure detail as shown on the 

website. MSA tables are also included. All data published in the reports 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. 

Beginning with the 2000 data, standard error tables for integrated data are available on the BLS 

site.

The 2004 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 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. The CE 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. (See

www.bls.gov/cex/csxmicro.htm for details.)

Changes in 2004

Beginning in 2004 the Consumer Expenditure Survey includes imputed income 

estimates. While the imputed data provide more reliable income estimates because they allow 

the inclusion of households for which income data are not otherwise available, income data from 

2004 on will not be strictly comparable to earlier years.

This change also affects those expenditure items in the personal insurance and pensions 

component that are derived from income data. The increase in personal insurance and pensions 

in 2004 was largely due to increases in deductions for Social Security, which are computed 

from wage and salary amounts. As a result of the changes in 2004, income data, personal 

insurance and pensions, and average annual expenditures are not strictly comparable to data

from previous years.

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.