Table 2602. Generation of reference person: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer 

Expenditure Surveys, 2020 

 (Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated) 

Item Aggregate 

Birth year 

of 1997 

or later 

Birth year 

from 1981 

to 1996 

Birth year 

from 1965 

to 1980 

Birth year 

from 1946 

to 1964 

Birth year 

of 1945 

or earlier 

Number of consumer units (in thousands)1....................................................... 131,234 3,585 32,968 36,023 43,311 15,348 

Percent distribution of consumer units .............................................................. 100.0 2.7 25.1 27.4 33.0 11.7 

Consumer unit characteristics (mean values): 

 Income before taxes ....................................................................................... $84,352 $38,635 $84,975 $113,455 $78,508 $41,876 

 Income after taxes .......................................................................................... 74,949 37,323 77,679 98,307 68,445 41,408 

 Age of reference person ................................................................................. 52.2 21.1 31.9 47.3 64.1 81.1 

 Average number in consumer unit: 

 People ......................................................................................................... 2.5 2.0 2.9 3.0 2.0 1.6 

 Children under 18 ....................................................................................... .6 .3 1.1 .9 .1 ( 2 ) 

 Adults 65 and older ..................................................................................... .4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) .1 .7 1.3 

 Earners ........................................................................................................ 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.1 .3 

 Vehicles ....................................................................................................... 1.9 1.3 1.8 2.1 2.1 1.4 

Percent distribution: 

 Reference person: 

 Men ............................................................................................................. 47 46 50 48 46 41 

 Women ........................................................................................................ 53 54 50 52 54 59 

 Housing tenure: 

 Homeowner ................................................................................................. 66 14 47 69 77 79 

 With mortgage.......................................................................................... 39 8 39 53 36 18 

 Without mortgage .................................................................................... 27 6 8 16 41 61 

 Renter.......................................................................................................... 34 86 53 31 23 21 

 Race of reference person: 

 Black or African-American .......................................................................... 13 10 15 15 13 9 

 White, Asian, and all other races ................................................................ 87 90 85 85 87 91 

 Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person: 

 Hispanic or Latino ....................................................................................... 14 25 19 18 10 5 

 Not Hispanic or Latino ................................................................................. 86 75 81 82 90 95 

 Education of reference person: 

 Elementary (1-8) ......................................................................................... 2 2 2 3 3 3 

 High school (9-12) ....................................................................................... 28 33 24 25 30 39 

 College ........................................................................................................ 69 65 75 72 67 57 

 Never attended and other ........................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 At least one vehicle owned or leased ............................................................ 90 73 91 92 91 84 

Annual aggregate expenditures ........................................................................ $8,051,248 1.6 25.1 33.6 31.9 7.8 

 Food ............................................................................................................... 961,333 1.7 26.0 33.9 30.9 7.5 

 Food at home .............................................................................................. 649,324 1.4 24.4 33.1 32.8 8.3 

 Cereals and bakery products ................................................................... 84,058 1.5 23.7 34.3 31.5 8.9 

 Cereals and cereal products ................................................................ 27,832 1.8 25.7 34.3 30.5 7.8 

 Bakery products .................................................................................... 56,226 1.4 22.7 34.3 32.1 9.5 

 Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .................................................................. 141,308 1.5 23.8 32.7 33.9 8.1 

 Beef....................................................................................................... 38,889 1.5 24.3 34.0 31.9 8.4 

 Pork....................................................................................................... 28,174 1.5 21.8 31.7 36.0 9.1 

 Other meats .......................................................................................... 18,648 2.1 24.2 32.0 34.5 7.3 

 Poultry ................................................................................................... 24,864 1.4 25.9 33.0 32.9 6.8 

 Fish and seafood .................................................................................. 22,344 .9 22.7 32.0 36.0 8.4 

 Eggs ...................................................................................................... 8,388 2.5 24.3 33.1 31.8 8.3 

 Dairy products .......................................................................................... 62,244 1.2 24.7 32.4 33.3 8.5 

 Fresh milk and cream ........................................................................... 19,286 1.2 26.1 32.7 31.4 8.7 

 Other dairy products ............................................................................. 42,958 1.2 24.0 32.2 34.2 8.4 

 Fruits and vegetables .............................................................................. 128,370 1.4 23.7 33.0 33.1 8.8 

 Fresh fruits ............................................................................................ 45,806 1.5 24.2 32.9 33.2 8.3 

 Fresh vegetables .................................................................................. 40,856 1.6 23.0 32.2 34.5 8.7 

 Processed fruits .................................................................................... 16,461 1.2 25.0 33.2 31.1 9.5 

 Processed vegetables .......................................................................... 25,247 1.1 22.9 34.4 32.2 9.5 

 Other food at home .................................................................................. 233,344 1.4 25.3 33.2 32.2 7.8 

 Sugar and other sweets........................................................................ 21,794 1.5 25.3 33.7 30.1 9.4 

 Fats and oils ......................................................................................... 17,419 1.2 22.4 34.2 32.5 9.7 

See footnotes at end of table. 
Table 2602. Generation of reference person: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer 

Expenditure Surveys, 2020 — Continued 

 (Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated) 

Item Aggregate 

Birth year 

of 1997 

or later 

Birth year 

from 1981 

to 1996 

Birth year 

from 1965 

to 1980 

Birth year 

from 1946 

to 1964 

Birth year 

of 1945 

or earlier 

 Miscellaneous foods ............................................................................. 127,852 1.4 27.0 32.6 31.6 7.4 

 Nonalcoholic beverages ....................................................................... 59,771 1.5 22.8 34.1 33.6 8.1 

 Food prepared by consumer unit on out-of-town trips ......................... 6,509 4

.9 21.3 33.7 39.5 4.6 

 Food away from home ................................................................................ 312,009 2.3 29.3 35.4 27.1 5.9 

 Alcoholic beverages ....................................................................................... 62,801 1.1 27.3 31.0 35.3 5.3 

 Housing .......................................................................................................... 2,809,933 1.7 26.2 32.5 30.9 8.7 

 Shelter ......................................................................................................... 1,654,047 2.0 27.2 32.1 30.0 8.7 

 Owned dwellings ...................................................................................... 980,723 .3 20.8 35.0 35.2 8.6 

 Mortgage interest and charges ............................................................. 388,670 .3 27.2 42.2 26.8 3.5 

 Property taxes....................................................................................... 308,849 .3 17.1 31.8 39.2 11.5 

 Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other expenses ............................... 283,203 .4 16.2 28.7 42.3 12.5 

 Rented dwellings ..................................................................................... 578,518 4.9 40.2 27.0 18.9 8.9 

 Other lodging ........................................................................................... 94,807 1.1 13.8 33.4 43.3 8.4 

 Utilities, fuels, and public services .............................................................. 545,665 1.4 22.9 32.0 33.9 9.8 

 Natural gas ............................................................................................... 54,387 1.0 21.5 30.8 34.4 12.4 

 Electricity .................................................................................................. 198,942 1.6 23.0 30.8 34.6 10.0 

 Fuel oil and other fuels ............................................................................ 13,799 4

.4 15.7 27.3 40.3 16.3 

 Telephone services .................................................................................. 189,045 1.6 24.2 34.1 32.3 7.8 

 Residential phone service, VOIP, and phone cards ............................ 24,611 4

.4 9.3 23.1 44.2 23.0 

 Cellular phone service .......................................................................... 164,434 1.8 26.5 35.8 30.5 5.5 

 Water and other public services .............................................................. 89,492 1.0 21.6 31.9 34.6 11.0 

 Household operations ................................................................................. 192,203 1.0 30.1 30.8 28.1 10.0 

 Personal services .................................................................................... 45,489 4

.5 60.7 28.9 4.4 45.6 

 Other household expenses ...................................................................... 146,714 1.2 20.6 31.3 35.5 11.3 

 Housekeeping supplies ............................................................................... 109,917 .8 21.4 31.2 36.7 9.8 

 Laundry and cleaning supplies ................................................................ 22,375 .6 25.0 30.5 34.9 8.9 

 Other household products ....................................................................... 70,453 1.0 20.2 31.9 37.1 9.8 

 Postage and stationery ............................................................................ 17,089 4

.5 21.6 29.6 37.3 11.0 

 Household furnishings and equipment ....................................................... 308,101 1.8 25.6 36.5 30.7 5.6 

 Household textiles ................................................................................... 15,249 1.9 27.5 30.9 34.0 5.7 

 Furniture ................................................................................................... 70,101 2.0 31.6 34.0 27.5 5.0 

 Floor coverings ........................................................................................ 3,925 1.4 22.6 36.0 25.3 14.7 

 Major appliances ...................................................................................... 46,458 1.8 26.5 30.2 33.8 7.7 

 Small appliances, miscellaneous housewares ........................................ 17,695 1.1 26.6 30.5 35.6 6.1 

 Miscellaneous household equipment ...................................................... 154,673 1.7 22.3 40.7 30.4 4.9 

 Apparel and services ...................................................................................... 188,417 2.5 30.6 36.7 25.2 5.0 

 Men and boys .............................................................................................. 42,869 2.2 31.0 41.6 22.0 3.2 

 Men, 16 and over ..................................................................................... 31,537 2.7 27.1 41.5 24.8 3.9 

 Boys, 2 to 15 ............................................................................................ 11,332 .5 42.0 42.0 14.0 1.4 

 Women and girls ......................................................................................... 71,603 1.7 27.2 38.8 25.8 6.5 

 Women, 16 and over ............................................................................... 59,915 1.7 25.2 37.0 28.6 7.5 

 Girls, 2 to 15 ............................................................................................. 11,687 41.9 37.5 47.6 11.5 1.4 

 Children under 2.......................................................................................... 8,918 41.5 53.4 26.6 16.5 41.9 

 Footwear ..................................................................................................... 41,252 4.7 35.3 31.1 25.1 3.7 

 Other apparel products and services .......................................................... 23,775 1.8 23.4 35.2 32.5 7.1 

 Transportation ................................................................................................ 1,289,479 2.0 27.6 35.0 30.3 5.1 

 Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ................................................................... 593,602 2.2 28.9 36.2 29.3 3.4 

 Cars and trucks, new ............................................................................... 274,152 41.3 23.2 35.2 36.8 3.5 

 Cars and trucks, used .............................................................................. 309,659 3.1 33.2 37.2 23.1 3.4 

 Other vehicles .......................................................................................... 9,791 4

.5 52.1 30.9 16.1 4.4 

 Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil ............................................................ 205,806 2.3 27.6 34.6 30.1 5.3 

 Other vehicle expenses .............................................................................. 455,490 1.7 25.9 33.8 31.3 7.3 

 Vehicle finance charges........................................................................... 33,876 1.9 31.2 36.9 26.8 3.2 

 Maintenance and repairs ......................................................................... 115,430 1.4 22.8 34.0 34.5 7.3 

 Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, and other charges ................................ 99,519 1.5 28.3 33.1 28.3 8.8 

 Vehicle insurance .................................................................................... 206,665 1.9 25.6 33.6 31.7 7.3 

 Public and other transportation ................................................................... 34,580 1.7 26.4 32.9 34.3 4.8 

 Healthcare ...................................................................................................... 679,445 .6 17.3 27.7 39.5 15.0 

 Health insurance ......................................................................................... 481,223 .6 17.5 27.3 39.3 15.3 

 Medical services.......................................................................................... 113,387 .6 19.7 30.9 37.2 11.7 

 Drugs ........................................................................................................... 62,556 .7 12.7 24.7 44.7 17.3 

 Medical supplies.......................................................................................... 22,279 .9 15.6 27.2 38.9 17.4 

 Entertainment ................................................................................................. 382,340 1.2 24.1 31.8 36.1 6.9 

 Fees and admissions .................................................................................. 55,723 .5 22.7 43.5 25.8 7.4 

See footnotes at end of table. 
Table 2602. Generation of reference person: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer 

Expenditure Surveys, 2020 — Continued 

 (Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated) 

Item Aggregate 

Birth year 

of 1997 

or later 

Birth year 

from 1981 

to 1996 

Birth year 

from 1965 

to 1980 

Birth year 

from 1946 

to 1964 

Birth year 

of 1945 

or earlier 

 Audio and visual equipment and services .................................................. 137,719 1.4 22.3 29.5 35.9 10.9 

 Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment ........................................ 112,904 1.5 26.8 29.7 37.2 4.8 

 Pets .......................................................................................................... 90,601 1.8 25.4 27.8 40.2 4.9 

 Toys, hobbies, and playground equipment ............................................. 22,303 4

.4 32.6 37.2 25.2 4.6 

 Other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services ............................ 75,994 .6 24.1 30.6 42.2 2.6 

 Personal care products and services ............................................................. 84,885 2.0 26.7 33.5 29.4 8.4 

 Reading .......................................................................................................... 14,953 1.3 19.3 26.5 33.3 19.7 

 Education ....................................................................................................... 166,865 6.3 21.4 45.2 22.7 4.4 

 Tobacco products and smoking supplies ....................................................... 41,311 2.2 24.5 33.6 35.2 4.5 

 Miscellaneous ................................................................................................. 119,029 .9 20.0 31.9 36.5 10.8 

 Cash contributions ......................................................................................... 299,564 .4 12.5 25.2 45.1 16.7 

 Personal insurance and pensions .................................................................. 950,893 1.2 27.8 40.1 28.6 2.3 

 Life and other personal insurance .............................................................. 63,746 4

.4 14.7 33.6 42.1 9.2 

 Pensions and Social Security ..................................................................... 887,147 1.3 28.7 40.6 27.6 1.8 

Sources of income and personal taxes: 

 Income before taxes ....................................................................................... $11,069,815 1.3 25.3 36.9 30.7 5.8 

 Wages and salaries .................................................................................... 8,589,128 1.4 30.1 41.2 25.8 1.5 

 Self-employment income ............................................................................ 762,150 1.3 15.8 43.0 37.0 2.9 

 Social Security, private and government retirement ................................... 1,245,861 4

.1 1.6 8.3 55.6 34.4 

 Interest, dividends, rental income, other property income.......................... 257,572 .3 5.5 20.9 54.9 18.4 

 Public assistance, Supplemental Security Income, Supplementary 

 Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) ..................................................... 60,161 1.3 24.8 32.2 36.0 5.8 

 Unemployment and workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, and 

 regular contributions for support .............................................................. 118,405 2.1 29.7 28.2 32.3 7.7 

 Other income ............................................................................................... 36,539 12.1 22.7 30.6 23.2 11.4 

 Personal taxes (contains some imputed values) ........................................... 1,233,909 .4 19.5 44.2 35.3 .6 

 Federal income taxes .................................................................................. 1,156,407 .5 19.5 41.7 36.0 2.3 

 Stimulus payment (new UCC Q20202)# .................................................... -250,790 1.3 27.4 28.8 32.5 10.0 

 State and local income taxes ...................................................................... 318,861 .7 25.7 41.7 30.3 1.6 

 Other taxes .................................................................................................. 9,432 4

.2 17.3 32.5 42.5 7.5 

 Income after taxes .......................................................................................... 9,835,905 1.4 26.0 36.0 30.1 6.5 

1

 Data are rounded to the nearest thousands. 

2

 Value is too small to display. 

3

 No data reported. 

4

 Data are likely to have large sampling errors. 

# Data collection for this item began in June 2020. Stimulus payments delivered to respondents interviewed in April and May of 2020 were not included in estimation. 

Source: Consumer Expenditure Surveys, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September, 2021