Response Rates in the 

Consumer Expenditure 

Survey

Sylvia A. Johnson-Herring

and Sharon Krieger Response rates are one of the 

most important indicators of a 

survey’s quality. It is important 

to monitor survey participation and to 

monitor response rates because nonresponse can introduce bias into any 

survey’s published estimates. When a 

survey’s responders and nonresponders 

differ in terms of the characteristic being measured, great care must be taken 

to produce accurate estimates for the 

population as a whole. Although most 

surveys have procedures to adjust for 

nonresponse, any imperfection in them 

is magnified when response rates decline. Therefore, it is important to 

monitor response rates and keep them 

as high as possible.

This article describes how the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) categorizes the outcomes of visits to survey households in terms of response 

and nonresponse, and explains how the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 

calculates the CE response rates.

Selection of households

The CE selects a representative sample 

of households from across the Nation 

to find out how Americans spend their 

money. Specific households to visit are 

drawn from the decennial census 100-

percent-detail file, which is a complete 

list of addresses of American households. Independent samples of households are selected for the Interview and 

Diary components of the CE. 

Field representatives visit households in each survey’s sample to collect 

data. For the Interview survey, people 

living at an address answer the survey 

questions five times, with the interviews conducted at 3-month intervals 

for 5 quarters. For the Diary Survey, 

people living at an address answer the 

survey questions two times, keeping 

a diary for two 1-week periods. Gaining cooperation at each household is 

important because each household in 

the sample represents many American 

households.

Nonresponse types and 

outcome codes

Like any survey, the CE does not get 

responses from every household in its 

sample. At most addresses, a household member participates, giving a 

“completed interview.” However, at 

some addresses, the survey’s field representative finds an occupied housing 

unit but either is unable to contact an 

eligible household member or is unable to convince a reluctant household 

member to participate in the survey. 

At still other addresses, the housing 

unit is unoccupied, or the structure is 

nonresidential or otherwise not eligible 

to participate in the survey. Such cases 

are called “nonresponders.”

Field representatives assign outcome 

codes to each address that they visit. 

Multiple visits to an address may be 

necessary before a final outcome code 

Sylvia A. Johnson-Herring is a mathematical 

statistician in the Division of Price Statistical 

Methods, Branch of Consumer Expenditure 

Surveys, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Sharon Krieger is a mathematical statistician in 

the Division of Price Statistical Methods, Branch 

of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, U.S. Bureau 

of Labor Statistics.

20 Consumer Expenditure Survey Anthology, 2008
can be assigned. Sometimes, multiple 

visits are made in an attempt to convince reluctant households to respond 

to the survey; other times, it takes more 

than one visit before a field representative actually contacts an eligible household member. When field representatives make multiple visits and are still 

unable to find anyone home, they may 

obtain information from neighbors or 

people in the area to verify the status 

of the housing unit. Sample households 

are assigned a separate outcome code 

for each quarter in the Interview survey and for each week in the Diary 

survey. Although field representatives 

assign the outcome code, BLS may 

make some changes later based on criteria that measure the completeness of 

respondents’ reporting of household income and expenditures.

Field representatives can select from 

more than 30 different outcome codes 

to describe the nonresponse situation 

that they find at an address. These outcome codes are categorized as Types 

A, B, and C nonresponses. Some common outcome codes for Type A nonresponses are as follows: Temporarily 

absent; No one home (unable to contact); Refused—hostile respondent; 

Refused—time-related excuses; and 

Refused—language problems. Some 

common outcome codes for Type B 

nonresponses are: Occupied by persons 

with usual residency elsewhere; Vacant 

for rent; Vacant for sale; and Unit under 

construction. Some common outcome 

codes for Type C nonresponses are: 

Dwelling demolished; House or trailer 

moved; Dwelling condemned; and Located on military base or post.

Two essential concepts when classifying sample addresses in terms of response and nonresponse are “eligible” 

and “in scope.” Completed interviews 

and Types A and B nonresponders are 

all “in scope,” while Type C nonresponders are “out of scope” for the CE. 

In scope refers to addresses that have 

residential housing units. Out-of-scope 

addresses are generally nonresidential. 

An address is eligible to participate 

in the survey if the residential housing 

unit at the address is occupied by its 

usual residents; otherwise, it is not eligible. Completed interviews and Type 

A nonresponders are eligible, but Types 

B and C nonresponders are not eligible. 

Only eligible addresses are used in the 

response rate calculations.

Type A nonresponders are both in 

scope and eligible, because their housing units are occupied by the usual 

residents. Type B nonresponders are 

in scope, but they are not eligible, because the housing units are not occupied or the housing units are occupied 

solely by persons whose usual place of 

residence is elsewhere. Interviews are 

not possible for Type C nonresponders, 

because these cases are out of scope 

and permanently not eligible to participate in the CE; empty lots or buildings 

used for nonresidential purposes fall 

into this category.

In summary, results of visits to the 

sample addresses are divided into four 

main categories:

Completed Interviews (eligible 

cases that are interviewed—in 

scope)

Type A nonresponses (eligible 

cases that are not interviewed—

in scope)

Type B nonresponses (cases that 

are not eligible for interview—in 

scope)

Type C nonresponses (cases that 

are not eligible for interview—

out of scope)

Response rates

The CE program defines the response 

rate as the percent of eligible house-

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•

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•

holds that actually are interviewed 

for each survey. Types B and C nonresponders are not part of the response 

rate, because they are not eligible for 

the survey.

Response rates are reported separately for the Interview and Diary components of the CE. When calculating a 

response rate for the Interview survey, 

BLS generally uses outcome information only from the second through fifth 

interviews. Information from the first 

interview is used only for “bounding” 

purposes, which address a common 

problem in which survey respondents 

tend to report expenditures to have 

been made more recently than they 

were actually made. When calculating 

a response rate for the Diary survey, 

BLS uses outcome information from 

the two 1-week periods a household is 

in the sample.

The sample size and response status 

for housing units “designated” for the 

Interview survey in 2004 and 2005 are 

shown in table 1. The CE counts each 

of the four “nonbounding” interviews 

at a household (interviews 2–5) separately when reporting the number of 

housing units designated for the Interview survey; in other words, interviews 

2–5 at one household generally represent four housing units designated for 

the survey. In 2005, there were 49,242 

housing units designated for the Interview Survey. Field representatives occasionally find more than one housing 

unit at the addresses they visit, so the 

number of housing units designated is 

slightly more than the number of addresses selected for the sample. Those 

49,242 housing units designated for the 

survey contained 39,988 eligible units 

and 9,254 ineligible units. The 39,988 

Table 1. Analysis of response in the CE Interview Survey, 2004 and 2005 

Sample unit 2004 2005

Housing units designated for the survey 50,509 49,242

Less: Type B or C nonresponses 9,626 9,254

Equals: Eligible units 40,883 39,988

Less: Type A nonresponses 9,798 10,184

Equals: Interview units 31,085 29,804

Percent of eligible units interviewed 76.0 74.5

Consumer Expenditure Survey Anthology, 2008 21
Table 2. Analysis of response in the CE Diary Survey, 2004 and 2005

Sample unit 2004 2005

Housing units designated for the survey 27,385 26,054

Less: Type B or C nonresponses 5,746 4,745

Equals: Eligible units 21,639 21,309

Less: Type A nonresponses 6,722 6,183

Equals: Interview units 14,917 15,126

Percent of eligible units interviewed 68.9 71.0

eligible units produced 29,804 completed interviews, yielding a response 

rate of 74.5 percent (29,804/39,988= 

0.745). 

In 2005, the CE’s sample design 

was changed. The list of addresses 

from which the sample is drawn was 

updated by replacing the 1990 decennial census 100-percent-detail file with 

the 2000 decennial census 100-percentdetail file. Under special procedures, 

all households selected from the 2000 

Census-based sample in January 2005 

were treated as first interviews during 

the transition. Hence, as shown in table 1, the number of Interview survey 

housing units designated in 2005 is less 

than normally would be expected.

The sample size and response status for housing units “designated” for 

the Diary survey in 2004 and 2005 are 

shown in table 2. The CE counts each 

of the two 1-week diary periods at a 

household separately when reporting 

the number of housing units designated 

for the Diary survey. In 2005, there 

were 26,054 housing units designated 

for the Diary survey. (The two diaries 

are counted as separate interviews.) 

Field representatives occasionally find 

more than one housing unit at the addresses they visit, so the number of 

housing units designated is slightly 

more than the number of addresses 

selected for the sample. Those 26,054 

housing units designated for the survey contained 21,309 eligible units and 

4,745 ineligible units. The 21,309 eligible units produced 15,126 completed 

interviews, yielding a response rate of 

71.0 percent (15,126/21,309=0.710).

For both the Interview and Diary 

surveys, the number of Types B and C 

nonresponses decreased from 2004 to 

2005. This decrease can be attributed 

to the more up-to-date list of addresses 

used to select the sample in 2005.

Conclusion

The CE collects expenditure data from 

a representative sample of American 

households. Like any survey, the CE 

does not get responses from every 

household in its sample. This article 

has described how the CE categorizes 

the outcomes of visits to survey households and how it calculates response 

rates. It is important to monitor response rates and to keep them as high 

as possible in order to minimize the 

amount of bias that can be introduced 

into the survey estimates.

22 Consumer Expenditure Survey Anthology, 2008