Table 58. Size of consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer Expenditure

Survey, 2004

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate One

person

Two or more persons

Total Two

persons

Three

persons

Four

persons

Five or

more

persons

Number of consumer units (in thousands) ................... 116,282 33,686 82,596 37,542 17,806 16,388 10,859 

Percent distribution of consumer units ........................ 100.0 29.0 71.0 32.3 15.3 14.1 9.3 

Consumer unit characteristics (mean values): 

Income before taxes ................................................. $54,453 $28,143 $65,183 $58,307 $66,762 $74,970 $71,600 

Income after taxes .................................................... 52,287 26,761 62,698 55,393 64,220 72,627 70,473 

Age of reference person ............................................ 48.5 51.9 47.1 52.9 44.0 41.1 41.1 

Average number in consumer unit:

Persons ................................................................... 2.5 1.0 3.1 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.6 

Children under 18 .................................................... .6 n.a. .9 .1 .8 1.6 2.8 

Persons 65 and over ............................................... .3 .3 .3 .5 .2 .1 .1 

Earners .................................................................... 1.3 .6 1.6 1.3 1.8 1.9 2.2 

Vehicles ................................................................... 1.9 1.0 2.3 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.5 

Percent distribution:

Sex of reference person:

Male ......................................................................... 48 45 50 53 47 49 44 

Female ..................................................................... 52 55 50 47 53 51 56 

Housing tenure:

Homeowner ............................................................. 68 51 74 75 71 77 74 

With mortgage ....................................................... 42 23 50 40 54 65 58 

Without mortgage .................................................. 25 29 24 35 17 12 16 

Renter ...................................................................... 32 49 26 25 29 23 26 

Race of reference person:

Black or African-American ....................................... 12 12 12 10 14 13 15 

White, Asian, and All Other Races .......................... 88 88 88 90 86 87 85 

Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person:

Hispanic or Latino (new UCC Q20032) ................... 11 7 12 6 13 15 27 

Not Hispanic or Latino (new UCC Q20032) ............. 89 93 88 94 87 85 73 

Education of reference person:

Elementary (1-8) ...................................................... 5 7 5 4 4 4 10 

High school (9-12) ................................................... 35 34 36 36 37 33 40 

College .................................................................... 59 59 59 60 59 62 50 

Never attended and other ........................................ 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( )

At least one vehicle owned or leased ........................ 88 76 93 93 92 95 93 

Annual aggregate expenditures ................................... $5,043,501 16.9 83.1 34.2 18.2 18.7 12.0 

Food .......................................................................... 670,766 15.4 84.6 32.9 18.3 19.5 14.0 

Food at home .......................................................... 388,283 14.4 85.6 32.2 18.2 19.8 15.4 

Cereals and bakery products ................................. 53,470 14.3 85.7 31.0 18.4 20.1 16.3 

Cereals and cereal products ................................ 17,843 13.6 86.4 28.8 18.8 20.1 18.7 

Bakery products ................................................... 35,627 14.6 85.4 32.0 18.2 20.1 15.1 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ................................ 102,057 13.4 86.6 32.2 19.0 19.6 15.8 

Beef ..................................................................... 30,783 12.6 87.4 31.0 19.6 20.4 16.3 

Pork ..................................................................... 21,015 13.3 86.7 32.9 19.2 19.2 15.5 

Other meats ......................................................... 12,527 12.9 87.1 32.6 17.5 20.4 16.5 

Poultry ................................................................. 18,052 13.9 86.1 30.7 19.6 19.0 16.7 

Fish and seafood ................................................. 14,826 14.2 85.8 35.3 18.1 18.9 13.4 

Eggs .................................................................... 4,854 16.6 83.4 31.2 18.0 18.1 16.2 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 58. Size of consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer Expenditure

Survey, 2004 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate One

person

Two or more persons

Total Two

persons

Three

persons

Four

persons

Five or

more

persons

Dairy products ....................................................... $42,991 14.2 85.8 31.7 18.2 20.3 15.6 

Fresh milk and cream .......................................... 16,744 13.7 86.3 28.9 18.6 20.7 18.0 

Other dairy products ............................................ 26,247 14.5 85.5 33.4 17.9 20.1 14.1 

Fruits and vegetables ............................................ 65,077 15.3 84.7 33.6 17.5 18.3 15.4 

Fresh fruits ........................................................... 21,664 15.6 84.4 34.7 16.7 17.9 15.2 

Fresh vegetables ................................................. 21,223 14.6 85.4 34.8 18.0 17.4 15.1 

Processed fruits ................................................... 12,719 16.2 83.8 31.2 17.8 19.3 15.3 

Processed vegetables ......................................... 9,471 14.7 85.3 31.7 17.5 19.7 16.4 

Other food at home ................................................ 124,688 15.0 85.0 32.2 18.0 20.4 14.5 

Sugar and other sweets ....................................... 14,864 14.1 85.9 33.9 17.7 19.1 15.2 

Fats and oils ........................................................ 10,312 15.2 84.8 32.7 17.9 19.3 14.8 

Miscellaneous foods ............................................ 61,173 15.0 85.0 30.8 18.1 21.0 15.1 

Nonalcoholic beverages ...................................... 33,587 15.4 84.6 32.3 18.3 20.3 13.6 

Food prepared by consumer unit on

out-of-town trips ................................................. 4,752 14.3 85.7 41.5 14.9 18.6 10.8 

Food away from home ............................................. 282,483 16.7 83.3 33.8 18.3 19.1 12.1 

Alcoholic beverages .................................................. 53,292 22.5 77.5 40.5 15.5 14.4 7.1 

Housing ..................................................................... 1,618,136 19.2 80.8 32.6 17.8 18.6 11.8 

Shelter ..................................................................... 930,071 21.2 78.8 31.8 17.3 18.3 11.5 

Owned dwellings ................................................... 619,141 15.9 84.1 32.2 18.0 21.1 12.8 

Mortgage interest and charges ............................ 341,424 13.4 86.6 28.2 19.4 24.1 14.9 

Property taxes ..................................................... 161,768 17.3 82.7 36.0 16.7 18.9 11.1 

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other

expenses ........................................................... 115,949 21.1 78.9 38.6 15.9 15.4 9.0 

Rented dwellings ................................................... 255,946 35.0 65.0 28.3 15.4 12.3 9.0 

Other lodging ......................................................... 54,984 16.2 83.8 42.7 18.2 14.4 8.5 

Utilities, fuels, and public services ........................... 340,315 18.1 81.9 33.1 18.2 18.1 12.5 

Natural gas ............................................................ 49,305 18.7 81.3 32.7 18.0 17.9 12.8 

Electricity ............................................................... 123,772 17.7 82.3 33.4 18.1 18.3 12.6 

Fuel oil and other fuels .......................................... 14,016 20.3 79.7 37.1 16.7 16.1 9.7 

Telephone services ............................................... 115,144 18.6 81.4 32.5 18.7 18.1 12.2 

Water and other public services ............................ 38,078 16.6 83.4 33.5 17.7 18.6 13.7 

Household operations .............................................. 87,540 17.0 83.0 25.5 19.9 25.2 12.3 

Personal services .................................................. 34,851 12.1 87.9 5.9 26.4 38.0 17.6 

Other household expenses .................................... 52,689 20.3 79.7 38.5 15.7 16.7 8.8 

Housekeeping supplies ........................................... 68,966 15.2 84.8 36.5 18.3 18.6 11.5 

Laundry and cleaning supplies .............................. 17,235 14.1 85.9 32.4 18.6 20.2 14.7 

Other household products ..................................... 33,691 14.6 85.4 37.4 18.3 18.8 10.9 

Postage and stationery .......................................... 18,040 17.5 82.5 38.7 17.8 16.5 9.5 

Household furnishings and equipment .................... 191,244 14.3 85.7 37.7 18.4 17.6 12.1 

Household textiles ................................................. 18,299 15.8 84.2 41.2 16.2 15.1 11.7 

Furniture ................................................................ 48,486 12.1 87.9 37.7 17.9 19.2 13.1 

Floor coverings ...................................................... 6,045 13.1 86.9 41.4 20.5 17.2 7.7 

Major appliances ................................................... 23,705 12.5 87.5 38.8 17.4 16.8 14.4 

Small appliances, miscellaneous

housewares ......................................................... 12,150 16.2 83.8 38.3 20.7 14.6 10.1 

Miscellaneous household equipment .................... 82,560 15.6 84.4 36.2 18.9 17.9 11.5 

Apparel and services ................................................. 210,799 15.1 84.9 31.6 19.0 19.8 14.5 

Men and boys .......................................................... 47,147 12.0 88.0 30.1 18.7 21.9 17.4 

Men, 16 and over ................................................... 36,822 13.9 86.1 35.1 19.1 18.2 13.7 

Boys, 2 to 15 .......................................................... 10,325 5.3 94.7 11.9 17.2 35.1 30.4 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 58. Size of consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer Expenditure

Survey, 2004 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate One

person

Two or more persons

Total Two

persons

Three

persons

Four

persons

Five or

more

persons

Women and girls ...................................................... $85,713 16.2 83.8 33.3 19.0 19.3 12.2 

Women, 16 and over ............................................. 73,216 18.3 81.7 36.4 19.0 16.5 9.7 

Girls, 2 to 15 .......................................................... 12,497 3.9 96.1 14.8 19.0 35.8 26.5 

Children under 2 ...................................................... 9,116 4.4 95.6 17.6 26.6 30.0 21.4 

Footwear .................................................................. 38,138 16.3 83.7 27.1 20.1 20.1 16.5 

Other apparel products and services ....................... 30,685 18.2 81.8 39.1 16.0 14.7 12.0 

Transportation ........................................................... 907,129 14.6 85.4 33.7 19.2 20.1 12.3 

Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ................................ 395,018 13.6 86.4 32.4 19.4 22.0 12.6 

Cars and trucks, new ............................................. 203,305 13.2 86.8 35.5 18.9 22.0 10.5 

Cars and trucks, used ............................................ 183,986 14.2 85.8 28.0 20.3 22.3 15.2 

Other vehicles ........................................................ 7,727 12.1 87.9 57.4 11.3 14.1 5.1 

Gasoline and motor oil ............................................. 185,767 14.6 85.4 33.0 19.1 19.9 13.4 

Other vehicle expenses ........................................... 275,032 15.7 84.3 34.7 19.3 18.7 11.7 

Vehicle finance charges ........................................ 37,607 11.3 88.7 34.1 19.9 20.9 13.8 

Maintenance and repairs ....................................... 75,759 17.9 82.1 34.7 18.7 17.3 11.4 

Vehicle insurance .................................................. 112,139 16.1 83.9 34.1 19.3 18.8 11.6 

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, other

charges ................................................................ 49,527 14.5 85.5 36.6 19.5 18.8 10.6 

Public transportation ................................................ 51,312 16.7 83.3 41.1 18.1 14.8 9.3 

Health care ................................................................ 299,289 19.1 80.9 40.3 17.0 14.4 9.2 

Health insurance ...................................................... 154,854 18.5 81.5 40.0 17.0 15.3 9.3 

Medical services ...................................................... 75,393 17.5 82.5 38.2 19.0 14.9 10.4 

Drugs ....................................................................... 55,814 23.0 77.0 43.9 15.0 11.2 6.9 

Medical supplies ...................................................... 13,228 18.6 81.4 41.5 15.3 15.1 9.6 

Entertainment ............................................................ 257,887 15.2 84.8 38.2 16.7 18.4 11.6 

Fees and admissions ............................................... 61,390 15.5 84.5 35.4 16.0 21.6 11.5 

Television, radios, sound equipment ....................... 91,582 19.0 81.0 32.6 18.9 18.3 11.2 

Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground

equipment .............................................................. 44,216 14.8 85.2 36.8 18.8 18.0 11.6 

Other entertainment supplies, equipment,

and services .......................................................... 60,700 9.2 90.8 50.4 12.5 15.8 12.2 

Personal care products and services ........................ 67,485 17.7 82.3 35.3 17.1 17.7 12.2 

Reading ..................................................................... 15,165 21.6 78.4 39.8 15.2 14.9 8.4 

Education ................................................................... 105,264 20.1 79.9 28.3 17.2 22.0 12.3 

Tobacco products and smoking supplies .................. 33,504 16.8 83.2 34.6 19.9 16.9 11.8 

Miscellaneous ............................................................ 80,207 21.7 78.3 36.6 16.9 15.2 9.7 

Cash contributions ..................................................... 163,729 21.1 78.9 43.3 15.1 11.6 8.8 

Personal insurance and pensions ............................. 560,849 13.1 86.9 34.4 19.9 20.5 12.1 

Life and other personal insurance ........................... 45,390 10.8 89.2 40.2 18.8 17.9 12.3 

Pensions and Social Security .................................. 515,460 13.3 86.7 33.9 20.0 20.7 12.1 

Sources of income and personal taxes: 

Money income before taxes ...................................... 6,331,893 15.0 85.0 34.6 18.8 19.4 12.3 

Wages and salaries ................................................. 5,022,494 12.7 87.3 31.7 20.2 21.8 13.6 

Self-employment income ......................................... 349,759 12.2 87.8 35.1 18.9 21.1 12.7 

Social Security, private and government

retirement .............................................................. 680,028 27.6 72.4 54.9 10.0 4.3 3.3 

Interest, dividends, rental income, other

property income ..................................................... 146,596 31.4 68.6 46.0 8.9 8.4 5.3 

Unemployment and workers’ compensation,

veterans’ benefits .................................................. 27,503 16.5 83.5 30.9 22.6 18.6 11.3 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 58. Size of consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer Expenditure

Survey, 2004 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate One

person

Two or more persons

Total Two

persons

Three

persons

Four

persons

Five or

more

persons

Public assistance, supplemental security

income, food stamps ............................................. $35,819 19.2 80.8 19.9 19.2 14.8 27.0 

Regular contributions for support ............................ 47,980 25.2 74.8 25.6 20.5 17.2 11.4 

Other income ........................................................... 21,715 36.8 63.2 33.1 12.9 9.4 7.9 

Personal taxes ........................................................... 251,848 18.5 81.5 43.4 18.0 15.2 4.9 

Federal income taxes .............................................. 176,626 18.9 81.1 45.4 17.7 14.4 3.6 

State and local income taxes ................................... 54,899 17.2 82.8 36.9 19.3 18.9 7.7 

Other taxes .............................................................. 20,323 18.7 81.3 43.9 16.3 13.2 7.9 

Income after taxes ..................................................... 6,080,045 14.8 85.2 34.2 18.8 19.6 12.6 

1 Value less than 0.5. n.a. Not applicable.