Table 60. Number of earners in consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income,

Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1998

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Single consumers Consumer units of two or more persons

No earner One earner No earner One earner Two earners Three or

more

Number of consumer units (in thousands) ............... 107,182 11,744 18,940 10,092 21,644 34,457 10,305 

Percent distribution of consumer units ..................... 100.0 11.0 17.7 9.4 20.2 32.1 9.6 

Consumer unit characteristics (mean values): 

Income before taxes 1 ............................................ $41,622 $13,495 $28,325 $22,162 $37,299 $58,926 $68,477 

Income after taxes 1 ............................................... 38,358 12,873 25,481 21,601 34,331 54,108 63,460 

 Age of reference person ........................................ 47.6 68.2 39.1 65.3 45.9 41.9 45.7 

Average number in consumer unit:

Persons ................................................................ 2.5 1.0 1.0 2.3 3.0 3.1 4.3 

 Children under 18 ................................................ .7 n.a. n.a. .4 1.1 .9 1.2 

 Persons 65 and over ............................................ .3 .7 .1 1.3 .3 .1 .1 

 Earners ................................................................ 1.3 n.a. 1.0 n.a. 1.0 2.0 3.3 

 Vehicles ............................................................... 2.0 .8 1.1 1.8 1.9 2.5 3.3 

Percent distribution:

Sex of reference person:

Male ................................................................... 58 29 51 66 55 68 66 

 Female ............................................................... 42 71 49 34 45 32 34 

Housing tenure:

Homeowner ....................................................... 64 58 37 77 64 73 80 

 With mortgage ................................................. 39 8 26 15 38 56 64 

 Without mortgage ............................................ 26 50 12 62 26 17 16 

 Renter ................................................................ 36 42 63 23 36 27 20 

Race of reference person:

Black .................................................................. 12 12 11 12 17 10 10 

 White and other ................................................. 88 88 89 88 83 90 90 

Education of reference person:

Elementary (1-8) ................................................ 7 18 2 14 7 3 5 

 High school (9-12) ............................................. 39 46 28 48 46 35 38 

 College ............................................................... 54 35 70 37 47 61 56 

 Never attended and other .................................. 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 1 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 2 ( )

At least one vehicle owned or leased .................. 87 63 78 84 89 96 97 

Annual aggregate expenditures ............................... $3,806,893 4.8 12.5 6.6 19.8 41.9 14.3 

Food ....................................................................... 514,578 4.7 11.0 7.6 20.6 42.1 14.2 

 Food at home ....................................................... 297,339 5.5 8.9 8.9 22.0 41.4 13.4 

 Cereals and bakery products ............................. 45,435 6.0 8.3 8.8 22.2 41.3 13.4 

 Cereals and cereal products ............................ 15,655 5.4 8.4 8.0 22.6 41.7 13.9 

 Bakery products ............................................... 29,780 6.3 8.3 9.2 22.0 41.1 13.1 

 Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ............................ 77,381 5.0 8.1 9.1 22.1 41.3 14.5 

 Beef ................................................................. 23,366 4.2 7.3 8.0 22.3 42.6 15.7 

 Pork ................................................................. 15,600 5.5 6.7 10.8 22.5 40.4 14.1 

 Other meats ..................................................... 9,849 5.9 7.8 8.9 20.7 43.2 13.5 

 Poultry .............................................................. 14,635 4.7 8.3 8.2 22.7 41.8 14.2 

 Fish and seafood ............................................. 10,465 4.6 11.6 10.5 21.3 38.4 13.7 

 Eggs ................................................................. 3,466 7.3 8.7 10.5 21.8 38.2 13.5 

Dairy products .................................................... 32,242 6.1 8.3 9.1 21.9 42.0 12.6 

 Fresh milk and cream ...................................... 12,858 5.9 7.8 9.7 22.6 40.8 13.2 

 Other dairy products ........................................ 19,384 6.1 8.5 8.8 21.5 42.8 12.2 

 Fruits and vegetables ........................................ 50,484 6.1 9.5 9.5 22.6 40.0 12.4 

 Fresh fruits ....................................................... 15,944 6.6 9.8 9.0 23.3 39.1 12.2 

 Fresh vegetables ............................................. 15,509 6.0 9.3 10.1 22.1 39.5 13.1 

 Processed fruits ............................................... 10,852 6.0 10.6 9.5 21.1 40.6 12.1 

 Processed vegetables ..................................... 8,180 5.6 7.5 9.0 24.1 41.8 12.0 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 60. Number of earners in consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income,

Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1998 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Single consumers Consumer units of two or more persons

No earner One earner No earner One earner Two earners Three or

more

 Other food at home ............................................ $91,797 5.3 9.7 8.3 21.4 42.0 13.3 

 Sugar and other sweets ................................... 11,677 5.9 10.3 8.8 21.9 40.4 12.6 

 Fats and oils .................................................... 8,229 6.2 8.1 9.7 22.2 40.7 13.2 

 Miscellaneous foods ........................................ 41,491 5.1 9.7 7.7 21.4 43.4 12.7 

 Nonalcoholic beverages .................................. 24,684 5.2 9.3 8.5 21.1 42.0 14.0 

Food prepared by consumer unit on

out-of-town trips ............................................. 5,716 4.3 12.3 9.5 20.9 36.9 16.1 

 Food away from home ......................................... 217,239 3.5 13.8 5.7 18.6 43.2 15.2 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................... 33,058 4.6 22.9 7.1 15.8 38.9 10.8 

Housing .................................................................. 1,255,217 6.0 13.2 6.8 20.6 40.9 12.6 

 Shelter ................................................................. 716,015 5.8 14.8 5.8 20.0 40.9 12.7 

 Owned dwellings ................................................ 454,991 4.1 9.9 5.8 19.6 45.8 14.9 

 Mortgage interest and charges ........................ 263,117 1.4 10.3 2.5 19.3 50.5 16.1 

 Property taxes .................................................. 108,832 7.0 8.8 9.4 20.8 39.1 15.0 

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other

expenses ....................................................... 83,042 8.8 10.1 11.3 19.0 39.6 11.2 

 Rented dwellings ............................................... 211,972 9.6 26.2 5.5 21.0 30.4 7.3 

 Other lodging ..................................................... 49,052 5.7 11.3 7.7 19.9 40.7 14.6 

Utilities, fuels, and public services ....................... 257,743 7.1 11.1 9.0 22.2 37.0 13.6 

 Natural gas ........................................................ 30,426 7.9 10.3 9.4 23.1 35.7 13.6 

 Electricity ........................................................... 98,725 7.5 10.3 9.6 22.4 37.0 13.3 

 Fuel oil and other fuels ...................................... 9,133 10.1 8.1 10.9 21.6 33.7 15.6 

 Telephone services ............................................ 88,914 6.2 13.8 7.3 21.7 37.5 13.4 

 Water and other public services ........................ 30,546 7.1 7.9 10.7 22.3 37.5 14.6 

 Household operations .......................................... 58,495 7.6 6.7 6.2 21.6 49.3 8.7 

 Personal services .............................................. 27,827 5.6 3.8 3.4 22.3 61.4 6.5 

 Other household expenses ................................ 30,668 9.4 12.0 8.8 20.9 38.3 10.6 

Housekeeping supplies ........................................ 51,546 5.8 10.0 7.7 19.8 45.7 11.0 

 Laundry and cleaning supplies .......................... 12,586 5.4 7.9 9.8 21.5 42.7 12.7 

 Other household products ................................. 24,850 5.4 9.4 6.6 18.0 50.7 10.0 

 Postage and stationery ...................................... 14,110 7.0 12.9 7.9 21.4 39.6 11.3 

 Household furnishings and equipment ................ 171,418 4.3 12.6 7.2 21.0 42.5 12.4 

 Household textiles ............................................. 11,260 7.6 10.4 9.2 19.4 40.4 13.0 

 Furniture ............................................................ 40,444 4.8 10.6 6.3 21.5 45.3 11.5 

 Floor coverings .................................................. 15,459 4.2 14.7 12.8 23.2 38.5 6.7 

 Major appliances ................................................ 17,583 4.4 14.0 9.3 22.8 36.7 12.8 

Small appliances, miscellaneous

housewares ..................................................... 8,572 4.6 11.3 7.5 21.5 41.7 13.4 

 Miscellaneous household equipment ................. 78,101 3.6 13.4 5.7 20.0 43.6 13.6 

Apparel and services ............................................. 179,110 3.6 12.7 5.2 21.5 42.0 15.0 

 Men and boys ...................................................... 42,659 2.2 12.2 5.0 20.4 44.3 15.9 

 Men, 16 and over ............................................... 33,572 2.5 14.5 5.0 18.2 43.2 16.5 

 Boys, 2 to 15 ...................................................... 9,087 1.1 3.8 4.9 28.3 48.2 13.6 

 Women and girls .................................................. 69,691 4.5 12.8 5.5 21.4 40.3 15.6 

 Women, 16 and over ......................................... 58,618 5.2 14.6 5.8 19.8 38.7 15.9 

 Girls, 2 to 15 ...................................................... 11,072 .6 3.5 4.0 29.6 48.3 14.0 

 Children under 2 .................................................. 7,799 3.4 4.2 5.7 32.8 49.4 7.5 

 Footwear .............................................................. 30,038 3.9 12.1 5.2 22.4 41.8 14.6 

 Other apparel products and services ................... 28,923 4.3 16.0 4.4 19.2 41.3 14.7 

Transportation ........................................................ 709,105 3.0 11.4 6.1 19.5 42.4 17.6 

 Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ............................ 317,722 2.4 10.8 5.2 19.4 43.2 19.0 

 Cars and trucks, new ......................................... 148,237 2.7 9.6 6.0 20.2 44.6 17.0 

 Cars and trucks, used ........................................ 164,243 2.0 11.5 4.6 19.0 41.8 21.1 

 Other vehicles .................................................... 5,241 35.4 324.8 3.7 38.9 47.2 313.1 

 Gasoline and motor oil ......................................... 108,989 3.6 11.3 7.0 19.9 41.7 16.5 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 60. Number of earners in consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income,

Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1998 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Single consumers Consumer units of two or more persons

No earner One earner No earner One earner Two earners Three or

more

 Other vehicle expenses ....................................... $236,385 3.2 11.6 6.2 19.0 42.7 17.2 

 Vehicle finance charges ..................................... 34,212 1.0 9.3 3.1 18.0 49.7 18.9 

 Maintenance and repairs ................................... 68,665 4.0 13.6 8.0 20.3 38.8 15.5 

 Vehicle insurance .............................................. 79,166 4.1 11.1 7.5 18.3 40.4 18.5 

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, other

charges ............................................................ 54,341 2.3 11.4 4.1 19.2 46.6 16.3 

 Public transportation ............................................ 46,010 5.7 14.1 9.4 20.8 36.8 13.2 

Health care ............................................................ 203,911 10.4 8.0 15.1 21.0 34.1 11.5 

 Health insurance .................................................. 97,878 10.2 7.4 16.0 20.8 33.6 11.9 

 Medical services .................................................. 58,109 9.7 8.8 10.0 21.1 37.8 12.6 

 Drugs ................................................................... 37,029 12.7 7.4 20.7 22.4 28.6 8.1 

 Medical supplies .................................................. 10,895 7.7 10.3 15.6 17.1 36.4 13.0 

Entertainment ........................................................ 186,973 3.8 12.6 5.7 20.0 44.3 13.7 

 Fees and admissions ........................................... 48,082 3.3 13.7 7.3 19.0 41.9 14.8 

 Television, radios, sound equipment ................... 57,273 5.0 13.5 5.8 19.8 42.2 13.8 

 Pets, toys, and playground equipment ................ 35,275 3.7 9.9 6.0 25.2 44.0 11.2 

Other entertainment supplies, equipment,

and services ....................................................... 46,343 2.8 12.4 3.5 17.4 49.6 14.3 

Personal care products and services ..................... 42,876 6.2 11.6 8.6 18.9 40.8 14.0 

Reading ................................................................. 17,250 6.8 14.6 9.1 19.7 38.5 11.3 

Education ............................................................... 62,137 3.5 16.2 2.4 18.1 37.2 22.7 

Tobacco products and smoking supplies ............... 29,260 5.3 13.1 6.1 22.9 38.4 14.3 

Miscellaneous ........................................................ 92,160 6.2 16.2 6.2 20.4 38.6 12.3 

Cash contributions ................................................. 118,899 9.9 13.9 10.8 19.1 36.6 9.6 

Personal insurance and pensions .......................... 362,358 .5 13.4 1.4 15.8 51.9 16.9 

 Life and other personal insurance ....................... 42,709 4.1 6.9 11.1 20.3 42.5 15.1 

 Pensions and Social Security .............................. 319,648 4 ( ) 14.3 3.1 15.2 53.2 17.1 

Sources of income and personal taxes: 1

Money income before taxes ..................................... 3,501,058 3.5 12.8 5.0 17.3 46.0 15.5 

 Wages and salaries ............................................. 2,766,479 5 ( ) 14.1 5 ( ) 16.3 51.9 17.7 

 Self-employment income ..................................... 188,347 5 ( ) 14.1 3.2 19.9 50.4 15.5 

 Social Security, private and government

retirement ........................................................... 388,481 24.9 4.0 37.4 20.9 10.3 2.5 

 Interest, dividends, rental income, other property

income ............................................................... 73,280 20.1 7.6 20.8 17.1 26.2 8.2 

 Unemployment and workers’ compensation,

veterans’ benefits ............................................... 16,228 10.1 9.0 9.6 23.2 34.3 13.8 

 Public assistance, supplemental security income,

food stamps ....................................................... 27,799 16.1 1.7 30.5 31.4 15.8 4.4 

 Regular contributions for support ......................... 21,840 13.9 15.3 11.6 24.1 24.1 11.1 

 Other income ....................................................... 18,602 3.4 23.7 2.9 18.6 34.2 17.2 

Personal taxes ....................................................... 274,527 2.0 16.4 1.6 17.5 48.0 14.5 

 Federal income taxes .......................................... 207,922 1.9 16.6 1.1 17.4 48.3 14.6 

 State and local income taxes ............................... 52,981 1.2 17.5 .9 17.0 49.5 13.9 

 Other taxes .......................................................... 13,624 7.9 8.5 11.7 20.7 36.7 14.5 

Income after taxes ................................................. 3,226,532 3.6 12.5 5.3 17.2 45.8 15.6 

1 Components of income and taxes are derived from "complete

income reporters" only; see glossary. 2 Value less than 0.5. 3 Data are likely to have large sampling errors.

4 Value less than 0.05. 5 No data reported.

n.a. Not applicable.