Table 2600. Generation of reference person: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of

income, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2016

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Birth year

of 1927

or earlier1

Birth year

from 1928

to 19451

Birth year

from 1946

to 1964

Birth year

from 1965

to 1980

Birth year

of 1981

or later

Number of consumer units (in thousands) ......... 129,549 2,331 16,880 45,087 35,578 29,675

Percent distribution of consumer units ............... 100.0 1.8 13.0 34.8 27.5 22.9

Consumer unit characteristics (mean values):

Income before taxes ......................................... $74,664 $31,272 $40,230 $79,736 $95,168 $65,373

Income after taxes ............................................ 64,175 30,069 37,964 67,499 80,937 56,618

Age of reference person ................................... 50.9 91.0 77.1 60.2 43.3 27.9

Average number in consumer unit:

People ............................................................ 2.5 1.3 1.7 2.1 3.2 2.6

Children under 18 ........................................... .6 2 ( ) 2 ( ) .2 1.2 .9

Adults 65 and older ........................................ .4 1.2 1.4 .4 2 ( ) 2 ( )

Earners ........................................................... 1.3 .1 .4 1.3 1.7 1.5

Vehicles .......................................................... 1.9 .8 1.6 2.1 2.1 1.5

Percent distribution:

Reference person:

Men ................................................................ 47 33 42 49 46 49

Women ........................................................... 53 67 58 51 54 51

Housing tenure:

Homeowner .................................................... 62 63 79 76 62 33

With mortgage .............................................. 36 4 19 40 48 26

Without mortgage ......................................... 27 59 60 36 14 7

Renter ............................................................ 38 37 21 24 38 67

Race of reference person:

Black or African-American .............................. 13 7 10 13 14 15

White, Asian, and all other races ................... 87 93 90 87 86 85

Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person:

Hispanic or Latino .......................................... 13 3 6 9 18 18

Not Hispanic or Latino .................................... 87 97 94 91 82 82

Education of reference person:

Elementary (1-8) ............................................ 3 6 5 3 3 1

High school (9-12) .......................................... 32 44 42 33 27 28

College ........................................................... 65 50 53 63 69 71

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

At least one vehicle owned or leased ............... 87 58 84 90 91 83

Annual aggregate expenditures ......................... $7,423,468 1.1 9.5 36.9 32.9 19.7

Food ................................................................. 932,575 .7 9.8 34.2 34.1 21.2

Food at home ................................................. 524,199 .8 11.0 35.0 33.0 20.2

Cereals and bakery products ....................... 67,893 .8 11.2 33.9 33.8 20.3

Cereals and cereal products ...................... 22,235 .7 9.8 31.0 35.9 22.6

Bakery products ......................................... 45,658 .9 11.9 35.3 32.7 19.1

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ...................... 115,219 .6 10.5 35.8 33.1 20.0

Beef ............................................................ 31,555 .5 12.2 36.0 32.7 18.6

Pork ............................................................ 21,868 .6 10.4 37.4 31.7 19.9

Other meats ............................................... 15,560 .6 9.6 36.8 34.4 18.6

Poultry ........................................................ 22,205 .5 8.5 33.4 34.0 23.7

Fish and seafood ........................................ 16,795 .9 11.4 36.0 33.1 18.6

Eggs ........................................................... 7,235 .8 10.1 34.5 32.9 21.6

Dairy products .............................................. 53,050 .9 10.9 34.5 33.1 20.6

Fresh milk and cream ................................. 17,989 1.1 10.7 32.4 34.1 21.8

Other dairy products ................................... 35,060 .8 11.0 35.6 32.6 20.0

Fruits and vegetables ................................... 101,357 .9 11.5 33.7 33.8 20.1

Fresh fruits ................................................. 37,287 .9 12.1 33.0 34.0 20.1

Fresh vegetables ........................................ 32,832 .7 11.1 34.6 33.5 20.0

Processed fruits ......................................... 14,071 1.2 11.7 32.3 34.1 20.7

Processed vegetables ................................ 17,167 .7 11.1 34.7 33.4 20.0

Other food at home ...................................... 186,681 .9 10.9 35.7 32.4 20.2

Sugar and other sweets ............................. 19,142 1.3 12.7 36.5 30.9 18.6

Fats and oils ............................................... 14,419 .6 11.0 37.4 31.1 19.9

Miscellaneous foods ................................... 95,075 1.0 10.1 34.9 33.0 21.0

Nonalcoholic beverages ............................. 50,908 .7 11.9 35.4 31.9 20.1

Food prepared by consumer unit on

out-of-town trips ....................................... 7,137 3.2 8.7 43.3 33.6 14.1

Food away from home ................................... 408,376 .6 8.3 33.1 35.4 22.5

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2600. Generation of reference person: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of

income, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2016 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Birth year

of 1927

or earlier1

Birth year

from 1928

to 19451

Birth year

from 1946

to 1964

Birth year

from 1965

to 1980

Birth year

of 1981

or later

Alcoholic beverages ......................................... 62,654 .7 8.7 36.1 31.5 23.0

Housing ............................................................ 2,446,505 1.7 9.9 34.7 33.0 20.6

Shelter ............................................................ 1,441,630 1.9 9.3 33.6 33.2 22.0

Owned dwellings .......................................... 815,568 .9 10.3 39.9 35.6 13.3

Mortgage interest and charges .................. 374,324 3.2 4.7 34.7 43.0 17.5

Property taxes ............................................ 255,122 1.5 13.6 43.8 30.7 10.3

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other

expenses .................................................. 186,122 1.5 17.1 45.0 27.3 9.1

Rented dwellings .......................................... 522,688 3.7 7.3 20.8 30.6 37.6

Other lodging ................................................ 103,374 1.1 11.0 48.7 28.0 11.1

Utilities, fuels, and public services ................. 503,158 1.2 11.6 37.8 31.6 17.8

Natural gas ................................................... 45,935 1.6 12.8 39.5 30.0 16.1

Electricity ...................................................... 187,044 1.3 12.4 37.6 30.9 17.9

Fuel oil and other fuels ................................. 11,043 32.5 18.6 44.7 24.5 9.8

Telephone services ...................................... 185,387 .9 9.5 37.1 33.3 19.2

Residential phone service, VOIP, and

phone cards ............................................. 39,814 2.9 21.3 44.6 24.5 6.7

Cellular phone service ................................ 145,573 .4 6.3 35.1 35.7 22.6

Water and other public services ................... 73,749 1.4 13.1 38.0 31.2 16.3

Household operations .................................... 179,276 2.9 10.5 28.9 36.0 21.8

Personal services ......................................... 59,152 34.8 3.4 8.8 47.8 35.2

Other household expenses .......................... 120,124 1.9 14.0 38.8 30.1 15.2

Housekeeping supplies .................................. 85,507 .9 13.3 38.8 30.2 16.8

Laundry and cleaning supplies ..................... 20,703 1.0 13.2 38.2 31.1 16.6

Other household products ............................ 47,039 .9 13.4 37.6 30.2 17.9

Postage and stationery ................................ 17,765 1.0 13.3 42.6 29.2 14.0

Household furnishings and equipment ........... 236,934 .7 8.9 38.2 33.1 19.0

Household textiles ........................................ 12,749 31.6 8.0 37.4 34.6 18.4

Furniture ....................................................... 59,565 .6 8.3 34.8 34.0 22.4

Floor coverings ............................................. 2,631 3.1 8.0 44.3 29.8 17.8

Major appliances .......................................... 36,642 .7 10.5 39.2 32.6 17.1

Small appliances, miscellaneous

housewares ................................................ 15,946 .9 8.8 40.6 27.9 21.7

Miscellaneous household equipment ........... 109,400 .7 8.9 39.4 33.6 17.5

Apparel and services ........................................ 233,410 .6 6.6 30.0 39.5 23.3

Men and boys ................................................. 55,245 3.6 4.5 29.0 41.0 24.9

Men, 16 and over ......................................... 41,828 3.8 4.6 33.0 36.4 25.2

Boys, 2 to 15 ................................................ 13,417 2 ( ) 4.1 16.6 55.5 23.8

Women and girls ............................................ 86,076 .4 7.8 32.4 39.1 20.4

Women, 16 and over .................................... 73,959 .4 8.3 35.1 36.4 19.8

Girls, 2 to 15 ................................................. 12,117 4 ( ) 4.8 15.6 55.9 23.6

Children under 2 ............................................. 8,583 4 ( ) 32.5 16.0 32.8 48.6

Footwear ........................................................ 50,203 3.7 6.4 29.3 39.9 23.7

Other apparel products and services ............. 33,303 1.0 8.4 29.9 39.2 21.4

Transportation .................................................. 1,172,223 .6 8.6 37.3 32.0 21.5

Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ....................... 470,770 3.6 8.0 37.0 30.6 23.8

Cars and trucks, new ................................... 213,697 31.2 11.9 40.7 26.1 20.1

Cars and trucks, used .................................. 248,561 3.1 4.8 34.3 34.0 26.8

Other vehicles .............................................. 8,512 4 ( ) 34.6 24.3 43.8 27.4

Gasoline and motor oil ................................... 247,294 .4 7.8 35.4 34.8 21.6

Other vehicle expenses .................................. 373,486 .7 9.6 39.2 31.4 19.2

Vehicle finance charges ............................... 29,248 3.1 4.8 33.2 37.7 24.2

Maintenance and repairs .............................. 109,983 .6 9.9 39.8 30.7 19.0

Vehicle insurance ......................................... 148,766 3.9 10.6 40.7 30.3 17.6

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, and other

charges ...................................................... 85,488 .7 8.9 37.6 32.1 20.6

Public and other transportation ...................... 80,673 .9 9.3 36.6 35.1 18.2

Healthcare ........................................................ 597,428 2.0 17.5 41.4 26.8 12.3

Health insurance ............................................ 409,386 2.0 17.7 41.1 26.8 12.4

Medical services ............................................. 108,598 1.7 14.9 40.8 28.5 14.0

Drugs .............................................................. 59,925 2.8 20.8 44.7 23.3 8.4

Medical supplies ............................................. 19,518 3.0 18.2 40.2 26.1 12.5

Entertainment ................................................... 377,271 .7 9.4 37.2 34.2 18.5

Fees and admissions ..................................... 88,223 .3 8.1 34.8 39.6 17.3

Audio and visual equipment and services ...... 140,551 1.1 11.8 37.1 31.1 18.9

Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground

equipment .................................................... 95,880 .6 8.6 39.0 32.7 19.1

Pets .............................................................. 75,525 .8 9.4 41.1 30.9 17.8

Toys, hobbies, and playground equipment .. 20,355 2 ( ) 5.5 31.5 39.3 23.7

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2600. Generation of reference person: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of

income, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2016 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Birth year

of 1927

or earlier1

Birth year

from 1928

to 19451

Birth year

from 1946

to 1964

Birth year

from 1965

to 1980

Birth year

of 1981

or later

Other entertainment supplies, equipment,

and services ................................................. 52,617 3.8 7.0 37.8 35.8 18.6

Personal care products and services ............... 91,521 1.4 11.0 36.5 32.2 18.8

Reading ............................................................ 15,268 2.4 20.5 37.6 26.8 12.6

Education ......................................................... 172,129 2 ( ) 1.4 33.9 36.3 28.4

Tobacco products and smoking supplies ......... 43,686 3.4 6.0 39.8 32.5 21.3

Miscellaneous .................................................. 124,294 .8 10.6 42.7 33.4 12.4

Cash contributions ........................................... 269,573 1.5 16.4 45.4 25.6 11.1

Personal insurance and pensions .................... 884,933 .2 3.5 40.6 36.2 19.3

Life and other personal insurance .................. 41,707 1.4 12.2 48.3 29.0 9.1

Pensions and Social Security ......................... 843,226 .2 3.1 40.3 36.6 19.8

Sources of income and personal taxes:

Money income before taxes ............................. $9,672,707 .8 7.0 37.2 35.0 20.1

Wages and salaries ........................................ 7,425,644 .1 2.3 35.3 40.5 21.8

Self-employment income ................................ 812,321 3.3 3.5 36.0 28.8 31.4

Social Security, private and government

retirement ..................................................... 1,036,476 5.2 40.6 47.8 5.4 1.0

Interest, dividends, rental income, other

property income ........................................... 226,859 3.2 19.1 56.4 18.3 2.9

Public assistance, Supplemental Security

Income, Supplementary Nutrition

Assistance Program (SNAP) ........................ 67,197 .5 7.6 35.7 28.6 27.6

Unemployment and workers’ compensation,

veterans’ benefits, and regular

contributions for support ............................... 57,556 31.7 9.4 40.3 32.7 15.9

Other income .................................................. 46,655 3.1 7.1 25.2 21.8 45.8

Personal taxes (contains some imputed

values) ............................................................ 1,358,841 .2 2.8 40.6 37.3 19.1

Federal income taxes ..................................... 1,083,995 .2 2.9 40.8 36.6 19.5

State and local income taxes ......................... 265,116 .1 2.2 39.9 40.0 17.8

Other taxes ..................................................... 9,729 3.6 4.7 41.0 41.4 12.4

Income after taxes ............................................ 8,313,867 .8 7.7 36.6 34.6 20.2

1 Birth year data processed before January 2017 for the Diary survey and April 2017 for the Interview survey had a cutoff date of

1928 instead of 1927.

2 Value is too small to display.

3 Data are likely to have large sampling errors.

4 No data reported.

Source: Consumer Expenditure Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August, 2017