Table 59. Composition of consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer Expenditure

Survey, 1999

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Husband and wife consumer units

One

parent,

at least

one child

under 18

Single

person

and other

consumer

units

Total

husband

and wife

consumer

units

Husband

and wife

only

Husband and wife with children Other

husband

and wife

consumer

units

Oldest

child

under 6

Oldest

child

6 to 17

Oldest

child 18

or over

Number of consumer units (in thousands) ............. 108,465 56,429 23,406 5,304 15,378 7,853 4,488 6,571 45,465 

Percent distribution of consumer units ................... 100.0 52.0 21.6 4.9 14.2 7.2 4.1 6.1 41.9 

Consumer unit characteristics (mean values): 

Income before taxes 1 .......................................... $43,951 $59,126 $54,062 $57,922 $63,558 $68,094 $56,519 $25,685 $28,281 

Income after taxes 1 ............................................. 40,652 54,660 49,854 53,865 58,849 62,180 53,493 24,776 26,044 

 Age of reference person ...................................... 47.9 48.2 56.8 31.7 39.5 50.9 48.4 36.3 49.2 

Average number in consumer unit:

Persons .............................................................. 2.5 3.2 2.0 3.5 4.1 3.9 4.9 2.9 1.6 

 Children under 18 .............................................. .7 .9 n.a. 1.5 2.1 .6 1.5 1.8 .2 

 Persons 65 and over .......................................... .3 .3 .7 2 ( ) 2 ( ) .2 .4 2 ( ) .3 

 Earners .............................................................. 1.3 1.7 1.2 1.6 1.8 2.6 2.4 1.1 .9 

 Vehicles ............................................................. 1.9 2.6 2.4 2.1 2.6 3.2 2.9 1.2 1.3 

Percent distribution:

Sex of reference person:

Male ................................................................. 55 71 74 68 69 71 64 13 41 

 Female ............................................................. 45 29 26 32 31 29 36 87 59 

Housing tenure:

Homeowner ...................................................... 65 81 84 67 79 86 76 39 49 

 With mortgage ................................................ 38 52 40 60 65 60 50 29 22 

 Without mortgage ........................................... 27 28 44 8 14 26 26 10 28 

 Renter .............................................................. 35 19 16 33 21 14 24 61 51 

Race of reference person:

Black ................................................................ 12 8 6 7 9 9 14 31 15 

 White and other ................................................ 88 92 94 93 91 91 86 69 85 

Education of reference person:

Elementary (1-8) .............................................. 6 6 6 3 4 6 13 4 7 

 High school (9-12) ............................................ 39 39 39 33 37 39 45 49 38 

 College ............................................................. 55 56 55 64 59 55 41 47 54 

 Never attended and other ................................ 3 ( ) 3 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 3 ( ) 3 ( ) 1 3 ( ) 3 ( )

At least one vehicle owned or leased ................ 87 96 96 95 97 98 95 76 77 

Annual aggregate expenditures ............................. $4,012,363 65.9 24.5 6.2 19.7 10.3 5.2 4.7 29.4 

Food ..................................................................... 545,454 64.4 22.7 5.7 21.2 9.3 5.5 5.8 29.8 

 Food at home ..................................................... 316,055 64.3 21.8 6.2 21.4 9.1 5.7 6.5 29.2 

 Cereals and bakery products ........................... 48,584 64.1 21.1 6.1 22.7 8.9 5.4 7.3 28.5 

 Cereals and cereal products .......................... 17,331 63.3 19.1 6.3 23.8 8.6 5.5 8.3 28.4 

 Bakery products ............................................. 31,253 64.6 22.2 5.9 22.0 9.1 5.3 6.8 28.6 

 Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .......................... 81,181 63.6 21.8 5.5 20.5 9.5 6.2 6.6 29.7 

 Beef ................................................................ 23,865 66.0 22.4 5.7 21.7 10.4 5.8 6.1 27.9 

 Pork ................................................................ 16,995 63.1 22.6 4.9 20.0 9.0 6.6 6.9 30.0 

 Other meats ................................................... 10,529 62.9 21.1 5.4 21.6 9.3 5.5 7.2 29.9 

 Poultry ............................................................ 14,759 61.7 19.2 6.4 20.0 9.6 6.5 6.8 31.5 

 Fish and seafood ........................................... 11,516 63.0 23.6 5.4 18.7 8.8 6.5 6.7 30.4 

 Eggs ............................................................... 3,516 61.8 21.2 5.4 19.9 8.9 6.4 6.7 31.5 

Dairy products .................................................. 34,946 65.9 21.6 6.8 23.0 8.9 5.5 6.0 28.0 

 Fresh milk and cream .................................... 13,233 65.1 19.0 7.5 23.6 8.8 6.2 6.5 28.4 

 Other dairy products ...................................... 21,712 66.4 23.2 6.4 22.7 9.0 5.0 5.8 27.9 

 Fruits and vegetables ....................................... 54,162 64.3 23.3 6.1 20.4 8.7 5.8 5.9 29.8 

 Fresh fruits ..................................................... 16,533 64.2 23.6 5.8 20.1 8.7 6.0 5.7 30.1 

 Fresh vegetables ........................................... 16,103 65.0 24.8 6.1 19.3 8.7 6.1 5.6 29.4 

 Processed fruits ............................................. 12,247 63.4 21.6 6.7 21.3 8.7 5.2 6.3 30.2 

 Processed vegetables .................................... 9,279 64.3 22.1 5.7 21.9 8.8 5.8 6.3 29.4 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 59. Composition of consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer Expenditure

Survey, 1999 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Husband and wife consumer units

One

parent,

at least

one child

under 18

Single

person

and other

consumer

units

Total

husband

and wife

consumer

units

Husband

and wife

only

Husband and wife with children Other

husband

and wife

consumer

units

Oldest

child

under 6

Oldest

child

6 to 17

Oldest

child 18

or over

 Other food at home .......................................... $97,182 64.4 21.4 6.7 21.5 9.2 5.5 6.5 29.1 

 Sugar and other sweets ................................. 12,091 65.3 23.5 5.5 22.3 8.3 5.6 6.7 28.0 

 Fats and oils ................................................... 9,056 63.4 23.4 5.0 20.0 8.9 6.1 6.9 29.6 

 Miscellaneous foods ...................................... 45,515 64.1 20.1 8.0 21.9 9.0 5.0 6.8 29.2 

 Nonalcoholic beverages ................................. 26,244 63.2 21.1 5.9 20.8 9.6 5.8 6.5 30.3 

Food prepared by consumer unit on

out-of-town trips ........................................... 4,276 73.9 28.0 5.4 21.8 11.9 6.7 2.8 23.4 

 Food away from home ....................................... 229,399 64.5 23.9 5.1 20.8 9.5 5.2 4.8 30.7 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................. 34,456 53.9 25.9 4.4 14.4 5.5 3.6 2.9 43.2 

Housing ................................................................ 1,307,704 63.7 23.2 7.0 19.3 9.3 4.9 5.1 31.2 

 Shelter ................................................................ 760,976 62.4 22.4 7.0 19.1 9.1 4.7 5.1 32.6 

 Owned dwellings .............................................. 490,775 73.6 25.4 8.2 23.7 11.0 5.3 3.5 22.8 

 Mortgage interest and charges ...................... 276,283 77.0 21.8 9.9 28.2 11.3 5.9 3.8 19.3 

 Property taxes ................................................ 121,856 70.3 28.0 6.0 19.8 11.4 5.1 2.9 26.8 

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other

expenses ...................................................... 92,637 68.2 33.0 6.1 15.6 9.7 3.8 3.7 28.1 

 Rented dwellings .............................................. 219,817 35.2 12.7 5.4 9.9 3.6 3.5 9.2 55.6 

 Other lodging ................................................... 50,384 71.3 34.4 2.8 14.8 15.0 4.4 1.8 26.9 

Utilities, fuels, and public services ..................... 257,872 62.6 23.5 5.3 17.9 10.1 5.8 5.6 31.8 

 Natural gas ....................................................... 29,320 61.9 23.2 5.3 17.9 9.6 5.9 5.6 32.6 

 Electricity .......................................................... 97,539 63.3 24.2 4.9 18.3 10.2 5.7 5.7 31.0 

 Fuel oil and other fuels ..................................... 8,071 67.3 29.3 4.8 17.0 10.8 5.3 3.2 29.5 

 Telephone services .......................................... 92,079 60.0 21.7 5.7 17.0 9.8 5.8 5.9 34.1 

 Water and other public services ....................... 30,862 67.6 25.1 5.4 20.1 11.1 5.9 4.7 27.7 

 Household operations ........................................ 72,226 66.2 17.3 15.7 22.7 6.1 4.5 6.3 27.4 

 Personal services ............................................. 35,003 66.2 5.1 27.0 26.5 2.5 5.2 9.9 23.8 

 Other household expenses .............................. 37,223 66.2 28.7 5.1 19.1 9.5 3.8 3.0 30.8 

Housekeeping supplies ...................................... 54,022 68.8 26.4 5.8 22.0 9.9 4.7 4.6 26.6 

 Laundry and cleaning supplies ........................ 13,137 65.3 23.4 5.4 20.7 9.8 6.0 7.3 27.5 

 Other household products ................................ 27,079 72.2 26.9 5.7 23.6 11.3 4.8 3.6 24.2 

 Postage and stationery .................................... 13,806 65.3 28.4 6.4 20.2 7.1 3.1 4.1 30.6 

 Household furnishings and equipment ............... 162,609 68.6 27.9 6.2 19.8 10.0 4.6 4.1 27.3 

 Household textiles ............................................ 12,364 65.4 25.9 5.4 18.0 11.3 4.8 5.7 28.9 

 Furniture ........................................................... 39,613 68.8 25.3 7.9 22.8 7.1 5.7 4.2 26.9 

 Floor coverings ................................................ 4,737 73.4 35.5 7.3 19.2 9.3 2.2 4.0 22.6 

 Major appliances .............................................. 19,859 65.1 26.9 5.7 17.1 11.2 4.3 3.7 31.2 

Small appliances, miscellaneous

housewares .................................................... 11,021 64.9 32.7 4.6 14.2 10.1 3.2 2.3 32.8 

 Miscellaneous household equipment ............... 75,015 70.2 28.7 5.7 20.1 11.0 4.5 4.1 25.8 

Apparel and services ........................................... 188,973 63.5 20.5 6.3 22.0 9.3 5.5 7.1 29.4 

 Men and boys .................................................... 45,651 69.4 22.3 5.2 25.9 9.9 6.1 5.5 25.0 

 Men, 16 and over ............................................. 35,565 69.2 27.2 4.8 20.0 11.2 5.9 2.8 28.0 

 Boys, 2 to 15 .................................................... 10,086 70.4 5.2 6.4 46.4 5.4 7.1 15.0 14.6 

 Women and girls ................................................ 71,018 62.1 21.6 5.2 21.4 9.2 4.7 8.9 29.0 

 Women, 16 and over ........................................ 59,373 60.5 24.8 4.9 16.7 9.5 4.6 7.6 31.8 

 Girls, 2 to 15 ..................................................... 11,645 69.9 5.1 6.5 45.3 7.5 5.5 15.5 14.7 

 Children under 2 ................................................ 7,250 76.1 9.9 33.2 19.6 5.3 8.1 7.3 16.6 

 Footwear ............................................................ 32,860 61.5 17.2 5.4 23.7 8.9 6.3 8.4 30.1 

 Other apparel products and services ................. 32,192 57.7 21.2 5.2 16.7 9.8 4.7 4.0 38.4 

Transportation ...................................................... 760,475 68.9 24.8 6.5 19.4 12.4 5.8 4.1 27.0 

 Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ........................... 358,516 69.6 24.7 7.2 20.3 11.9 5.5 4.1 26.3 

 Cars and trucks, new ....................................... 176,575 73.6 31.2 5.3 19.8 12.1 5.2 2.1 24.3 

 Cars and trucks, used ...................................... 178,030 65.8 18.6 9.1 20.5 11.8 5.8 6.2 28.0 

 Other vehicles .................................................. 3,911 58.7 510.8 56.3 29.1 59.3 53.2 54.2 37.1 

 Gasoline and motor oil ....................................... 114,400 67.9 23.4 5.9 19.5 12.5 6.4 4.1 28.0 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 59. Composition of consumer unit: Shares of annual aggregate expenditures and sources of income, Consumer Expenditure

Survey, 1999 — Continued

(Aggregates in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Item Aggregate

Husband and wife consumer units

One

parent,

at least

one child

under 18

Single

person

and other

consumer

units

Total

husband

and wife

consumer

units

Husband

and wife

only

Husband and wife with children Other

husband

and wife

consumer

units

Oldest

child

under 6

Oldest

child

6 to 17

Oldest

child 18

or over

 Other vehicle expenses ..................................... $244,458 68.7 24.4 6.3 18.8 13.3 5.9 4.0 27.3 

 Vehicle finance charges ................................... 34,758 71.1 21.5 7.4 22.5 13.6 6.0 4.5 24.5 

 Maintenance and repairs ................................. 72,034 68.3 24.9 5.0 18.9 13.1 6.5 3.9 27.9 

 Vehicle insurance ............................................. 82,041 66.6 23.8 5.5 17.4 14.0 5.8 4.1 29.3 

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, other

charges .......................................................... 55,625 70.7 26.4 8.5 18.5 12.1 5.3 3.7 25.5 

 Public transportation .......................................... 43,101 67.4 31.5 4.0 14.9 11.3 5.7 3.5 29.1 

Health care ........................................................... 212,462 66.9 32.0 4.3 15.6 9.6 5.3 3.1 30.0 

 Health insurance ................................................ 100,069 67.7 32.5 4.8 15.3 9.9 5.3 3.2 29.1 

 Medical services ................................................ 60,491 68.7 28.9 4.5 18.8 10.5 5.9 3.3 28.0 

 Drugs ................................................................. 40,125 61.8 35.5 2.7 11.2 7.5 4.9 2.8 35.4 

 Medical supplies ................................................ 11,777 67.3 31.5 4.0 16.9 10.4 4.6 2.9 29.8 

Entertainment ....................................................... 205,071 69.0 25.9 5.6 23.6 9.5 4.5 4.4 26.6 

 Fees and admissions ......................................... 49,747 69.7 28.0 4.6 21.8 11.3 4.0 3.8 26.5 

 Television, radios, sound equipment ................. 65,955 61.3 20.5 5.5 19.7 10.0 5.5 5.4 33.4 

 Pets, toys, and playground equipment ............... 37,488 66.9 23.4 7.4 24.0 7.7 4.6 5.4 27.7 

Other entertainment supplies, equipment,

and services ..................................................... 51,881 79.6 32.5 5.2 29.9 8.3 3.7 3.2 17.1 

Personal care products and services ................... 44,268 62.9 24.5 5.9 19.3 9.1 4.1 5.7 31.4 

Reading ................................................................ 17,287 65.5 29.1 4.9 17.9 9.7 3.9 2.7 31.8 

Education ............................................................. 68,832 67.8 17.9 2.5 23.0 20.6 3.8 4.1 28.1 

Tobacco products and smoking supplies ............. 32,549 56.2 19.3 3.9 16.2 9.8 6.9 4.8 39.0 

Miscellaneous ...................................................... 94,030 61.0 22.7 6.4 15.8 10.0 6.2 5.8 33.2 

Cash contributions ............................................... 128,091 64.4 32.7 3.3 14.4 8.9 5.1 1.9 33.7 

Personal insurance and pensions ........................ 372,711 72.9 26.9 7.0 22.2 11.3 5.3 3.2 23.9 

 Life and other personal insurance ...................... 42,781 79.4 30.0 4.9 25.3 12.7 6.5 2.6 18.0 

 Pensions and Social Security ............................ 329,930 72.0 26.6 7.3 21.8 11.2 5.2 3.3 24.7 

Sources of income and personal taxes: 1

Money income before taxes ................................... 3,590,418 69.0 26.1 6.7 20.2 10.8 5.3 3.6 27.4 

 Wages and salaries ........................................... 2,814,796 71.4 22.6 8.0 23.4 11.8 5.6 3.6 25.0 

 Self-employment income ................................... 212,674 76.5 37.6 6.0 19.4 10.0 3.4 4.2 19.3 

 Social Security, private and government

retirement ......................................................... 391,944 58.9 46.8 5.1 2.4 5.3 4.3 1.1 40.0 

 Interest, dividends, rental income, other

property income ............................................... 90,225 47.9 32.9 1.2 5.7 6.4 1.6 .5 51.6 

 Unemployment and workers’ compensation,

veterans’ benefits ............................................. 14,421 55.2 18.1 3.6 19.8 9.9 3.8 5.6 39.2 

 Public assistance, supplemental security

income, food stamps ........................................ 26,165 34.4 11.8 2.9 5.2 6.0 8.5 21.3 44.2 

 Regular contributions for support ....................... 21,388 24.7 5.2 2.0 11.6 3.0 3.0 32.4 42.9 

 Other income ..................................................... 18,805 48.0 12.6 3.0 16.3 11.4 4.7 3.8 48.3 

Personal taxes ..................................................... 269,521 69.5 27.1 6.3 19.9 12.5 3.7 1.7 28.8 

 Federal income taxes ......................................... 205,294 70.3 27.2 6.0 20.2 13.2 3.7 1.4 28.3 

 State and local income taxes ............................. 50,310 66.1 24.9 7.3 20.3 10.0 3.6 2.6 31.3 

 Other taxes ........................................................ 13,917 69.4 32.7 6.0 15.3 10.5 4.9 2.1 28.4 

Income after taxes ............................................... 3,320,962 69.0 26.0 6.8 20.2 10.6 5.4 3.8 27.2 

1 Components of income and taxes are derived from "complete income

reporters" only; see glossary. 2 Value less than 0.05. 3 Value less than 0.5.

4 No data reported. 5 Data are likely to have large sampling errors.

n.a. Not applicable.