prices and spending

U.S. Bureau of Labor Stati

may 2013 • Volume 2/ Number 16

u.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics | may 2013 1 www.bls.go

Spending on pets: “Tails” from the Consumer 

Expenditure Survey

Author: Steven Henderso

Nearly three-quarters of U.S. households own pets.1 The

are about 218 million pets in the United States, no

counting several million fish.2

 Pet ownership crosses 

many demographic boundaries, with Americans of different

ages and levels of wealth reporting spending on pets. Further,

Americans spend a substantial amount of money on the care

and feeding of their animals. Americans spent approximately

$61.4 billion in total on their pets in 2011. On average, each U.

household spent just over $500 on pets. This amounts to about 1

percent of total spending per year for the average household.

Using information collected in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statist

(BLS) Consumer Expenditure (CE) Diary and Interview S

from 2007 to 2011, this article looks at the trends in spending by 

household or consumer unit, and examines which groups spent 

the most and the least on pets.3

Related articles

More articles and information related to consumer

expenditures are available online at the following 

links:

y “Expenditures of urban and rural

households in 2011,” Beyond the Numbers, 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/ 

volume-2/expenditures-of-urbanand-rural-households-in-2011.htm.

y “Consumer Expenditure Surv

(CE) New Midyear Data Table

http://www.bls.gov/cex/tables.

htm#midyear.
u.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics | may 2013 2 www.bls.go

beyond thenumbers prices and spending

Expenditures on pets include pet food, pet purchases,

supplies and medicine, pet services, and veterinarian 

services.4

 BLS data show the following

y In 2011, households spent more on their pets annually

than they spent on alcohol ($456), residential landline 

phone bills ($381), or men and boys clothing ($404).

y Average household spending on pet food alone was

$183 in 2011. This was more than the amount spent on

candy ($87), bread ($107), chicken ($124), cereal ($175), 

or reading materials ($115). 

y Even when spending at restaurants dropped during

the recent recession (December 2007–June 2009), 

spending on pet food stayed constant. (See chart 1.

y In 2011, one-sixth of U.S. households purchased p

food each week, based on entries in the E Diary

y Married couples without children living at home spent

the most on their pets. 

y Homeowners spent almost three times as much on 

pets as renters did.

Spending on pets 2007–2011

Despite the difficult economic conditions brought on by 

the recession, families continued to spend consistently on 

their pets between 2007 and 2011. Although the amoun

that households spent on pets varied from year to year, 

the share of household spending on pets stayed relatively 

constant, within a narrow range of 0.9 to 1.1 percent 

of total spending. Table 1 shows the average annual

expenditures per household on total spending and the 

subcomponents of pet costs, as well as the variances and 

the percent of the sample reporting types of expenditures.6

Average annual expenditures, variances, and percent reporting for pets, 2007–2011

Item 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total spending

 Mean $49,638 $50,486 $49,067 $48,109 $49,705 

Total spending on pets

 Mean

 Relative share of total spending

$430.80 

0.9%

$570.88 

1.1%

$542.85 

1.1%

$480.09 

1.0%

$502.05 

1.0%

 Pet Food

 Mean

 Variance

 Percent reporting1

$146.88 

5.3%

17.0%

$163.13 

6.3%

17.7%

$168.92 

4.5%

17.7%

$165.20 

5.5%

16.6%

$182.75 

5.3%

16.8%

 Pet purchase, supplies, medicine

 Mean

 Variance

 Percent reporting2

$139.06 

3.9%

25.8%

$164.01 

4.7%

28.4%

$165.83 

4.5%

28.3%

$162.51 

3.4%

27.9%

$140.90 

4.5%

25.2%

 Pet services

 Mean

 Variance

 Percent reporting2

$31.68 

9.6%

5.2%

$36.77 

7.4%

6.0%

$43.36 

2.6%

6.1%

$38.87 

7.5%

6.2%

$35.72 

7.7%

6.1%

 Veterinarian services

 Mean

 Variance 

 Percent reporting1

$113.18 

13.7%

1.6%

$206.96 

27.1%

1.9%

$164.74 

13.2%

1.8%

$113.52 

9.4%

1.4%

$142.60 

12.2%

1.8%

1. Weekly percent reporting values derived from Diary survey.

2. Quarterly percent reporting values derived from Interview survey

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statist

Note: Expenditures at the veterinarian are based on results from theCE Diary. Table 1 shows that the percent reporting an expenditure is v

low, and the amount varies considerably year by year. The variance for spending on veterinarians was over 25 percent in 2008, indicating that the

mean dollar amount for that year has a high degree of uncertainty. 

Table 1
u.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics | may 2013 3 www.bls.go

beyond thenumbers prices and spending

Household spending on pet food increased very slowly or 

remained relatively unchanged between 2007 and 2011. 

In 2007, annual pet food spending was $147, increasing

to $163 in 2008, and then leveling off at $169 in 2009 

and $165 in 2010. The amount climbed again by less

than $20 to $183 in 2011. In contrast, people spent less

at restaurants during and after the recession. Spending

on meals away from home went from $2,668 in 2007 to 

its peak at $2,698 in 2008, before dropping to $2,619 in 

2009. Spending in this category further fell to $2,505 in

2010, before rising to $2,620 in 2011—still below the 2007 

average. (See chart 1.

Spending differences by demographic characteristics

Charts 2 through 4 highlight the pet expenditures made in

2011 by the different demographic categories. 

Household income by quintile. Predictably, the amount 

households spent on pets rose with income. The middle

income quintile (with income between $35,600 and 

$58,200) spent $485 on pets annually, more than double 

the $216 spent annually by the lowest quintile (income less 

than $18,558). The highest quintile (income from $93,800

and up) spent $870 on pets in 2011, more than four times 

as much as the lowest quintile did. However, the relative 

share of spending on pets to total expenditures stayed 

close to 1 percent for each quintile.

Household size. Of the different household sizes, a single

person living alone spent the least on pets, averaging 

$349 in 2011. (See chart 2.) In contrast, a two-perso

household spent the most, with an average of $656. The

amount spent on pets then declined as the number of 

people in the household increased. In other words, more

human mouths to feed equated to fewer dollars spent on 

pets. Three-person households spent $120 less than twoperson households. Households with four people spent

even less, and households with five or more people spent 

just $402.

Household composition. Comparing expenditures of

households by household type and by age of children, 

married couples without children living at home spent the 

most on their pets in 2011, spending $698 on average. (See

chart 3.) The single parent households with at least one

$2,400

$2,450

$2,500

$2,550

$2,600

$2,650

$2,700

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Pet Food Food away from home

Pet food Food away from home

Average annual expenditures on pet food and food away from home, 2007–2011

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Chart 1

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statist

Food away from home
u.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics | may 2013 4 www.bls.go

beyond thenumber p rics  n  pe

child under age 18 spent the least on pets, with an average 

of $267. Other interesting differences occur for married

couples who have children. Parents with younger children 

spent much less on pets than those with older children. 

Married couples with children spent the least on pets

when their oldest child was under 6; this expenditure rose 

by more than $100 if the oldest child was between the 

ages of 6 and 17, and increased another $100 when the 

oldest child at home was over age 18. 

Owner/renter status. Not surprisingly, homeowners spent 

nearly three times as much on pets as renters in 2011: 

$653 compared with $221. Generally, homeowners live

in residences that have more space for pets than renters 

have, and homeowners are less often subject to restrictive 

contracts that prohibit pets. 

Urban and rural. Households in rural areas spent ($716) 

considerably more than those in central city areas ($393). In

addition, the percent reporting was higher in rural areas (30 

percent) for total spending on pets in 2011, compared with 

percent reporting in urban areas (19 percent). 

Age. Spending on pets rose as the age of the reference

person increased.7

 (See chart 4.) Those households with 

reference person under 25 had the lowest expenditures 

per year, with an average of $279 in 2011. This amoun

steadily increased as the age of the reference person 

increased, peaking at $636 for ages 55 to 64. It droppe

to $547 for reference persons ages 65 to 74 and then to 

$286 for those 75 and older. Even so, spending on pets

for reference persons in their mid-70s and older was 

still slightly higher than spending by reference persons 

under 25.

Conclusion

From 2007 to 2011, spending on pets stayed close to 1

percent of total expenditures per household, despite 

the recession that occurred during this time. Spendin

on pet food stayed constant or increased during the 

recession, even while spending at restaurants fell. 

Married couples without children living at home

spent the most on their pets out of any household 

configuration in 2011. 

$349

$656

$536

$492

$402

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

1 2 3 4 5 and more

Average annual expenditures on pets by number of people in the household, 2011

Number of people in household

Chart 2

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statist

Number of people in household

Average annual expenditures on pets by number of people in the household, 2011
u.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics | may 2013 5 www.bls.go

beyond thenumbers prices and spending

$279

$427

$465

$625 $636

$547

$286

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 to 74 75 and older

Age of reference person

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Average annual expenditures on pets by age of reference person, 2011

Chart 4

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statist

Age of reference person

$698

$412

$536

$644

$619

$267

$405

$0 $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $600 $700 $800

Husband and wife only

Husband and wife, oldest child under 6

Husband and wife, oldest child 6 to 17

Husband and wife, oldest child over 18

Other husband and wife

One parent, at least one child under 18

Single and other CUs

Average annual expenditures on pets by household composition, 2011

Chart 3

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statist

Single and other consumer units
beyond thenumbers prices and spending

u.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics | may 2013 6 www.bls.go

This Beyond the Numbers article was prepared by Stev

Henderson, a supervisory economist in the Office of Prices

and Living Conditions. Email: henderson.steve@bls.gov

Telephone: 202-691-5124

Information in this article will be made available to

sensory-impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-833

This article is in the public domain and may be reproduced

without permission.

Suggested citation:

Steve Henderson, “Spending on pets: ‘Tails’ from t

Consumer Expenditure Survey,” Beyond the Number

Prices and Spending, vol. 2, no. 16 (U.S. Bureau of Labo

Statistics, 2013), http//www.bls.gov/opub/btn/

volume-2/spending-on-pets-tails-from-theconsumer-expenditure-survey.htm.

Visit our online archives to access past publications at

http://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/archive/home.htm.

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Notes

1. Tom McPheron, American Veterinary Medical Association staff writer, telephone interview by author, February 30, 20

reference to figure 1-1 in the 2012 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook. Figure 1-1 shows that 74.19 percent of U

households owned a pet in 2011.

2. American Pet Products Association, APPA National Pet Owners Survey Statistics 2011–2012

http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp.

3. “Household” can be expressed interchangeably with “consumer unit (CU). A consumer unit consists of any of the followin

all members of a particular household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; a person 

living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living 

quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is financially independent; or two or more persons living together who use their incomes 

to make joint expenditure decisions.

4. Detailed U.S. expenditure subcategories are from selected pre-publication tables, available from th CE upon requ

5. Percent reporting is the percentage of consumer units reporting any expenditure in a particular category in one week from the 

CE Diar

6. he variance provides information on the precision of the expense; variances over 25 percent are considered less accurate.  low

percent reporting means that just a few purchasers can have a large impact on the dollar estimate.

7. The reference person of the consumer unit is the first member mentioned by the respondent when asked to “start with the

name of the person or one of the persons who owns or rents the home.” It is with respect to this person that the relationship of

the other consumer unit members is determined.