1 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Overview of the Consumer 

Expenditure Surveys (CE)

Taylor J. Wilson

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Society of Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW)

Washington, D.C.

26 February 2019
2 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Roadmap

 Goals of the CE

 Brief History

 Scope / Coverage

 Data Collection and Estimation

 National, Regional, and Local Publications

 New CE Products
3 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Roadmap

 Goals of the CE

 Brief History

 Scope / Coverage

 Data Collection and Estimation

 National, Regional, and Local Publications

 New CE Products
4 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

The Face of the United States

 CE Surveys collect the 

following data:

Income

Expenditures

Demographics

 The only nationally 

representative survey to 

collect the complete 

range of all three.
5 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Accurate and Timely Dissemination

“...disseminate high quality 

data that present an 

unbiased statistical picture 

of consumer expenditures 

for the Consumer Price 

Index, government 

agencies, and other data 

users, in support of a better 

understanding of consumer 

economic behavior.”
6 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Roadmap

 Goals of the CE

 Brief History

 Scope / Coverage

 Data Collection and Estimation

 National, Regional, and Local Publications

 New CE Products
7 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

History and Milestones
8 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

History and Milestones
9 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

History and Milestones
10 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Roadmap

 Goals of the CE

 Brief History

 Scope and Coverage

 Data Collection and Estimation

 National, Regional, and Local Publications

 New CE Products
11 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Scope and Coverage

 The CE is a nationwide survey designed to represent 

the entire U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized 

population.

 The U.S. Census Bureau collects CE data from 

consumer units (CUs) or households - people living at 

one address who share living expenses. 

 Survey participants report dollar amounts for all noninvestment purchases. Business expenses and 

reimbursements are excluded.
12 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

PUMD Tables Databases

National ✔ ✔ ✔

Census Regions ✔ ✔ ✔

Census Divisions ✔

Selected States ✔

Selected MSAs ✔ ✔ ✔

Population Size of an Area ✔ ✔ ✔
13 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Roadmap

 Goals of the CE

 Brief History

 Scope and Coverage

 Data Collection and Estimation

 National, Regional, and Local Publications

 New CE Products
14 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Data Collection

 The U.S. Census Bureau collects CE data for BLS using 

two different surveys.

Quarterly Interview 

Survey

Weekly Diary 

Survey

• Large purchases (e.g. appliances

or automobiles) and recurring 

payments (e.g. Utilities)

• Three month recall

• Rotating panel

• Smaller purchases (e.g. Stick of 

gum)

• Diary is placed for two weeks

• Respondents fill out diary 

contemporaneously with 

purchases
15 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Data Collection: Interview

 Approximately 6,000 

CUs or households 

are in the quarterly 

Interview Survey 

each quarter. 

 This results in about 

24,000 usable 

interviews each year.
16 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Data Collection: Diary

 About 6,000 households 

a year are sampled for 

the Diary Survey.

 Each household keeps 

a diary for two 

consecutive one-week 

periods, yielding about 

12,000 diaries a year.
17 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Estimation and Results

 Average annual expenditures are estimated using weighted 

means. Weights are nationally representative and are 

assigned to each household. 

 Source data from the Interview and Diary Surveys are 

integrated by income and other demographic variables to 

create total expenditures.

 U.S. Households spent $60,060 on average in 2017, from an 

after-tax income of $63,606.
18 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Roadmap

 Goals of the CE

 Brief History

 Scope and Coverage

 Data Collection and Estimation

 National, Regional, and Local Publications

 New CE Products
19 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Publications

 Tables of national expenditures and variances

published twice a year on a 12-month rolling basis.

 There are separate tables sorted by Income, Race,

Hispanic Origin, Education, Family size, Age, Generation, 

and other key demographic variables. As well as key 

geographies. 

 Free Public Use Microdata sets from 1996 to the present 

on the CE website in multiple file formats (i.e. SAS, Stata, 

Excel, SPSS). 
20

— U.S. BUREAU OFLABORSTATISTICS• bls.gov 20 CE Expenditure Shares 2017
21 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Publications

 New Research Articles on a regular basis

BTN

Tradeoffs in the expenditure patterns of families with children

– Evan Hubener, Arcenis Rojas, and Neil Tseng

MLR 

Fun facts about Millennials: comparing expenditure patterns from the 

latest through the Greatest generation

– Geoffrey Paulin

CE Report Series

The Effects of Power Transformations on Consumer Expenditure Survey 

Data 

– Taylor J. Wilson
22 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Roadmap

 Goals of the CE

 Brief History

 Scope and Coverage

 Data Collection and Estimation

 National, Regional, and Local Publications

 New CE Products
23 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

CE State Weights

 First test estimates 

produced in 2013 for three 

states.

 First official weights 

published for 2016.

 Two years of state weights 

are now available for FL, 

CA, and NJ. 

 Feasibility for additional 

states is being investigated. 
24 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Upcoming Research Work

 Data Quality Profile

Additional Indicators are being investigated

 Spending by family type

 Evaluation of Owner’s Equivalent Rent

 Spending on vice expenditures

 American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI)

 American Association for Public Opinion Research 

(AAPOR)
25 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Questions
Contact Information

26 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

General Information:

CE - www.bls.gov/cex

Information requests:

(202) 691-6900

CEXInfo@bls.gov
Contact Information

27 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Taylor J. Wilson

Economist

CE Branch of Information and Analysis

202-691-6550

Wilson.Taylor@bls.gov