Table 58. Size of 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 One

person

Two or more persons

Total

two or

more

persons

Two

persons

Three

persons

Four

persons

Five or

more

persons

Number of consumer units (in thousands) ................... 107,182 30,684 76,498 33,234 17,353 15,105 10,806 

Percent distribution of consumer units ........................ 100.0 28.6 71.4 31.0 16.2 14.1 10.1 

Consumer unit characteristics (mean values): 

Income before taxes 1 ............................................... $41,622 $22,956 $49,427 $44,997 $49,949 $57,189 $51,415 

Income after taxes 1 .................................................. 38,358 20,917 45,651 41,389 45,764 52,937 48,470 

 Age of reference person ............................................ 47.6 50.2 46.6 52.9 43.5 40.3 41.0 

Average number in consumer unit:

Persons ................................................................... 2.5 1.0 3.1 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.5 

 Children under 18 .................................................... .7 n.a. 1.0 .1 .8 1.7 2.9 

 Persons 65 and over ............................................... .3 .3 .3 .5 .2 .1 .1 

 Earners .................................................................... 1.3 .6 1.6 1.2 1.7 2.0 2.2 

 Vehicles ................................................................... 2.0 1.0 2.3 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.6 

Percent distribution:

Sex of reference person:

Male ....................................................................... 58 43 64 65 60 66 64 

 Female ................................................................... 42 57 36 35 40 34 36 

Housing tenure:

Homeowner ........................................................... 64 45 72 73 69 76 70 

 With mortgage ..................................................... 39 19 47 36 50 61 55 

 Without mortgage ................................................ 26 26 25 37 19 15 14 

 Renter .................................................................... 36 55 28 27 31 24 30 

Race of reference person:

Black ...................................................................... 12 11 12 9 15 12 17 

 White and other ..................................................... 88 89 88 91 85 88 83 

Education of reference person:

Elementary (1-8) .................................................... 7 8 6 6 5 5 8 

 High school (9-12) ................................................. 39 35 40 40 39 38 44 

 College .................................................................. 54 56 53 53 55 56 47 

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

At least one vehicle owned or leased ...................... 87 72 93 93 91 93 93 

Annual aggregate expenditures ................................... $3,806,893 17.3 82.7 32.5 18.6 18.7 12.9 

Food .......................................................................... 514,578 15.6 84.4 31.0 18.2 19.7 15.5 

 Food at home .......................................................... 297,339 14.4 85.6 30.0 18.2 20.3 17.2 

 Cereals and bakery products ................................. 45,435 14.3 85.7 29.2 17.6 21.3 17.5 

 Cereals and cereal products ................................ 15,655 13.8 86.2 26.5 16.9 22.4 20.3 

 Bakery products ................................................... 29,780 14.6 85.4 30.6 18.0 20.8 16.0 

 Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ................................ 77,381 13.0 87.0 29.8 18.2 19.4 19.6 

 Beef ..................................................................... 23,366 11.5 88.5 30.5 17.9 19.1 21.0 

 Pork ..................................................................... 15,600 12.3 87.7 31.0 18.9 19.5 18.2 

 Other meats ......................................................... 9,849 13.7 86.3 29.3 17.5 19.9 19.6 

 Poultry ................................................................. 14,635 13.0 87.0 27.8 18.1 21.4 19.8 

 Fish and seafood ................................................. 10,465 16.2 83.8 29.8 19.1 16.7 18.2 

 Eggs .................................................................... 3,466 16.0 84.0 29.5 16.7 19.1 18.7 

Dairy products ....................................................... 32,242 14.3 85.7 29.3 18.5 20.6 17.3 

 Fresh milk and cream .......................................... 12,858 13.8 86.2 27.2 18.3 21.9 18.9 

 Other dairy products ............................................ 19,384 14.7 85.3 30.7 18.7 19.7 16.3 

 Fruits and vegetables ............................................ 50,484 15.6 84.4 31.9 17.7 19.5 15.3 

 Fresh fruits ........................................................... 15,944 16.4 83.6 32.4 17.0 19.2 15.0 

 Fresh vegetables ................................................. 15,509 15.2 84.8 32.7 17.6 18.9 15.7 

 Processed fruits ................................................... 10,852 16.6 83.4 30.0 18.7 19.7 14.9 

 Processed vegetables ......................................... 8,180 13.1 86.9 31.7 18.2 21.2 15.7 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 58. Size of 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 One

person

Two or more persons

Total

two or

more

persons

Two

persons

Three

persons

Four

persons

Five or

more

persons

 Other food at home ................................................ $91,797 15.0 85.0 29.8 18.5 20.8 16.0 

 Sugar and other sweets ....................................... 11,677 16.2 83.8 30.3 18.0 19.7 15.8 

 Fats and oils ........................................................ 8,229 14.2 85.8 30.5 17.9 19.5 17.8 

 Miscellaneous foods ............................................ 41,491 14.8 85.2 28.7 18.7 22.0 15.8 

 Nonalcoholic beverages ...................................... 24,684 14.5 85.5 30.2 18.4 20.4 16.5 

Food prepared by consumer unit on

out-of-town trips ................................................. 5,716 16.6 83.4 34.3 19.1 17.4 12.5 

 Food away from home ............................................. 217,239 17.3 82.7 32.4 18.2 18.9 13.2 

Alcoholic beverages .................................................. 33,058 27.5 72.5 37.6 15.4 11.7 7.9 

Housing ..................................................................... 1,255,217 19.2 80.8 32.0 18.1 18.3 12.4 

 Shelter ..................................................................... 716,015 20.6 79.4 31.0 18.0 18.0 12.3 

 Owned dwellings ................................................... 454,991 14.0 86.0 31.7 19.4 21.4 13.5 

 Mortgage interest and charges ............................ 263,117 11.7 88.3 28.0 21.3 23.7 15.4 

 Property taxes ..................................................... 108,832 15.8 84.2 35.0 18.1 19.2 11.9 

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other

expenses ........................................................... 83,042 18.9 81.1 39.0 15.0 17.3 9.8 

 Rented dwellings ................................................... 211,972 35.8 64.2 27.4 15.4 11.2 10.2 

 Other lodging ......................................................... 49,052 17.0 83.0 40.7 17.0 16.0 9.3 

Utilities, fuels, and public services ........................... 257,743 18.3 81.7 32.0 18.6 17.7 13.4 

 Natural gas ............................................................ 30,426 18.2 81.8 31.6 18.1 17.8 14.3 

 Electricity ............................................................... 98,725 17.7 82.3 32.3 18.3 18.0 13.7 

 Fuel oil and other fuels .......................................... 9,133 18.1 81.9 35.4 17.1 19.0 10.4 

 Telephone services ............................................... 88,914 20.1 79.9 31.4 19.3 16.8 12.4 

 Water and other public services ............................ 30,546 15.0 85.0 32.2 18.9 19.0 14.9 

 Household operations .............................................. 58,495 14.2 85.8 24.3 22.4 26.3 12.8 

 Personal services .................................................. 27,827 6.4 93.6 11.0 29.0 36.1 17.5 

 Other household expenses .................................... 30,668 21.3 78.7 36.3 16.4 17.4 8.5 

Housekeeping supplies ........................................... 51,546 15.8 84.2 37.8 15.8 18.2 12.4 

 Laundry and cleaning supplies .............................. 12,586 13.2 86.8 33.5 16.7 19.8 16.8 

 Other household products ..................................... 24,850 14.7 85.3 41.5 15.0 18.0 10.7 

 Postage and stationery .......................................... 14,110 19.8 80.2 34.9 16.6 17.2 11.4 

 Household furnishings and equipment .................... 171,418 17.0 83.0 37.3 16.7 17.9 11.1 

 Household textiles ................................................. 11,260 18.0 82.0 34.8 14.6 21.1 11.5 

 Furniture ................................................................ 40,444 15.4 84.6 35.9 18.7 19.4 10.6 

 Floor coverings ...................................................... 15,459 18.9 81.1 48.8 7.4 16.7 8.2 

 Major appliances ................................................... 17,583 18.5 81.5 33.9 18.6 16.7 12.3 

Small appliances, miscellaneous

housewares ......................................................... 8,572 15.9 84.1 36.6 19.3 16.9 11.3 

 Miscellaneous household equipment .................... 78,101 17.0 83.0 36.9 17.1 17.3 11.7 

Apparel and services ................................................. 179,110 16.3 83.7 29.3 19.1 20.4 14.8 

 Men and boys .......................................................... 42,659 14.5 85.5 27.1 19.6 21.7 17.1 

 Men, 16 and over ................................................... 33,572 17.1 82.9 31.9 19.4 18.0 13.6 

 Boys, 2 to 15 .......................................................... 9,087 4.9 95.1 9.2 20.7 35.4 29.8 

 Women and girls ...................................................... 69,691 17.3 82.7 31.3 18.0 20.4 13.1 

 Women, 16 and over ............................................. 58,618 19.7 80.3 34.9 17.9 17.2 10.2 

 Girls, 2 to 15 .......................................................... 11,072 4.1 95.9 12.0 18.8 36.9 28.2 

 Children under 2 ...................................................... 7,799 4.5 95.5 17.5 28.0 27.1 22.8 

 Footwear .................................................................. 30,038 16.1 83.9 27.0 18.5 21.0 17.5 

 Other apparel products and services ....................... 28,923 20.4 79.6 33.3 19.1 16.3 10.9 

Transportation ........................................................... 709,105 14.4 85.6 31.3 21.1 19.6 13.6 

 Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ................................ 317,722 13.2 86.8 29.0 22.7 21.1 14.1 

 Cars and trucks, new ............................................. 148,237 12.2 87.8 30.9 24.9 20.2 11.7 

 Cars and trucks, used ............................................ 164,243 13.5 86.5 27.7 20.8 22.1 16.0 

 Other vehicles ........................................................ 5,241 30.2 69.8 13.3 23.9 315.4 317.2 

 Gasoline and motor oil ............................................. 108,989 14.9 85.1 32.0 19.5 19.1 14.5 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 58. Size of 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 One

person

Two or more persons

Total

two or

more

persons

Two

persons

Three

persons

Four

persons

Five or

more

persons

 Other vehicle expenses ........................................... $236,385 14.8 85.2 32.4 20.8 18.8 13.2 

 Vehicle finance charges ........................................ 34,212 10.3 89.7 30.0 22.6 21.8 15.2 

 Maintenance and repairs ....................................... 68,665 17.5 82.5 32.9 19.6 17.5 12.5 

 Vehicle insurance .................................................. 79,166 15.2 84.8 32.7 20.1 18.9 13.0 

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, other

charges ................................................................ 54,341 13.7 86.3 32.7 22.0 18.5 13.0 

 Public transportation ................................................ 46,010 19.8 80.2 40.9 14.5 14.3 10.5 

Health care ................................................................ 203,911 18.3 81.7 40.2 16.2 15.3 10.0 

 Health insurance ...................................................... 97,878 17.6 82.4 40.0 17.2 15.2 10.0 

 Medical services ...................................................... 58,109 18.5 81.5 36.9 16.0 17.4 11.2 

 Drugs ....................................................................... 37,029 20.2 79.8 45.9 14.3 11.8 7.9 

 Medical supplies ...................................................... 10,895 17.9 82.1 39.8 15.2 16.4 10.6 

Entertainment ............................................................ 186,973 16.3 83.7 34.2 16.8 19.4 13.3 

 Fees and admissions ............................................... 48,082 17.0 83.0 34.8 16.9 18.9 12.4 

 Television, radios, sound equipment ....................... 57,273 18.5 81.5 32.8 16.3 18.9 13.6 

 Pets, toys, and playground equipment .................... 35,275 13.6 86.4 34.6 17.8 21.5 12.5 

Other entertainment supplies, equipment,

and services .......................................................... 46,343 15.1 84.9 35.0 16.5 19.1 14.3 

Personal care products and services ........................ 42,876 17.7 82.3 35.3 16.2 18.2 12.6 

Reading ..................................................................... 17,250 21.4 78.6 37.1 16.2 15.9 9.3 

Education ................................................................... 62,137 19.7 80.3 24.9 20.7 20.4 14.3 

Tobacco products and smoking supplies .................. 29,260 18.4 81.6 30.9 20.0 17.4 13.2 

Miscellaneous ............................................................ 92,160 22.5 77.5 32.6 15.9 17.6 11.4 

Cash contributions ..................................................... 118,899 23.8 76.2 38.8 15.7 12.2 9.5 

Personal insurance and pensions ............................. 362,358 14.0 86.0 33.3 20.2 20.7 11.9 

 Life and other personal insurance ........................... 42,709 11.0 89.0 38.7 18.0 19.6 12.8 

 Pensions and Social Security .................................. 319,648 14.4 85.6 32.6 20.5 20.8 11.8 

Sources of income and personal taxes: 1

Money income before taxes ........................................ 3,501,058 16.3 83.7 33.4 19.0 19.3 12.0 

 Wages and salaries ................................................. 2,766,479 14.1 85.9 30.2 20.7 21.6 13.3 

 Self-employment income ......................................... 188,347 14.1 85.9 37.6 16.4 19.8 12.1 

 Social Security, private and government retirement 388,481 28.9 71.1 53.4 9.7 4.9 3.1 

 Interest, dividends, rental income, other property

income ................................................................... 73,280 27.7 72.3 49.3 12.6 7.3 3.0 

 Unemployment and workers’ compensation,

veterans’ benefits .................................................. 16,228 19.1 80.9 30.6 17.1 19.0 14.2 

 Public assistance, supplemental security income,

food stamps ........................................................... 27,799 17.9 82.1 18.7 18.7 19.6 25.2 

 Regular contributions for support ............................ 21,840 29.2 70.8 19.9 18.8 14.0 18.0 

 Other income ........................................................... 18,602 27.0 73.0 22.5 16.2 26.8 7.4 

Personal taxes ........................................................... 274,527 18.4 81.6 34.2 20.3 18.3 8.8 

 Federal income taxes .............................................. 207,922 18.5 81.5 34.0 20.7 18.3 8.5 

 State and local income taxes ................................... 52,981 18.7 81.3 33.5 19.6 18.7 9.5 

 Other taxes .............................................................. 13,624 16.4 83.6 39.2 17.1 17.0 10.3 

Income after taxes ..................................................... 3,226,532 16.1 83.9 33.3 18.9 19.4 12.3 

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.

n.a. Not applicable.