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

Survey, 2008

(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

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) ............. 120,770 61,244 26,919 5,343 15,479 8,982 4,521 6,977 52,550 

Percent distribution of consumer units ................... 100.0 50.7 22.3 4.4 12.8 7.4 3.7 5.8 43.5 

Consumer unit characteristics (mean values):

Income before taxes ........................................... $63,563 $85,829 $75,312 $81,190 $97,616 $97,702 $89,986 $37,100 $41,125 

Income after taxes .............................................. 61,774 83,274 72,457 79,792 94,644 95,233 89,100 37,645 39,920

Age of reference person ...................................... 49.1 49.4 57.6 32.1 40.1 51.7 48.7 38.8 50.0 

Average number in consumer unit:

Persons .............................................................. 2.5 3.2 2.0 3.5 4.2 3.9 4.9 2.9 1.6 

Children under 18 .............................................. .6 .9 n.a. 1.5 2.2 .6 1.4 1.8 .2 

Persons 65 and older ......................................... .3 .4 .7 1 ( ) 1 ( ) .2 .5 1 ( ) .3 

Earners .............................................................. 1.3 1.7 1.2 1.6 1.8 2.5 2.3 1.0 1.0 

Vehicles ............................................................. 2.0 2.6 2.4 2.1 2.5 3.2 2.8 1.1 1.3 

Percent distribution:

Sex of reference person:

Male ................................................................... 47 53 58 50 48 52 44 15 44 

Female ............................................................... 53 47 42 50 52 48 56 85 56 

Housing tenure:

Homeowner ........................................................ 66 83 86 67 82 88 78 40 51 

With mortgage .................................................. 42 57 45 61 71 63 55 33 27 

Without mortgage ............................................. 24 26 41 6 11 25 23 8 24 

Renter ................................................................ 34 17 14 33 18 12 22 60 49 

Race of reference person:

Black or African-American ................................. 12 8 6 7 8 10 12 31 15 

White, Asian, and all other races ....................... 88 92 94 93 92 90 88 69 85 

Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person:

Hispanic or Latino .............................................. 12 12 6 16 17 14 25 16 10 

Not Hispanic or Latino ........................................ 88 88 94 84 83 86 75 84 90 

Education of reference person:

Elementary (1-8) ................................................ 5 4 4 3 3 5 8 4 5 

High school (9-12) .............................................. 35 33 32 24 30 37 46 39 37 

College ............................................................... 60 63 63 73 67 58 45 57 57 

Never attended and other .................................. 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 1 2 ( ) 2 ( )

At least one vehicle owned or leased .................. 89 97 97 96 98 97 97 79 80 

Annual aggregate expenditures ............................. $6,094,697 65.4 25.7 5.6 18.5 10.8 4.8 4.2 30.4 

Food ..................................................................... 776,825 65.3 23.7 5.4 19.8 11.3 5.2 4.4 30.2 

Food at home ..................................................... 451,454 65.5 23.6 5.5 19.5 11.2 5.7 4.7 29.8 

Cereals and bakery products ........................... 61,119 66.5 22.9 5.3 20.8 11.6 5.9 4.9 28.7 

Cereals and cereal products .......................... 20,448 65.8 21.5 5.8 21.0 11.7 5.9 5.7 28.4 

Bakery products ............................................. 40,671 66.8 23.7 5.0 20.7 11.6 5.9 4.5 28.8 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .......................... 102,033 64.6 23.2 4.5 19.0 11.6 6.2 5.0 30.4 

Beef ................................................................ 28,799 65.7 22.8 4.6 19.4 12.8 6.2 5.0 29.3 

Pork ................................................................ 19,649 64.2 24.2 4.4 18.0 10.6 7.0 5.1 30.8 

Other meats ................................................... 12,837 66.5 24.8 4.2 19.9 12.3 5.3 4.7 28.8 

Poultry ............................................................ 19,175 63.6 21.9 4.7 19.6 11.4 6.0 5.9 30.5 

Fish and seafood ........................................... 15,417 63.2 23.3 4.3 18.5 10.9 6.2 3.9 32.9 

Eggs ............................................................... 6,156 63.4 22.8 4.8 18.6 10.9 6.3 5.0 31.6 

Dairy products .................................................. 51,786 66.4 23.9 6.0 20.3 10.8 5.4 4.6 28.9 

Fresh milk and cream .................................... 20,269 65.1 21.5 6.5 21.0 10.6 5.5 5.1 29.8 

Other dairy products ...................................... 31,518 67.3 25.5 5.7 19.8 11.0 5.3 4.3 28.4 

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

Survey, 2008 — 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

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

Fruits and vegetables ....................................... $79,194 66.7 25.1 6.0 18.8 11.0 5.7 3.8 29.5 

Fresh fruits ..................................................... 26,756 67.9 25.2 6.6 19.7 10.9 5.4 3.4 28.7 

Fresh vegetables ........................................... 25,542 67.2 27.4 5.7 17.7 10.6 5.9 3.6 29.2 

Processed fruits ............................................. 14,032 64.5 21.9 6.6 18.9 11.6 5.5 4.5 31.0 

Processed vegetables .................................... 12,864 65.4 23.8 5.1 19.0 11.3 6.2 4.6 30.0 

Other food at home .......................................... 157,321 64.7 23.1 5.9 19.5 10.9 5.3 5.0 30.3 

Sugar and other sweets ................................. 15,580 66.1 24.8 4.6 20.3 11.1 5.3 4.4 29.5 

Fats and oils ................................................... 12,595 64.7 24.9 4.7 18.1 11.4 5.6 4.8 30.5 

Miscellaneous foods ...................................... 81,963 64.4 22.2 7.0 19.7 10.3 5.1 5.1 30.5 

Nonalcoholic beverages ................................. 41,289 63.9 22.2 4.7 19.4 12.0 5.6 5.3 30.8 

Food prepared by consumer unit on

out-of-town trips ........................................... 5,894 72.3 34.6 4.6 18.9 10.6 3.6 3.2 24.6 

Food away from home ....................................... 325,371 65.2 23.9 5.2 20.0 11.5 4.6 4.0 30.8 

Alcoholic beverages ............................................. 53,558 57.4 27.9 4.4 12.9 8.6 3.6 2.4 40.2 

Housing ................................................................ 2,065,912 62.2 23.8 6.4 18.1 9.3 4.7 5.0 32.8 

Shelter ................................................................ 1,229,818 60.2 22.9 6.0 18.2 8.6 4.5 5.1 34.7 

Owned dwellings .............................................. 816,456 70.0 25.8 6.7 22.3 10.3 5.0 3.7 26.3 

Mortgage interest and charges ...................... 462,120 71.6 21.7 8.4 26.0 9.8 5.6 4.3 24.1 

Property taxes ................................................ 212,347 69.6 29.8 5.1 19.2 11.1 4.4 3.4 27.0 

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other

expenses ...................................................... 141,988 65.3 32.9 3.3 14.7 10.5 4.0 2.4 32.3 

Rented dwellings .............................................. 329,033 32.6 11.6 5.3 8.8 3.5 3.3 9.1 58.3 

Other lodging ................................................... 84,330 73.8 40.1 2.8 15.3 12.0 3.5 2.5 23.7 

Utilities, fuels, and public services ..................... 440,720 62.0 24.6 4.7 16.9 10.5 5.3 5.2 32.7 

Natural gas ....................................................... 64,158 62.7 25.1 4.6 17.3 10.8 4.9 4.6 32.7 

Electricity .......................................................... 163,444 61.8 24.2 4.5 17.1 10.3 5.6 5.6 32.7 

Fuel oil and other fuels ..................................... 23,163 63.7 34.8 4.6 12.9 7.6 3.8 3.2 33.1 

Telephone services .......................................... 136,089 60.8 22.7 4.9 16.8 11.1 5.3 5.8 33.5 

Water and other public services ....................... 53,865 64.6 25.7 4.7 17.8 10.8 5.5 4.7 30.8 

Household operations ........................................ 120,468 66.6 19.5 15.1 21.2 6.3 4.6 6.3 27.1 

Personal services ............................................. 46,280 71.4 4.6 31.4 28.5 1.6 5.3 10.2 18.4 

Other household expenses .............................. 74,189 63.6 28.8 4.9 16.6 9.2 4.1 3.9 32.5 

Housekeeping supplies ...................................... 78,880 68.7 27.0 6.9 17.4 12.3 5.2 4.4 26.9 

Laundry and cleaning supplies ........................ 17,821 65.7 22.9 5.3 20.1 11.4 6.0 5.7 28.6 

Other household products ................................ 42,224 72.3 27.0 8.2 17.8 14.3 5.1 3.6 24.1 

Postage and stationery .................................... 18,834 63.6 30.8 5.3 14.3 8.6 4.6 4.8 31.6 

Household furnishings and equipment ............... 196,026 69.6 28.9 7.1 18.0 11.1 4.5 3.6 26.8 

Household textiles ............................................ 15,234 69.3 32.2 4.6 17.8 8.9 5.8 4.7 26.0 

Furniture ........................................................... 46,812 67.7 25.4 8.5 19.7 9.5 4.6 4.1 28.2 

Floor coverings ................................................ 5,383 74.3 35.1 8.1 18.3 11.3 1.4 3.8 22.0 

Major appliances .............................................. 24,651 71.7 29.6 7.1 18.7 11.6 4.8 3.7 24.6 

Small appliances, miscellaneous housewares 13,616 67.3 32.9 6.1 12.8 12.1 3.5 2.1 30.6 

Miscellaneous household equipment ............... 90,330 70.0 28.9 6.9 17.8 12.0 4.4 3.3 26.7 

Apparel and services ........................................... 217,176 64.5 21.2 6.3 21.3 11.5 4.3 5.7 29.7 

Men and boys .................................................... 51,483 69.3 22.5 5.5 25.1 12.3 3.9 4.5 26.2 

Men, 16 and over ............................................. 41,502 69.1 26.4 5.3 20.2 13.6 3.6 1.7 29.2 

Boys, 2 to 15 .................................................... 9,981 70.2 5.9 6.6 45.6 6.9 5.1 15.9 13.9 

Women and girls ................................................ 86,595 63.0 21.2 4.8 20.4 12.2 4.3 6.1 30.9 

Women, 16 and over ........................................ 71,960 61.2 23.9 4.5 15.9 12.8 4.1 4.7 34.1 

Girls, 2 to 15 ..................................................... 14,635 72.0 8.3 6.6 42.6 9.0 5.5 12.6 15.5 

Children under 2 ................................................ 11,185 72.0 11.4 30.0 16.8 5.3 8.4 8.9 19.1 

Footwear ............................................................ 37,909 62.7 19.6 5.2 23.5 10.8 3.6 7.2 30.1 

Other apparel products and services ................. 30,004 60.2 24.5 4.3 16.2 11.0 4.2 4.0 35.8 

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

Survey, 2008 — 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

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

Transportation ...................................................... $1,038,811 67.5 26.5 5.4 18.0 12.3 5.4 4.0 28.5 

Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ........................... 332,698 68.5 26.5 5.9 18.4 12.1 5.7 3.9 27.5 

Cars and trucks, new ....................................... 157,600 71.8 30.0 6.8 18.1 10.3 6.7 2.8 25.3 

Cars and trucks, used ...................................... 158,872 65.0 23.3 5.1 17.7 14.2 4.7 5.3 29.7 

Other vehicles .................................................. 16,225 70.7 23.4 44.4 28.2 48.3 46.4 41.4 27.9 

Gasoline and motor oil ....................................... 327,872 66.6 24.7 5.4 18.9 12.0 5.7 4.4 29.0 

Other vehicle expenses ..................................... 316,280 67.4 27.2 5.3 17.0 13.0 4.9 3.6 29.0 

Vehicle finance charges ................................... 37,717 69.9 23.7 7.0 21.2 11.8 6.2 4.4 25.7 

Maintenance and repairs ................................. 88,214 65.0 27.2 4.4 16.4 11.8 5.2 4.0 31.0 

Vehicle insurance ............................................. 134,230 67.7 28.2 5.0 14.6 15.1 4.8 2.8 29.6 

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, and other

charges .......................................................... 56,120 68.8 27.4 6.3 20.6 10.7 3.9 4.5 26.7 

Public transportation .......................................... 61,961 68.2 32.1 4.1 16.0 11.7 4.3 3.2 28.6 

Healthcare ............................................................ 359,365 67.9 35.4 3.9 14.5 9.9 4.2 3.0 29.1 

Health insurance ................................................ 199,678 67.0 35.6 4.0 13.7 9.5 4.2 2.8 30.2 

Medical services ................................................ 87,755 70.3 33.5 4.2 18.2 10.6 3.8 3.5 26.2 

Drugs ................................................................. 58,197 67.5 38.5 2.8 11.1 10.0 5.0 2.5 30.0 

Medical supplies ................................................ 13,734 67.4 31.7 3.5 16.8 11.0 4.4 3.8 28.8 

Entertainment ....................................................... 342,185 68.1 28.6 5.5 20.8 9.6 3.6 3.7 28.2 

Fees and admissions ......................................... 74,337 72.2 25.2 4.9 27.4 11.6 3.2 4.2 23.6 

Audio and visual equipment and services .......... 125,111 61.0 24.7 5.2 17.5 9.7 4.0 4.7 34.2 

Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment 84,872 68.3 33.1 5.3 17.3 8.6 3.9 2.8 29.0 

Other entertainment supplies, equipment, and

services ............................................................ 57,865 77.7 34.7 7.0 24.8 8.6 2.5 2.2 20.1 

Personal care products and services ................... 74,300 64.9 25.8 5.1 17.9 11.9 4.2 4.9 30.2 

Reading ................................................................ 14,030 64.1 31.9 3.8 14.8 9.9 3.6 2.8 33.1 

Education ............................................................. 126,275 68.1 17.8 1.9 21.6 22.7 4.1 3.6 28.3 

Tobacco products and smoking supplies ............. 38,244 52.4 21.1 3.2 12.2 9.4 6.4 4.5 43.2 

Miscellaneous ...................................................... 101,374 60.7 25.3 4.3 15.6 10.5 5.0 4.3 35.0 

Cash contributions ............................................... 209,721 66.6 33.1 3.5 15.6 10.6 3.8 2.5 30.9 

Personal insurance and pensions ........................ 676,923 70.8 27.0 6.2 21.0 11.5 5.1 3.0 26.2 

Life and other personal insurance ...................... 38,264 79.4 37.6 4.0 19.9 12.3 5.6 2.5 18.1 

Pensions and Social Security ............................ 638,659 70.3 26.4 6.4 21.0 11.5 5.0 3.0 26.7 

Sources of income and personal taxes:

Money income before taxes ................................. 7,676,460 68.5 26.4 5.7 19.7 11.4 5.3 3.4 28.2 

Wages and salaries ........................................... 6,160,177 70.3 23.2 6.6 22.5 12.4 5.6 3.3 26.5 

Self-employment income ................................... 388,778 73.1 30.6 5.3 22.3 10.2 4.8 3.2 23.7 

Social Security, private and government

retirement ......................................................... 794,300 60.3 48.5 4.1 1.5 5.9 4.3 .8 38.9 

Interest, dividends, rental income, other

property income ............................................... 182,259 63.5 43.0 2.3 8.0 8.6 1.7 3.0 33.5 

Unemployment and workers’ compensation,

veterans’ benefits ............................................. 27,198 59.6 23.3 2.3 12.8 16.6 4.6 4.9 35.4 

Public assistance, supplemental security

income, food stamps ........................................ 44,800 30.4 9.3 1.5 7.4 5.8 6.4 17.2 52.3 

Regular contributions for support ....................... 53,864 18.2 3.6 41.4 9.7 41.1 2.4 43.1 38.7 

Other income ..................................................... 25,084 38.7 15.7 4.4 5.6 8.1 5.0 9.2 52.0 

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

Survey, 2008 — 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

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

Personal taxes ..................................................... $216,057 72.4 35.6 3.5 21.3 10.3 1.9 -1.8 29.3 

Federal income taxes ......................................... 219,443 71.6 33.2 4.3 21.1 10.3 2.7 -.3 28.8 

2008 Tax stimulus (new UCC Q20082) ............. -94,645 69.1 24.9 6.8 21.2 11.1 5.1 4.9 26.0 

State and local income taxes ............................. 65,485 71.8 28.7 5.3 24.1 10.5 3.2 1.7 26.5 

Other taxes ........................................................ 25,774 69.1 34.0 3.8 15.9 12.3 3.1 1.8 29.1 

Income after taxes ............................................... 7,460,402 68.4 26.1 5.7 19.6 11.5 5.4 3.5 28.1 

1 Value less than 0.05. 2 Value less than or equal to 0.5.3 No data reported. 4 Data are likely to have large sampling errors.