Table 3024. Selected southern metropolitan statistical areas: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 

2020-2021

Item 

All consumer 

units in the 

South 

Washington 

D.C. Baltimore Atlanta Miami DallasFort Worth Houston Tampa 

Number of consumer units (in thousands)1......................... 51,191 2,705 873 2,072 2,477 2,883 2,103 954 

Consumer unit characteristics: 

 Income before taxes ......................................................... $78,620 $128,621 $115,638 $91,387 $68,514 $91,585 $86,831 $82,698 

 Age of reference person ................................................... 51.7 49.2 51.8 50.5 52.8 49.3 48.4 52.9 

 Average number in consumer unit: 

 People ........................................................................... 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.2 2.7 2.7 2.4 

 Children under 18 .......................................................... .6 .6 .6 .8 .4 .6 .8 .5 

 Adults 65 and older ....................................................... .4 .3 .3 .4 .4 .4 .3 .4 

 Earners .......................................................................... 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.3 

 Vehicles ......................................................................... 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.8 1.6 1.8 

 Percent homeowner ......................................................... 67 64 70 67 56 60 63 66 

Average annual expenditures .............................................. $58,682 $88,767 $76,216 $66,620 $51,704 $62,672 $62,183 $60,875 

 Food .................................................................................. 7,053 10,609 8,606 9,238 6,241 6,027 5,811 7,037 

 Food at home ................................................................ 4,549 6,584 5,447 5,713 4,713 3,506 3,142 4,473 

 Cereals and bakery products ..................................... 579 873 731 690 587 400 379 603 

 Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .................................... 1,012 1,436 1,194 1,192 1,246 857 740 970 

 Dairy products ............................................................ 415 626 498 475 435 301 254 474 

 Fruits and vegetables ................................................. 867 1,314 1,167 1,201 1,054 617 665 843 

 Other food at home .................................................... 1,676 2,335 1,857 2,156 1,391 1,331 1,103 1,583 

 Food away from home .................................................. 2,504 4,025 3,160 3,524 1,528 2,521 2,668 2,564 

 Alcoholic beverages ......................................................... 419 639 540 725 407 450 422 507 

 Housing ............................................................................ 19,682 33,242 25,274 23,885 20,630 22,896 23,148 22,070 

 Shelter ........................................................................... 11,097 21,705 15,663 13,734 14,171 14,321 13,337 12,778 

 Owned dwellings ........................................................ 6,648 13,376 10,238 8,605 6,111 7,597 7,736 7,202 

 Rented dwellings ........................................................ 3,751 6,141 4,538 4,262 7,464 6,022 5,002 5,131 

 Other lodging.............................................................. 697 2,188 887 867 596 702 599 446 

 Utilities, fuels, and public services ................................ 4,160 4,458 4,376 4,517 3,370 4,543 4,424 4,190 

 Household operations ................................................... 1,477 2,262 1,687 1,912 1,134 1,249 1,873 1,623 

 Housekeeping supplies ................................................. 750 1,019 924 825 502 614 640 668 

 Household furnishings and equipment ......................... 2,198 3,799 2,623 2,896 1,452 2,169 2,873 2,812 

 Apparel and services ........................................................ 1,326 2,111 1,703 1,825 1,480 1,449 1,001 1,567 

 Transportation .................................................................. 10,483 9,295 13,637 10,258 8,664 10,943 10,984 11,077 

 Vehicle purchases (net outlay) ...................................... 5,087 2,968 7,820 3,994 3,104 5,209 5,049 4,759 

 Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil .............................. 1,869 1,628 1,831 2,144 1,756 1,933 1,929 1,848 

 Other vehicle expenses................................................. 3,280 3,968 3,704 3,797 3,502 3,490 3,616 4,028 

 Public and other transportation ..................................... 247 731 282 322 302 311 389 442 

 Healthcare ........................................................................ 5,103 6,482 5,602 5,356 3,597 5,087 5,198 5,985 

 Entertainment ................................................................... 2,763 3,862 3,022 2,737 1,610 3,003 2,749 2,031 

 Personal care products and services ............................... 623 1,011 657 718 590 679 680 537 

 Reading ............................................................................ 97 313 137 39 52 68 86 249 

 Education .......................................................................... 1,051 2,508 1,450 1,214 801 1,660 1,303 739 

 Tobacco products and smoking supplies ......................... 341 178 269 163 139 197 371 312 

 Miscellaneous ................................................................... 833 1,277 1,005 744 525 612 987 800 

 Cash contributions ............................................................ 2,174 4,558 3,714 1,597 882 1,583 2,042 1,267 

 Personal insurance and pensions .................................... 6,735 12,683 10,600 8,122 6,087 8,018 7,400 6,897 

 Life and other personal insurance................................. 463 577 598 467 372 322 518 386 

 Pensions and Social Security ....................................... 6,272 12,106 10,002 7,655 5,715 7,695 6,882 6,510 

1

 Data are rounded to the nearest thousands. 

2

 Data are likely to have large sampling errors. 

Source: Consumer Expenditure Surveys, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September, 2022