For release: 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Friday, April 26, 2019 USDL-19-0698 

Technical Information: (202) 691-6900 • CEXInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cex

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES MIDYEAR UPDATE – JULY 2017 

THROUGH JUNE 2018 AVERAGE

Average expenditures per consumer unit1 for July 2017 through June 2018 were up 4.0 percent 

compared with the July 2016 through June 2017 midyear average, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

reported today. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) rose 2.3 percent, and 

average pretax incomes increased 4.3 percent.

Table A. Average expenditures and income of all consumer units

Item

July 2016- 

June 2017 

Average

July 2017- 

June 2018 

Average

Percent change

July 2016-June 2017 

to

July 2017-June 2018

Income before taxes........................... $73,207 $76,335 4.3

Average annual expenditures............... 58,460 60,815 4.0

Food............................................. 7,407 7,869 6.2

Food at home................................ 4,121 4,445 7.9

Food away from home..................... 3,286 3,424 4.2

Housing......................................... 19,325 20,001 3.5

Apparel and services........................ 1,771 1,850 4.5

Transportation................................. 9,252 9,735 5.2

Healthcare...................................... 4,710 4,924 4.5

Entertainment.................................. 2,941 3,379 14.9

Education ...................................... 1,372 1,505 9.7

Cash contributions............................ 2,088 1,840 -11.9

Personal insurance and pensions........ 6,938 6,904 -0.5

Pensions and Social Security............ 6,554 6,474 -1.2

All other expenditures....................... 2,655 2,808 5.8

Note: Subcategories may not sum to their respective major item category.

1 Consumer units include families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but who are financially 

independent, or two or more unrelated persons living together who pool their income to make joint expenditure decisions. 
- 2 -

Most major components of household spending increased over the 12 months ending June 2018. The 

14.9-percent rise in entertainment spending was the largest percentage increase among all major 

components, followed by a 9.7-percent rise in education expenditures. (See table A.)

Spending patterns, July 2017-June 2018 compared with July 2016-June 2017 

• Entertainment spending increased 14.9 percent. This was primarily due to an increase in 

other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services.

• Cash contributions decreased 11.9 percent. The category incorporates a wide array of giving 

and financial obligations including charitable contributions, support for college students, 

child support, alimony, and other gifts of cash and financial instruments to individuals and 

organizations not part of the household. Contributions to charities and other nonprofit 

organizations, excluding religious and educational, accounted for much of this decrease.

• Education spending increased 9.7 percent. This was due to expenditure increases for 

elementary and high school tuition and for finance, late, and interest charges on student 

loans. 

• Spending on food increased 6.2 percent. The increase was driven by food at home which 

increased 7.9 percent, while food away from home rose 4.2 percent.

• Healthcare spending rose 4.5 percent to $4,924 for July 2017 through June 2018. Annual 

(calendar year) spending for healthcare has increased every year from 1996 through 2017. 

The most recent midyear increase was driven by a 6.3-percent increase in health 

insurance expenditures.

• Apparel and services spending increased 4.5 percent to $1,850, after decreasing 1.3 percent 

during the previous midyear period. 

• Transportation expenditures increased 5.2 percent to $9,735. Within transportation, public 

transportation spending was up 18.5 percent and vehicle purchases (net outlay) was up 10.7 

percent. Expenditures for gasoline and motor oil increased by 6.3 percent over the period. 

Spending by selected demographics

Data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) measure how consumers allocate their spending 

among the various components of total expenditures. The lowest income quintile allocated larger shares 

to food and housing than all other quintiles. The highest income quintile allocated a larger share to 

personal insurance and pensions (including payments for life insurance, other nonhealth insurance, 

pensions, and Social Security) than any other group. No clear pattern existed for the shares allocated to 

transportation and healthcare among the income quintile groups. (See table B and chart 1.) 
- 3 -

Percent

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Food Housing Transportation Healthcare Personal insurance and

pensions

Lowest 20 percent Second 20 percent Third 20 percent Fourth 20 percent Highest 20 percent

Table B. Shares of average expenditures on selected major components by income quintiles, July 2017 

through June 2018

Item

Income quintiles

Lowest 20 

percent

Second 20 

percent

Third 20 

percent

Fourth 20 

percent

Highest 20 

percent

Food.................................... 15.2 14.7 13.7 13.6 11.1

Housing............................... 39.9 35.1 34.8 32.6 29.9

Transportation....................... 13.5 16.8 17.3 16.1 15.7

Healthcare............................ 9.3 10.0 8.9 8.6 6.6

Personal insurance & pensions. 2.5 5.3 8.7 11.9 16.1

Chart 1. Shares of average expenditures on selected major components by income quintiles, July 2017 

through June 2018

Table C and chart 2 show average expenditures and income before taxes by quintile from July 2017 

through June 2018. The lowest 20 percent showed a decrease in both total average household 

expenditures and average household income before taxes across the 12 months ending June 2018. 

All the other quintiles showed an increase in both total average household expenditures and average 

household income before taxes. 
- 4 -

Percent

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

-2.0

-3.0

Lowest 20 percent Second 20 percent Third 20 percent Fourth 20 percent Highest 20 percent

Average annual expenditures Income before taxes

Table C. Average annual expenditures and income before taxes by income quintile, July 2017-June 2018 

compared with July 2016-June 2017

Average annual expenditures Income before taxes

Income quintile July 2016- 

June 2017

July 2017- 

June 2018

Percent 

change

July 2016- 

June 2017

July 2017- 

June 2018

Percent 

change

Lowest 20 percent $26,144 $26,012 -0.5 $11,587 $11,335 -2.2

Second 20 percent 38,187 40,215 5.3 29,414 30,544 3.8

Third 20 percent 48,543 51,144 5.4 51,379 53,571 4.3

Fourth 20 percent 66,532 68,506 3.0 84,924 88,394 4.1

Highest 20 percent 112,845 118,277 4.8 188,676 198,045 5.0

Chart 2. Percent change in average annual expenditures and income before taxes by income quintile, July 

2017-June 2018 compared with July 2016-June 2017
- 5 -

Additional information 

Standard CE midyear tables can be found at www.bls.gov/cex/midyear.htm. Data tables with the most 

detailed subcategories of expenditures sorted by demographics can be obtained by sending a request to 

cexinfo@bls.gov. The all consumer unit detailed annual tables are available at 

www.bls.gov/cex/csxresearchtables.htm#allnew.

The 1996 through 2017 CE public-use microdata, including Interview Survey data, Diary Survey data, 

and paradata (information about the data collection process), are available on the CE website for free 

electronic download at www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_data.htm. The Interview Survey files contain 

expenditure data in two different formats: MTBI files that present monthly values in an item-coding 

framework based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) pricing scheme, and EXPN files that organize 

expenditures by the section of the Interview questionnaire in which they are collected. Expenditure 

values on EXPN files cover different time periods depending on the specific questions asked, and the 

files also contain relevant non-expenditure information not found on the MTBI files. For releases prior 

to 1996, users can continue to purchase USB flash drives using the public-use microdata order form at 

www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_doc.htm. 

The change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) cited in the text was calculated as the percentage 

change between the 12-month average CPI-U for all items from July 2016-June 2017 (242.656) and the 

12-month average CPI-U for all items from July 2017-June 2018 (248.126). 

The 2017 Annual Report, Consumer Expenditures in 2017, includes a brief discussion of expenditure 

changes in 2017 and tables with data classified by the standard characteristics that are included on the 

website at www.bls.gov/opub/reports/consumer-expenditures/2017/home.htm. Recent CE-specific 

articles in the BLS Beyond the Numbers web report series provide analyses of topical economic issues 

and long term spending trends, as well as comparisons of CE data to other data series at 

www.bls.gov/cex/csxwebarticles.htm and www.bls.gov/cex/cecomparison.htm. Additional 

methodological and analytical articles using CE data will be published in 2019. All data tables published 

in the Annual Report and posted to the website are integrated from the two CE components—the 

quarterly Interview Survey and weekly Diary Survey. 

The 2018 annual news release, data tables, LABSTAT database, and public-use microdata are planned 

for release in September 2019. 

Also available are the Diary Survey questionnaire and a modified version of the computer assisted 

personal interview (CAPI) instrument used to collect the Interview Survey data at 

www.bls.gov/cex/csxsurveyforms.htm.

Information on the methodology used to calculate and collect CE data is available at 

www.bls.gov/cex/ce_methodology.htm. General articles and research papers using CE data are in the 

CE research library at www.bls.gov/cex/research_papers/research-paper-catalog.htm.

The annual CE Survey Methods Symposium and Microdata Users' Workshop will be held July 16-19, 

2019, at the BLS national office. Registration is free. More information and online registration are 

available at www.bls.gov/cex/csxannualworkshop.htm. 

For further information, contact the Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Office of Prices and 

Living Conditions at (202) 691-6900 or by email at cexinfo@bls.gov. Information in this release will be 

made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; 

Federal Relay Service: 1 (800) 877-8339.