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December 2023 
                    Report 1107

				 
			


		
		

		
		

		
		

		
		

		
		

		
		


		
		
	

		
		
	

		
		
	

		
		
	

		
		
	

		
		
	

		
		
	





































																		



				 
                
                BLS Reports Menu
                    CONTENTS
                        Effects of inflation and supply chain disruptions in 2022
Expenditure trends: 2019 to 2022
Income and expenditure dynamics
Analysis of spending on key categories: food, housing, utilities, vehicles, gas, entertainment, and travel
Dining out or cooking at home: how are consumers spending food dollars?What did consumers spend on housing in 2022?High gasoline prices influence spending in 2022Abrupt changes to entertainment expenditures in 2022Travel expenditures see large increases in 2022 after 2 years of lower spending 
                          Statistical Tables 
						  Table 1. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and...Table 2. Quintiles of income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and...Table 3. Deciles of income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and...Table 4. Region of residence: Average annual expenditures and...Table 5. Population size of area of residence: Average annual expenditures...Table 6. Type of area: Average annual expenditures and characteristics,...Table 7. Composition of consumer unit: Average annual expenditures and...Table 8. Highest education level of any member: Average annual...Table 9. Housing tenure: Average annual expenditures and characteristics,...Table 10. Number of earners in consumer unit: Average annual expenditures...Table 11. Size of consumer unit: Average annual expenditures and...Table 12. Age of reference person: Average annual expenditures and...Table 13. Generation of reference person: Average annual expenditures and...Table 14. Selected age of reference person: Average annual expenditures...Table 15. Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person: Average annual...Table 16. Occupation of reference person: Average annual expenditures and...Table 17. Race of reference person: Average annual expenditures and...
                          Technical Notes
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     Consumer expenditures in 2022
Consumer expenditures in 2022 image*By Shane Meyers, Geoffrey D. Paulin, and**Kristen Thiel*Consumers may look back and remember 2022 as the year that inflation rates reached peaks that had not been seen in 40 years. In 2022, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers rose to the highest annual rate since 1981, peaking in June 2022 at a 9.1-percent increase over the previous year.1 This inflationary environment raised questions about how consumers would adjust their spending habits between economic wants and needs. Constraints tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, including travel restrictions, capacity limitations, and government-imposed lockdowns, loosened in 2022, while the threat of new COVID-19 variants receded in the minds of average consumers.How did the challenge of high inflation affect the spending patterns of the typical household? This report analyzes integrated data from the Diary and Interview Survey components of the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE). (For details about these components, including how their results are integrated in publication, see the technical notes section.) The data in this report are drawn from a collection of CE tables, highlighting the vast array of demographic data available for use. The incomes and expenditures shown in the tables throughout this report are expressed as nominal values, representing spending in U.S. dollars as reported by surveyed consumers.2 These data are collected by the U.S. Census Bureau under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). BLS then publishes the data in specific categories, usually defined by characteristics of the reference person for a given consumer unit (CU).3Each year since 2020 has posed unique economic challenges for consumers, as the economy experienced major changes tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next section details the economic conditions that influenced spending patterns, shares, and dynamics in 2022.**Effects of inflation and supply chain disruptions in 2022**Prices rose by an average of 8.0 percent from 2021 to 2022, as measured by the CPI for All Urban Consumers, compared with an average of 4.7 percent from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, the 12-month percent change of inflation fluctuated, falling to 6.5 percent in December after peaking at 9.1 percent in June. Since the June 2022 peak, while the growth rate of inflation has come off its recent high, consumer prices continue to rise at elevated levels.CUs continued to face impacts of high inflation, as shown by price trends for key expenditures. For example, the average annual change in gasoline prices in 2022 was 31.7 percent, compounding the 36.0-percent increase in 2021. Fueled by more expensive gasoline, new and used vehicle prices continued to rise in 2022, with inflation rates of 10.4 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively. Prices also spiked by 17.7 percent in household energy, 13.1 percent in electricity, and 9.9 percent in food.To examine how inflation affected the average household, consider a CU that spent 10.0 percent more on goods and services in 2022 than in 2021. This percentage represents the change in nominal spending that the CU provided in exchange for their desired bundle of goods and services. As previously stated, the average annual rate of inflation was 8.0 percent in 2022. Real spending growth, or the difference between the nominal spending rate and the inflation rate, would be 2.0 percent (10.0 percent minus 8.0 percent). Therefore, much of the increase in the CU’s spending could be attributed to higher prices rather than to an increase in the quantity of goods purchased or a change in consumer preference.In 2021, most supply chain disruptions were exhibited by long lines of container ships waiting at U.S. ports of entry. In 2022, these constraints extended to land-based transportation as well, with a shortage of 78,000 truck drivers, higher freight costs, depleted inventories, and other labor shortages facilitating continued supply chain issues.4In 2022, fears tied to the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside as vaccines, oral medication, and therapeutics to treat COVID-19 became readily available to the public.5 This shift in consumer attitudes from the previous year likely increased demand for entertainment, travel, and food away from home—three expenditure categories that declined sharply due to the impacts of COVID-19. The effects of compounding inflation and lingering supply chain issues undoubtedly weighed heavily on the minds of consumers as they charted their course for spending in 2022.**Expenditure trends: 2019 to 2022**Table A displays average annual expenditures in nominal dollars and associated percent changes for both total expenditures and its major components (i.e., expenditure categories such as food) from 2019 to 2022. Average annual expenditures grew by 9.0 percent to $72,967 in 2022, up over $6,000 from 2021 and up almost $10,000 (15.7 percent) from 2019. Expenditures rose by a similar 9.1 percent in 2021, after declining by 2.7 percent in 2020—only the third time average annual expenditures had fallen in the history of the series, which began in 1984. Income before taxes in 2022 grew noticeably by 7.5 percent and continued a positive trend of income growth since 2020, when income growth decelerated from 5.4 to 1.8 percent due to the impacts of COVID-19.6Table A. Average annual expenditures by major category of all consumer units and percent changes, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2019–22Item2019202020212022Percent change2019–202020–212021–22Number of consumer units (in thousands) [1]132,242131,234133,595134,090[2][2][2]Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes$82,852$84,352$87,432$94,0031.83.77.5Age of reference person51.652.251.852.1[2][2][2]Average number in consumer unit:People2.52.52.42.4[2][2][2]Children under 18.6.6.6.6[2][2][2]Adults 65 and older.4.4.4.4[2][2][2]Earners1.31.31.31.3[2][2][2]Vehicles1.91.91.91.9[2][2][2]Percent homeowner64666565[2][2][2]Average annual expenditures$63,036$61,332$66,928$72,967-2.79.19.0Food8,1697,3108,2899,343-10.513.412.7Food at home4,6434,9355,2595,7036.36.68.4Cereals and bakery products5836406727129.85.06.0Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs9801,0701,1151,2169.24.29.1Dairy products4554744925324.23.88.1Fruits and vegetables8769761,0331,09911.45.86.4Other food at home1,7491,7761,9472,1441.59.610.1Food away from home3,5262,3753,0303,639-32.627.620.1Alcoholic beverages579478554583-17.415.95.2Housing20,67921,41722,62424,2983.65.67.4Shelter12,19012,60413,25814,5073.45.29.4Owned dwellings6,7977,4737,5918,2309.91.68.4Rented dwellings4,4324,4084,6844,990-.56.36.5Other lodging9617229831,287-24.936.130.9Utilities, fuels, and public services4,0554,1664,2234,5492.71.47.7Household operations1,5701,4651,6381,849-6.711.812.9Housekeeping supplies7668378037879.3-4.1-2.0Household furnishings and equipment2,0982,3462,7012,60611.815.1-3.5Apparel and services1,8831,4341,7541,945-23.822.310.9Transportation10,7429,82610,96112,295-8.511.612.2Vehicle purchases (net outlay)4,3944,5234,8284,4962.96.7-6.9Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil2,0941,5682,1483,120-25.137.045.3Other vehicle expenses3,4743,4713,5343,834-.11.88.5Public and other transportation781263452845-66.371.986.9Healthcare5,1935,1775,4525,850-.35.37.3Entertainment3,0902,9093,5683,458-5.922.7-3.1Personal care products and services786646771866-17.819.312.3Reading9211411411723.9.02.6Education1,4431,2711,2261,335-11.9-3.58.9Tobacco products and smoking supplies320315341371-1.68.38.8Miscellaneous8999079861009.98.72.3Cash contributions1,9952,2832,4152,75514.45.814.1Personal insurance and pensions7,1657,2467,8738,7421.18.711.0Life and other personal insurance520486473519-6.5-2.79.7Pensions and Social Security6,6456,7607,4008,2231.79.511.1Footnotes:[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.[2] Not applicable.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.In 2022, spending increased in 13 of the 14 major expenditure categories. (See table A and chart 1.) Most categories exhibited similar patterns to 2021, with some growing by a larger amount. Interestingly, one category (entertainment) reversed trend, and spending declined. Among the categories experiencing sharp increases was transportation, with expenditures increasing by 12.2 percent (or $1,334) in 2022, following an increase of 11.6 percent (or $1,135) in 2021. Two main components fueled the rise in transportation spending in 2022: gasoline, fuel, and motor oil expenditures rose by 45.3 percent and public and other transportation expenditures rose by 86.9 percent. The rise in gasoline, fuel, and motor oil expenditures can be attributed both to high gasoline prices and refining capacity. Consumer prices for gasoline rose by over 31 percent in 2022, peaking in June at $5.15 per gallon nationally. Domestic annual refining capacity had also declined in 2021 to an 8-year low. Although capacity was up marginally in 2022, the additional capacity sat idle while operating levels, which can be drawn upon, declined. Therefore, a sufficient supply of petroleum products was inhibited from reaching the market and meeting consumer demand.7 In 2022, CUs spent an average of $845 on public and other transportation expenditures, which includes intracity and intercity modes of transportation. The 86.9-percent rise in public and other transportation expenditures over the year was driven primarily by an 88.3-percent increase in airline fare expenditures. Airline fares typically account for about 60 to 70 percent of the share of expenditures in public and other transportation expenditures.Food spending continued to climb at an even higher rate than transportation in 2022, rising by 12.7 percent. Food at home, which consists of purchases from grocery stores and similar venues, rose by 8.4 percent. As was the case in 2021, spending by CUs on proteins (meat, poultry, fish, and eggs), produce, and dairy products led to higher annual expenditures. In 2022, these three subcategories experienced annual inflation rates of 10.9, 8.5, and 12.0 percent, respectively.Food away from home expenditures, or spending at restaurants, take-out venues, and all other meals not prepared in one’s living quarters, rose by 20.1 percent. Food away from home expenditures increased by $609 above 2021 levels and are $113 above 2019 levels. Reduced fears of COVID-19 and increased demand for communal gatherings compared with the previous 2 years, as well as inflation at restaurants, likely contributed to this spending increase.Housing expenditures, which account for the largest share of total expenditures, rose by 7.4 percent in 2022. High home prices, high mortgage lending rates, and particularly high rental rates for apartments placed upward pressure on spending over the year. Spending on both owned and rented dwellings rose, by 8.4 and 6.5 percent, respectively. Mortgage interest and principal payments are essential expenditures for owned dwellings, and a rapidly changing mortgage environment sent an exogenous shock through the market. The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage in 2022 was 5.33 percent, nearly two times higher than the 2021 rate.8 This not only resulted in higher mortgage interest payments, but pushed consumers on the margin out of owned dwellings and into the rental market. In turn, rental demand, rental rates, and thus rent expenditures were all driven upward. Higher median housing prices further compounded these issues. Federal Reserve data showed that the median sale price of a home reached $479,500 in the fourth quarter of 2022, almost another $56,000 above the 2021 fourth quarter median price of $423,600.9 In addition to the baseline costs associated with obtaining an owned or rented dwelling, increases in other lodging (which includes hotel/motel, B&B accommodations, etc.) of 30.9 percent; household operations of 12.9 percent; and utilities, fuels, and public services of 7.7 percent contributed to the rise in housing expenditures as well.Healthcare expenditures grew by 7.3 percent in 2022 as consumers resumed receiving elective surgeries, after procedures were mostly halted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.10 Simultaneously, many consumers likely had backlogged health concerns that needed to be addressed. A 23-percent increase in drug expenditures further bolstered healthcare expenditures.One major expenditure category declined in 2022—entertainment fell by 3.1 percent. The decline may have been an offsetting movement from notable strength in 2021, when entertainment expenditures increased by 22.7 percent. In 2021, a surge in entertainment expenditures resulted from substantially pent-up demand to attend sporting events, concerts, and other recreational activities that were constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In 2022, the decrease in expenditures is due in part to a 24.5-percent decline in other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services, which contrasts its 60.6-percent increase in 2021. Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment spending also fell by 6.3 percent in 2022. Although spending on fees and admissions rose by 27.4 percent, it did not offset the two aforementioned declines. Entertainment expenditure data for 2022 may reflect consumption smoothing from 2021 levels or a return to the stability of 2019 levels.All other major expenditure categories exhibited increases between 2.3 and 14.1 percent in 2022. Personal care products and services rose by 12.3 percent, while apparel and services rose by 10.9 percent. Double-digit spending growth was observed in cash contributions, as well as in personal insurance and pensions. The education, tobacco products and smoking supplies, alcoholic beverages, reading, and miscellaneous expenditure categories all grew by single-digit rates.View Chart DataChart 1. Annual percent change for major expenditure groups, 2021–22Major expenditure groupPercent changeCash contributions14.1Food12.7Personal care products and services12.3Transportation12.2Personal insurance and pensions11.0Apparel and services10.9Education8.9Tobacco products and smoking supplies8.8Housing7.4Healthcare7.3Alcoholic beverages5.2Reading2.6Miscellaneous2.3Entertainment-3.1Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.**Expenditure shares: how do consumers divide up their spending?**The concept of expenditure shares is critical in analyzing short and long run spending dynamics, especially amid evolving consumer preferences and priorities. In the short run, expenditure shares illustrate the difficult choices that the typical consumer faces in allocating their paycheck toward food, gasoline, rent, and other expenses. In the long run, expenditure shares instead reflect adjustments in living standards. For example, CUs that allocate lower shares to the essentials of food, transportation, housing, and healthcare can spend larger shares on entertainment, cash contributions, personal care products and services, and other discretionary goods and services that are not as affordable to those on tight budgets.View Chart DataChart 2A. Percent of expenditure shares by selected categories, 2019–22Selected expenditure categories2022202120202019Housing33.333.834.932.8Transportation16.816.416.017.0Food12.812.411.913.0Personal insurance and pensions12.011.811.811.4Healthcare8.08.18.48.2Entertainment4.75.34.74.9Cash contributions3.83.63.73.2Apparel and services2.72.62.33.0All other expenditures5.95.96.36.4Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Historically, the largest share of consumer spending is allocated to housing. (See chart 2A.) From 2019 to 2022, the share ranged from 32.8 percent in 2019 to 34.9 percent in 2020. In 2022, 33.3 percent of total expenditures, or just over 33 cents of each dollar spent, was attributed to housing-related expenses. Following housing, transportation, food, personal insurance and pensions, and healthcare round out the top five expenditure shares. (See chart 2B.) For the purposes of this report, the six expenditure categories to which consumers allocate on average the smallest shares of their total expenditures are combined into the all other expenditures category.11 Expenditures in this category include personal care products and services, alcoholic beverages, reading, education, tobacco products and smoking supplies, and miscellaneous expenditures.View Chart DataChart 2B. Percent distribution of expenditure shares, 2022Selected expenditure categories2022Housing33.3Transportation16.8Food12.8Personal insurance and pensions12.0Healthcare8.0Entertainment4.7Cash contributions3.8Apparel and services2.7All other expenditures5.9Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Trends in expenditure share allocation between 2021 and 2022 are mixed. Of the 14 major expenditure categories, 5 rose, 5 remained unchanged, and 4 declined from their 2021 levels. As shown in table B and chart 2A, consumers allocated slightly larger shares of total spending toward transportation, food, apparel and services, personal insurance and pensions, and cash contributions, all rising between one and four tenths of one percentage point. Transportation expenditure shares rose by four tenths of one percentage point, driven by an over one-percentage-point increase in gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil and a half-of-a-percentage-point markup in public and other transportation. Food expenditure shares also rose by four tenths of one percentage point, due to food away from home rising by half of a percentage point, while food at home declined by one tenth of one percentage point.Shares of entertainment, housing, healthcare, and miscellaneous expenditures all fell between one and six tenths of one percentage point. Entertainment shares returned to 2020 levels (4.7 percent), after accounting for 5.3 percent of total expenditures in 2021. Housing fell by half of a percentage point, due primarily to household furnishings and equipment declining by four tenths of one percentage point. Consumers spent the same amount (5.9 percent) on all other expenditures in 2021 and 2022, leaving the remaining 94.1 percent of spending, or 94.1 cents on the dollar, to the top eight expenditure categories.Table B. Percent distribution of total annual expenditures by major category for all consumer units, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2019-22Spending Category2019202020212022Average annual expenditures100.0100.0100.0100.0Food13.011.912.412.8Food at home7.48.07.97.8Food away from home5.63.94.55.0Alcoholic beverages.9.8.8.8Housing32.834.933.833.3Shelter19.320.519.819.9Utilities, fuels, and public services6.46.86.36.2Household operations2.52.42.42.5Housekeeping supplies1.21.41.21.1Household furnishings and equipment3.33.84.03.6Apparel and services3.02.32.62.7Transportation17.016.016.416.8Vehicle purchases (net outlay)7.07.47.26.2Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil3.32.63.24.3Other vehicle expenses5.55.75.35.3Public and other transportation1.2.4.71.2Healthcare8.28.48.18.0Entertainment4.94.75.34.7Personal care products and services1.21.11.21.2Reading.1.2.2.2Education2.32.11.81.8Tobacco products and smoking supplies.5.5.5.5Miscellaneous1.41.51.51.4Cash contributions3.23.73.63.8Personal insurance and pensions11.411.811.812.0Life and other personal insurance.8.8.7.7Pensions and Social Security10.511.011.111.3Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.******Income and expenditure dynamics**Almost by definition, income is a leading predictor of expenditures. Those with higher incomes are expected, at least on average, to spend more on most goods and services than those with lower incomes. Increasing prices simultaneously decreases the purchasing power of all consumers, leading one to expect diminished expenditures (or at least in quantities purchased) for many goods and services. As the labor market recovered and the average income of a consumer increased amid 40-year highs in inflation in 2022, it is important to analyze how various income groups adapted their spending habits to the changing economic landscape.In 2022, gains in nominal income of about 7 to 8 percent were observed across the board for CUs in all income quintiles.12 (See table C.) The lowest quintile made noticeable income gains of 7.8 percent from 2021 to 2022, compared with the 0.4-percent income losses the quintile faced from 2020 to 2021. The 7.8-percent gain occurred in conjunction with a reduction in personal tax rebates of over $700 due to the lack of stimulus payments.13 Gains in income in 2022 can be attributed to higher wage and salary incomes, as well as cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for Social Security payments of 5.9 percent.14Table C. Dollar change and percent change in average annual expenditures on major categories by income quintiles, 2021–22ItemLowest quintileSecond quintileThird quintileFourth quintileHighest quintileOver-the-year changeOver-the-year changeOver-the-year changeOver-the-year changeOver-the-year changeDollarPercentDollarPercentDollarPercentDollarPercentDollarPercentIncome before taxes1,0267.82,6747.74,4457.38,2038.217,6397.8Total1,7425.63,7408.56,04110.86,6738.912,4429.7Food2154.473012.61,18716.11,39714.81,74112.5At home1002.82957.377116.266111.33964.9Away from home1168.643524.341716.073620.81,34523.0Alcoholic beverages2411.6113.76315.6447.150.4Housing5224.11,2547.51,6038.01,2184.93,90310.1Apparel and services-39-4.1110.917911.649728.03069.3Transportation65515.31682.14634.51,73513.43,72219.4Healthcare2789.01894.41,14823.93355.3760.9Entertainment-161-11.5-90-4.439315.4-159-4.0-497-6.3Personal care products and services112.9468.318830.1717.816612.1Reading1220.411.71418.3-12-8.8-2-0.8Education14227.88018.712623.613613.0792.2Tobacco products and smoking supplies3911.64411.9-12-3.13910.33916.6Miscellaneous245.1487.6182.3232.030.2Cash contributions-77-8.21070[1]76.0[1]26816.8160.74517.6Personal insurance and pensions9718.01778.24028.01,33414.12,44811.1Footnotes:[1] Cash contributions spending for the second income quintile is suppressed on the CE tables due to having a relative standard error (RSE) greater than or equal to 25 percent. The value is not suppressed here for the purposes of this report.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Total expenditures rose for all five income groups, with increases ranging from 5.6 percent for the lowest income quintile to 10.8 percent for the third income quintile. (See chart 3.) Total expenditure increases for the second income quintile were fourth highest (8.5 percent), primarily attributable to increases in cash contributions (76.0 percent), housing (7.5 percent), and food (12.6 percent).15 The third quintile and highest quintile outpaced the 9.0-percent rise in total expenditures, rising by 10.8 and 9.7 percent, respectively. For the third quintile, increases in food (16.1 percent), housing (8.0 percent), and healthcare (23.9 percent) undoubtedly placed an upward bias on total expenditures. Similarly, higher spending on food, housing, and transportation led to the change for the highest quintile. These three categories alone accounted for 75.3 percent, or $9,366 of the $12,442 spent, for the highest quintile. CUs in the highest quintile also mirrored spending dynamics seen for all CUs in table A, where increases in food, transportation, and housing expenditures beyond both 2021 and prepandemic levels occurred amid the 40-year high of inflation in 2022.View Chart DataChart 3. Percent change in average annual expenditures by income quintile, 2021–22Change in average annual expenditures and income before taxesAll consumer unitsLowestSecondThirdFourthHighestAverage annual expenditures9.05.68.510.88.99.7Income before taxes7.57.87.77.38.27.8Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.**Analysis of spending on key categories: food, housing, utilities, vehicles, gas, entertainment, and travel**The following section analyzes trends in several key expenditures at a more granular level, while highlighting some of the demographic data that CE has available. Topics covered in this section include spending on food at and away from home by income quintile, rent and mortgage spending by metropolitan statistical area (MSA), utilities expenditures, spending on new and used automobiles, gasoline spending, entertainment expenditures, and travel expenditures.**Dining out or cooking at home: how are consumers spending food dollars?**Food is one of the basic needs of life, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the way that many consumers purchase this commodity. Restaurants shuttered due to lockdowns mandated by state and local governments in 2020, which constrained spending mostly to food at home, as opposed to food away from home. Food at home includes food purchased from grocery stores or similar venues, for which preparation is needed. Food away from home includes food from restaurants or similar venues, where the consumer pays for the service of food preparation. It may also include delivery to a consumer’s home or table or the implicit costs of nonessentials—such as convenience, ambiance, and so forth. Even after restaurants reopened, some consumers suppressed food away from home spending to minimize their exposure to COVID-19. In 2022, price increases and supply chain disruptions—some tied to, and some independent of, the pandemic—affected consumer purchases.View Chart DataChart 4A. Allocation of food dollars spent, 2019–22Type of food expenditure2019202020212022Food at home4643.314941.665258.985703.43Food away from home3525.872374.803030.303639.31Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Note that food away from home expenditures accounted for more than 43.2 percent of food expenditures in 2019, plunged to 32.5 percent in 2020, and recovered to just over 36.5 percent in 2021. (See chart 4B.) The pattern continued in 2022, with food away from home accounting for 39.0 percent of all food dollars spent.View Chart DataChart 4B. Shares of total expenditures to food at home vs. food away from home, 2019–22Type of food expenditure2019202020212022Food at home56.867.563.461.0Food away from home43.232.536.639.0Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Table D. Diary Survey percent reporting for food expenditures, 2019–22Type of food expenditure2019202020212022Food, total93.089.091.290.7Food at home85.381.182.781.9Food away from home74.460.264.865.9Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.According to results of the Diary Survey, percent reporting changed within the underlying food categories. (See table D.) Note that 93.0 percent of consumer units reported a weekly food expenditure of some kind in 2019. This fell to 89.0 percent in 2020, rose to 91.2 in 2021, and fell to 90.7 in 2022. Again, the components are revealing, and follow the same pattern; percent reporting fell in 2020 and recovered partially, in 2021 and 2022. This pattern is most evident for food away from home; percent reporting fell from 74.4 to 60.2 in 2020, then rose to 64.8 in 2021 and 65.9 in 2022.16 Patterns for food away from home in 2020 and 2021 can best be explained by the pandemic. Restaurants were shuttered in 2020, constraining consumers to cooking at home. Continuing fears of COVID-19 depressed demand for food away from home in 2021. In regard to food at home, consumers adjusted their consumption schedules and may have engaged in bulk grocery purchases or more infrequent shopping trips in 2020. In 2021, supply chain issues developed, setting the scene for grocery price increases and lingering into 2022. Supply chain and other issues impacting food at home, such as diminished grain exports from Ukraine due to war, were further exacerbated by high inflation.17**Examining the effects of inflation on food at home**In 2021 and 2022, prices for food at home rose at an accelerated rate. (See table E.) While food at home rose at a lower rate (3.5 percent) than all goods and services (4.7 percent) in 2021, the rate for food at home (11.4 percent) substantially surpassed an already high rate for all goods and services (8.0 percent) in 2022.Table E. Average over-the-year change in CPI for food and all items, 2019–22CPI Change2019202020212022Food, total1.93.43.99.9Food at home0.93.53.511.4Food away from home3.13.44.57.7All items1.81.24.78.0Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Intriguingly, percent reporting for food at home did not change much from 2020 to 2022. Percent reporting experienced a small decline from 85.3 to 81.1 in 2020, likely due in part to consumers buying in bulk and taking fewer trips to the store amid the pandemic. Percent reporting then rose from 81.1 to 82.7 in 2021, before falling to 81.9 in 2022. These small differences may not be solely attributable to consumers taking fewer trips to the store, but to increased prices as well. Consumers likely found new and creative ways to combat this inflation in 2021 and 2022. For example, they may have made more careful use of their leftover food. Others may have shifted their expenditures to traditionally lower-cost foods that are both shelf-stable and able to feed a number of family members, such as small amounts of rice and pasta.The figure for percent reporting rose in 2021 but fell again in 2022, which is consistent with this supposition. Nevertheless, it should not be considered conclusive or even strong evidence, as the differences are not tested for statistical significance.Combining data from the CPI and CE yields interesting results from 2019 to 2022, particularly when specific food categories are studied. The integrated results of the CE Diary and Interview surveys typically include “food purchased by the consumer unit on out-of-town trips,” while CPI does not specifically collect data while on travel. The CE collects data from various outlets across the country; a consumer from City A may visit such an outlet while in City B and face different prices during their trip. Therefore, to be consistent with the CPI, food at home expenditures in the upcoming analysis are reported from the Diary Survey, rather than using the usual integrated results.Expenditures for food at home rose from over $4,600 in 2019 to more than $5,700 in 2022, an increase of nearly 23 percent. (See table A.) Over the same period, the CPI for all goods and services rose by more than 15 percent, suggesting that consumers were buying more (or generally more expensive) groceries in 2022 than 2019.18 However, considering that prices for food at home rose by 19.3 percent from 2019 to 2022, consumers arguably had no choice but to shift to buying more expensive foods.When examining selected components of food at home, it is immediately apparent that some expenditures rose faster than others in 2021 and 2022. (See table F1.) Specifically, this is true for items selected, both for their consistency with the basic food groups (Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy) as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and because these are categories for which CPI-U values are available, allowing examination of their price changes.Intriguingly, some food at home categories exhibited their largest increases in 2020, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. (See table F2.) The largest expenditure changes came in eggs (10.3 percent) and in cereals and bakery products (9.8 percent). At the same time, prices for these goods increased modestly, by 4.3 percent for eggs and by 2.2 percent for cereals and bakery products. (See table F3.) All categories, except for milk, experienced larger percent increases in expenditures than in prices in 2020, showing that the quantity purchased for key food at home items increased as well. Again, this is consistent with shifting expenditures from food away from home to food at home.Table F1. Average annual food expenditures by selected food at home categories, 2018–22Spending category20182019202020212022Fresh vegetables$283$295$310$328$353Fresh fruits318322349378406Meats, poultry, and fish897922100610471129Cereals and bakery products569583640672712Milk, all types116112110120128Eggs6458646887Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTable F2. Percent change in average annual food expenditures by selected food at home categories, 2018–22Spending category2018–192019–202020–212021–22Fresh vegetables4.25.15.87.5Fresh fruits1.38.48.37.4Meats, poultry, and fish2.89.14.17.8Cereals and bakery products2.59.85.05.9Milk, all types-3.4-1.89.16.7Eggs-9.410.36.327.7Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Table F3. Percent change in CPI by selected food at home categories, 2018–22CPI category2018–192019–202020–212021–22Fresh vegetables3.82.61.17.0Fresh fruits-1.4-0.85.57.9Meats, poultry, and fish1.06.36.89.6Cereals and bakery products1.42.22.313.0Milk2.75.53.414.0Eggs-10.04.34.532.2Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.As the pandemic continued, expenditures in these food at home categories continued to increase, likely due to inflation reaching historic levels in 2022. Of note is the increase in expenditures for eggs, rising by 27.7 percent in 2022. At the same time, egg prices rose by 32.2 percent. Because egg prices rose faster than egg expenditures, it is possible that consumers purchased fewer eggs in 2022, while paying more overall for eggs they did purchase during the year.**Comparing spending on food at and away from home by income quintile**Although examining total food expenditures by quintile may have its merits, this is a case where the total is less than the sum of its parts. In other words, examining the two components— food at home and food away from home—separately is far more interesting.Expenditures on food at home increased each year in every quintile except the third from 2019 to 2022. For the third income quintile, expenditures decreased from 2019 to 2022. Given the closure of restaurants and other venues where one might purchase food away from home, it makes sense that consumers in most quintiles spent more at grocery stores and other venues included in the food at home category. However, once venues away from home started to reopen, why did food at home expenditures increase, rather than decrease or stay the same? The likely reason is inflation. Prices for food at home rose substantially in 2021 (3.5 percent) and even more so in 2022 (11.4 percent), meaning that even purchasing the same quantity of groceries as in 2020 would result in higher expenditures. Additionally, even if the percentage increase in prices was higher than the percentage decrease in groceries purchased (as more consumers returned to purchasing food away from home), expenditures would still be higher in 2021 and 2022 than in 2020.Examining food away from home more closely, expenditures were lower in 2022 for the lowest income quintile (-8.9 percent) and third quintile (-1.8 percent) than in 2019, but higher in the fourth quintile (10.1 percent), highest quintile (4.8 percent), and second quintile (1.9 percent). (See table G.) More generally, expenditures were substantially lower in 2022 than 2019 for the lowest income quintile, about the same for the second and third quintiles, and noticeably higher for the fourth and highest income quintiles. This allows one to understand how inflation may impact whether consumers choose to purchase food at home or food away from home. Members of the lowest quintile have the most budget constraints. Regardless of inflation, they must purchase food and will undoubtedly shop at the lowest cost alternative (i.e., grocery stores and similar places) for the food they need. If basic goods have substantially risen in price, these consumers have less money to spend at restaurants. As a result, they may purchase even more food from grocery stores than they would have in the absence of inflation—or they may apply the money they would have paid to restaurants to other basic goods and services that have also experienced price increases, such as rent, utilities, and apparel and services.Table G. Percent change in annual average food expenditures by income quintile, 2019–22Spending categoryLowestSecondThirdFourthHighestFood, total15.711.614.019.012.3Food at home29.917.424.925.619.5Food away from home-8.91.9-1.810.14.8Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.******What did consumers spend on housing in 2022?**Like food, housing is largely a dichotomous topic. People must decide whether they want to rent or own their dwelling. Their choice is, among many other factors, influenced by prevailing interest rates for a mortgage and the overall level of housing prices. The onset of the pandemic had a strong impact on economic activity and behavior, heavily influencing the housing market and, by extension, a CU’s decision to rent or buy.**Comparing renting and homeownership rates in 2022**After reaching a decade high of 66 percent at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) and declining by 1 percent in 2021, homeownership rates remained stable at 65 percent in 2022. (See chart 5.) The corresponding rental rate remained at 35 percent, maintaining its average for the time series from 2004 to 2022. Rising mortgage rates leading to higher mortgage payments, as well as sluggish growth in new housing supply, could be responsible for the continual crowding out of first time homebuyers. In turn, CUs in the lowest age brackets were forced to remain in the rental market. Shelter prices rose by 5.9 percent on an annual basis, up from the 2.7 percent average in 2021, and further compounding these issues.View Chart DataChart 5. Homeownership rate, Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE), 2004–22YearOwnership200468200567200667200767200866200966201066201165201264201364201463201562201662201763201863201964202066202165202265Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.**Homeownership and rent spending by region**The year 2022 could be characterized by lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including remote work postures, population shifts away from coasts, sustained low housing inventory, and high interest rates.19 These factors have caused housing demands to change noticeably across the country, while rising housing prices and mortgage payments have severely limited consumer budgets.In general, it was more costly to rent than own in 2022. Examining a group of selected MSAs, average CU rental expenditures were much higher than average mortgage payments for all MSAs except for San Francisco.20 (See chart 6A.) The difference between rental expenditures ($18,455 or $1,538 per month) and mortgage payments ($9,027 or $752 per month) was largest in the Miami MSA. In this case, being a renter was more than twice as costly as being a homeowner.View Chart DataChart 6A. Mortgage and rent payments by selected MSAs, 2022Type of paymentBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PAChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WIMiami-Ft Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FLDallas-Ft Worth-Arlington, TXPhoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZSan Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CARent18346.3417904.4012027.4518455.1915130.4717363.9223493.11Mortage interest plus reduction in principal14289.7112428.679770.749026.7710578.4112229.4924664.70Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Living in the San Francisco MSA was the most costly for both renters and homeowners—in 2022, the average renter paid $23,493 (or $1,958 per month), while homeowners paid $24,665 (or $2,055 per month). The Chicago MSA had the lowest rental expenditures ($12,027 or $1,002 per month), while the Miami MSA had the lowest mortgage payments ($9,027 or $752 per month).There was a mixture of rising and falling rental rates across the selected MSAs in 2022. (See chart 6B.) Rental expenditures in the Chicago and San Francisco MSAs fell by 12.9 and 11.5 percent from their 2021 levels, respectively. Population losses in these two MSAs could be responsible for these declines.21 However, expenditures in the other MSAs grew. The Phoenix and Miami MSAs saw the largest increases in rental expenditures, by 24.7 percent and 14.4 percent, respectively.View Chart DataChart 6B. Percent change in annual rent and mortgage expenditures by selected MSA, 2021–22Type of paymentBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PAChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WIMiami-Ft Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FLDallas-Ft Worth-Arlington, TXPhoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZSan Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CAMortgage27.816.418.352.047.255.439.7Rent1.84.0-12.914.44.524.7-11.5Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Although rental expenditures were nominally higher than mortgage payments, mortgage payments increased by much more than rental expenditures did in 2022. The Dallas MSA saw the greatest difference between mortgage payment (47.2 percent) and rental expenditure (4.5 percent) increases. The Dallas MSA’s recent population growth of 2.2 percent may have contributed to this difference.22**Comparing utilities expenditures of urban and rural consumers**Aside from the actual purchase of a house and keeping up with monthly mortgage payments, one of the most important bills consumers spend money on is utilities. Whether it be natural gas, electricity, or home heating and fuel oils—the lights must be kept on; key appliances must function; and when the seasons dictate, the air conditioner or heating system must be run. Recent spikes in utility prices make meeting these basic needs more difficult. Household energy prices rose by over 17 percent and electricity prices rose by over 13 percent in 2022. This inflation could prompt demographic groups who spend a greater share on utilities to alter their budget allocation for other expenditures. So, how do utilities spending patterns differ between urban and rural CUs? What characteristics or lifestyle choices can influence heterogeneity in utilities demand among urban and rural CUs?Charts 7A and 7B show average annual expenditures for three selected utilities that are essential to urban and rural CUs in powering homes, appliances, and heating and cooling systems: natural gas, electricity, and fuel oil and other fuel oils.23 Natural gas spending fluctuated within a $30 range until 2021, when spending increased rapidly by over $90 (20 percent) to $552 for urban CUs. Rural CU expenditures also grew at a pronounced rate in 2022 after increasing modestly from 2019 to 2021, but were lower than urban CU expenditure levels, at $317. The average price of natural gas per million British thermal units (BTU) rose by 64.2 percent in 2022, undoubtedly influencing the rise in spending for both urban and rural CUs.24View Chart DataChart 7A. Select utilities expenditures for urban consumer units, 2019–22YearNatural gasElectrictyFuel oil and other fuel oils2019432.581451.9297.192020428.321499.9085.352021460.731535.59103.962022551.911669.86140.39Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.This acute price growth may have led rural consumers to substitute fuel oils for natural gas to heat their homes. Examining the selected expenditures of natural gas, electricity, and fuel oils as a share of their summed values, the share of rural fuel oil spending grew by 1.3 percent in 2022, compared with 0.8 percent for natural gas. In general, fuel oils were in more abundant supply outside of urban centers and MSAs. This was especially true in the Northeast, where prior regulatory policy and price controls targeting natural gas shaped consumer demand for fuel oils.25 The relative abundance in fuel oils meant a more cost-effective method to heat homes in rural areas, which are an average 30 percent larger than urban homes.26 A larger housing footprint for rural consumers also influenced their higher electricity consumption and spending ($1,856 per year) compared with their urban counterparts ($1,670 per year) as shown in charts 7A and 7B. Electricity expenditures have risen every year from 2019 to 2022 for both urban and rural consumers. On the other hand, expenditure shares for electricity peaked in 2020 as individuals spent more time at home due to stay-at-home orders, maximum telework postures, and other COVID-19 pandemic restrictions imposed by state and local governments. Between April 2020 and July 2020 alone, residential electricity usage was up by 10 percent, and Americans spent an excess of $6.0 billion on at-home power consumption.27View Chart DataChart 7B. Select utilities expenditures for rural consumer units, 2019-22YearFuel oil and other fuel oilsElectrictyNatural gas2019294.781698.42227.222020334.501701.55253.502021352.851750.97272.192022418.341856.23316.89Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.**Spending on new and used vehicles in 2022**The purchase of a car is one of the most consequential decisions a CU can make, aside from purchasing a new home or renting an apartment. Car and truck prices continued to rise sharply in 2022, continuing a trend from 2021, due to ongoing supply chain issues and microchip shortages.28 While growth in used car prices more than halved from 26.6 percent in 2021 to 12.7 percent in 2022, growth in new car prices nearly doubled from 5.9 to 10.4 percent. The growth in new car prices made purchasing a new vehicle the most expensive in recent history, according to Kelly Blue Book (KBB).29 The microchip shortage discussed in “Consumer Expenditures in 2021” persisted in 2022, keeping new car inventory and sales depressed. As a result, CUs would presumably favor the used car market over the new car market. Higher borrowing costs would also place upward pressure on monthly payments for both new and used vehicles. CUs could choose to delay car purchases, thus weakening demand and preventing prices from rising higher. So, how did CUs adjust their spending habits for new and used cars and trucks amid climbing prices, limited inventories, and a shifting market landscape?View Chart DataChart 8A. Prices paid by consumer units for new cars and trucks, 2019–22YearNew cars and trucksNew carsNew trucks201932021.9028498.5033089.76202035527.7230003.5037983.67202141239.7432801.9743669.90202240653.7039878.2640152.20Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.In 2022, persisting supply constraints and increasing interest rates led to considerable increases in auto loan rates.30  Chart 8A shows mean quarterly expenditures for CUs who purchased at least one new car or truck from 2019 to 2022.31 While new car and truck expenditures declined by $586 in 2022, percent reporting for new cars and trucks was essentially unchanged. Some CUs chose to forgo new car and truck purchases for another year, while CUs with more disposable income absorbed the higher prices and purchased new cars and trucks. Percent reporting declined for new trucks in 2022, while mean quarterly expenditures for new trucks declined slightly from $43,670 to $40,152—but remained over $7,000 above 2019 levels. However, percent reporting rose for new cars in 2022, resulting in a slightly larger sample of new car purchasers and an increase in mean quarterly expenditures for new cars of $7,076. With gasoline prices up by another 31.7 percent in 2022, CUs who purchased a new vehicle may have substituted the more fuel-efficient choice of cars relative to trucks.32 The opposing forces of supply and demand have likely led to an imbalance in the new vehicle market. The supply of domestic auto inventory fell to its lowest level in history in 2022.33 With recent declines in supply likely due to supply chain constraints, as well as declining demand likely due to high borrowing costs, mean expenditures for CUs who purchased new cars or trucks remained high over the year.View Chart DataChart 8B. Prices paid by consumer units for used cars and trucks, 2019–22YearUsed cars and trucksUsed carsUsed trucks201913283.8411461.0014486.51202015010.1112118.5316266.31202116006.9511270.9019012.23202217117.3514364.1918969.81Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Chart 8B shows mean quarterly expenditures for CUs who purchased at least one used car or truck from 2019 to 2022. Low inventory in the new car and truck market kept demand for used vehicles elevated in 2022, causing expenditures to climb beyond 2021 levels. Mean quarterly expenditures for CUs who purchased a used car or truck in 2022 were $17,117—$1,110 higher than 2021 and $3,834 higher than 2019. Mean quarterly expenditures for CUs who purchased a used car also increased in 2022, while expenditures for CUs who purchased a used truck declined slightly. With elevated borrowing costs in 2022, the expectation is that consumer demand would fall. As a result, CUs would likely delay the purchase of their next automobile to allow the market to return to equilibrium, unless consumer demand for vehicles is inelastic enough to absorb the price shock. This effect is reflected in used car and truck percent reporting data, which fell by almost three quarters of one percentage point in 2022 and accounted for higher used car and truck demand. The percent reporting for used cars and used trucks also each separately declined over the year as sedan, pickup truck, and SUV prices are 41-42 percent higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.34**High gasoline prices influence spending in 2022**At the onset of the year, 2022 was poised to be a majority return to prepandemic driving conditions. Fears tied to the COVID-19 pandemic were waning, the domestic labor force was gradually reducing their telework postures and returning to in-person office work, and families were once again ready to hit the open road.35 Consumers had endured a 39.7-percent increase in gasoline prices in 2021, as prices climbed from the half-decade low of $2.24 per gallon in 2020 to $3.13 in 2021. (See chart 9A.) However, the average price of a gallon of gasoline continued to increase to $4.19 in 2022, 49 cents higher than the previous maximum in the time series of $3.70 in 2012. With higher gasoline prices tied to higher driving demand and geopolitical tensions, gasoline spending and prices rose 45.4 and 31.7 percent in 2022, respectively, as measured by CE and the CPI.36 (See chart 9B.)View Chart DataChart 9A. Gasoline price and quantity purchase, 2008–22YearGasoline price per gallonQuantity purchased per week20083.3214.4120092.4014.5720102.8413.2120113.5813.0420123.7013.1220133.5812.8520143.4212.7020152.5114.5720162.2015.0720172.4713.8720182.7913.2420192.7013.5420202.2412.2620213.1311.3320224.1912.31Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Just like any other good or service, two factors determine total expenditures for gasoline: the price of the good and the quantity purchased. All else equal, an increase in the price of gasoline per gallon, such as the $1.06 rise in 2022, will result in higher gasoline expenditures. To understand this, consider the equation G=P × Q, where G is total gasoline expenditures, P is the price per gallon, and Q is the quantity of gallons purchased. Analyzing chart 9B alone, one cannot definitively state whether the rise in gasoline expenditures was caused by a change in price, in quantity purchased, or a mixture of the two. Further, note that expenditures could rise due to an increase in price, even if quantity purchased declines in response to that increase, if prices rise by a larger percentage than quantities purchased decline.One method for delineating whether changes in expenditures were influenced by price or quantity is by analyzing the price elasticity of demand for a good. Price elasticity of demand is a measure of how much consumers change the amount of a good they buy when the price of that good changes. Price elasticity of demand can be influenced by factors such as the percentage of total expenditures for which a good (gasoline in this case) accounts, how many close substitutes exist for the good, and whether the prices of the substitutes for the good of interest are higher or lower than the new price of the good of interest. For instance, if the price elasticity of demand for gasoline was more elastic and gasoline prices increased, if people see that it is cheaper for them to take alternative modes of transportation (like public transportation or use ride-sharing apps), they may substitute gasoline for one of those modes of transportation instead. Price elasticity of demand in this case is the responsiveness, in terms of how much less gasoline people buy when gasoline prices rise.Regardless of reason, both prices and quantities can drive spending behavior. The amount of total expenditures directly depends on the magnitude of each respective change. Price can rise, quantity consumed can fall, and expenditures can still rise if the percent price increase is larger than the percent quantity decrease. This also works in the reverse fashion; prices can fall, and expenditures can rise, when the percent increase in quantity purchased is larger than the percent decrease in prices. However, in 2022, it was evident that both the price of gasoline and the quantity purchased were moving concurrently, although at varying magnitudes. Prices increased by over $1.00 per gallon, while quantity purchased increased slightly by about 1 gallon per week (indicating relative inelasticity of gasoline with respect to price).View Chart DataChart 9B. Percent change in gasoline spending and CPI-gasoline, 2008–22YearGasoline (CE)CPI-U gasoline200814.616.62009-26.8-27.420107.118.4201124.626.420123.93.22013-5.0-2.92014-5.5-3.92015-15.9-27.12016-9.2-11.520173.112.920188.113.62019-1.2-3.62020-24.8-16.3202129.136.0202245.431.7Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.To analyze this concept graphically, chart 9B shows the percent change in gasoline spending and the CPI-U for gasoline from 2008 to 2022. Chart 9A shows the average annual gasoline prices and weekly gallons of gasoline purchased, also from 2008 to 2022. Weekly quantity of gallons of gasoline are computed by first taking CE estimates for total gasoline expenditures, dividing that value by average price data for gasoline from the CPI, and then dividing by 52 to get a weekly estimate. Presenting quantity in a weekly figure provides a more realistic model of the frequency in which consumers fill their tanks: on a weekly and not annual basis. In addition, note that BLS produces price indexes and average price estimates strictly for urban consumers, so charts 9A and 9B strictly capture urban expenditure data. Furthermore, CPI average price estimates strictly capture gasoline and not motor oil or other fuel prices. CE table estimates do capture motor oil and other fuels. Therefore, CE gasoline data are extracted from the detailed level type of area tables (unpublished, but available on request) described in the technical notes section of the report (See section titled, “Detailed tables, 1984–22.”)To obtain the most detailed explanation of gasoline spending patterns from 2008 (the first full year of the recession denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER] as having occurred from December 2007 through June 2009) to 2022 (where the U.S. recorded its highest annual change in inflation in 40 years), charts 9A and 9B can be analyzed in conjunction.37 The underlying variables of chart 9A determines the dynamics of chart 9B. As previously stated, gasoline prices and expenditures both noticeably rose, by a respective 31.7 and 45.4 percent. (See chart 9B.) This increase in prices was bolstered by a concurrent increase in the quantity of gallons purchased by 0.98 gallons per week in 2022. The quantity of gallons purchased per week returned to near identical levels with 2020, although 2020 had been especially influenced by imposed lockdown orders that caused lower driving demand. Telework rates in 2022 also declined to 34 percent, as more individuals began commuting to their workplaces once again.38A key observation drawn from chart 9B is that the inflation rate for gasoline prices remained tremendously high, but still decelerated from 2021 to 2022. This deceleration can be attributed to two factors. First, an over-the-year price increase higher than the extreme 36-percent increase seen in 2021 would have been necessary in 2022 for there to be an acceleration in trend. Since gasoline prices fell from a peak of $5.15 per gallon in June 2022 to $3.50 per gallon in December 2022, the potential over-the-year increase for 2022 was weakened. Second, growth in expenditures outpaced growth in prices for the first time since 2012, when expenditures rose by 3.9 percent and prices rose by 3.3 percent.Examining other years, gasoline expenditures fell by considerably less than gasoline prices in 2015. This decline in expenditures was primarily driven by changes in price rather than changes in quantity. In 2015, the United States was in the middle of a decade-long economic expansion, and gasoline prices fell by 27.2 percent. Consumers purchased over two additional gallons per week in 2015 compared with 2022, but spent less overall. In 2017, growth in expenditures severely lagged prices and the quantity of weekly gallons purchased fell, with expenditures rising by 3.1 percent and prices rising by 13.1 percent. Thus, in both 2015 and 2017, consumers adjusted their gasoline spending based mainly on changes in price rather than changes in quantity.**Abrupt changes to entertainment expenditures in 2022**The year 2022 marked an abrupt change in entertainment spending patterns. Entertainment expenditures declined by 3.1 percent, a sharp contrast to the 22.7-percent gain in 2021. (See table A.) Chart 10A shows that audio and visual equipment and services was the entertainment category with the highest average expenditures in 2022, at over $1,000 for the average CU. Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment was the second highest entertainment category, at slightly over $900 spent annually for the average CU.View Chart DataChart 10A. Selected entertainment expenditures, average consumer unit, U.S. dollars, 2022Selected2022Photographic equipment, supplies and services50.28Other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services697.57Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment907.91Audio and visual equipment and services1020.22Fees and admissions832.51Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Entertainment was the only major CE expenditure category that fell in 2022, slightly offsetting a 2021 surge in expenditures that resulted from substantially pent-up demand to attend sporting events, concerts, and other recreational activities that were constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. (See chart 1.) The 2022 weakness in entertainment expenditures was driven by declines in the subcategories of other entertainment, supplies, equipment, and services (-24.5 percent); and pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment (-6.3 percent). Chart 10B shows that the photographic equipment, supplies, and services subcategory grew by a considerable 29.5 percent; however, the category is the smallest in terms of spending, so it had minimal impact on total entertainment expenditures. As CUs continued attending more concerts, shows, and movies in 2022, fees and admissions expenditures increased by an additional 27.4 percent following the sharp 54.0-percent increase in 2021 from the sharp decline in 2020. Although CUs spent the most on audio and visual equipment and services in 2022, expenditures in the category were virtually unchanged from 2021 levels.View Chart DataChart 10B. Percent change in selected entertainment expenditures, average consumer unit, 2020–22Selected entertainment categories2020–212021–22Photographic equipment, supplies and services40.329.5Other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services60.6-24.5Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment12.8-6.3Audio and visual equipment and services-2.70.0Fees and admissions54.027.4Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people acquired pets because they had more time at home and more free time due to stay-at-home orders and increased telework postures. As a result, the pet-related subcategories under the pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment expenditure category increased over 2020 and 2021. (See table H.) However, the pandemic trend of pet acquisition may be slowing down or declining, as spending for some of these subcategories declined in 2022. For example, expenditures for veterinary services increased in 2021 (10.3 percent), but decreased in 2022 (-26.3 percent). Pet purchase, supplies, and medicine expenditures also increased sharply by 54.3 percent in 2021 but declined by 8.2 percent in 2022. In contrast, pet services (35.3 percent) and pet food (11.9 percent) both increased in 2022. Since pet services includes expenditures for boarding pets for travel, that increase was consistent with increases in travel expenditures.Table H. Percent change in pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment expenditures, 2019–22Type of pet expenditure2019–202020–212021–22Pet food18.67-7.9511.88Pet purchase, supplies, medicine-9.1554.26-8.17Pet services-19.4629.7035.34Vet services-4.3810.27-26.27Toys, games, arts and crafts, and tricycles18.4917.44-13.49Playground equipment177.53-1.89-48.14Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Within pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment, the largest expenditures came in playground equipment in 2022. During the pandemic lockdowns, consumers made substantial purchases in backyard playsets, swings, and other outdoor playground equipment to keep their children entertained while staying at home. As a result, playground equipment expenditures skyrocketed by a record 177.5 percent in 2020. In contrast, playground equipment expenditures declined by 48.1 percent in 2022. Demand has likely fallen due to a large number of consumers purchasing playground equipment in 2020 and 2021, thus leading to a smaller pool of consumers wanting to make new purchases in 2022.Expenditures soared in other entertainment, supplies, equipment, and services in 2020 and 2021, including in docking fees, vehicle rentals, athletic gear, and bicycles.39 (See table I.) During these years, many people felt comfortable engaging in outdoor activities because they were able to easily maintain social distance from other participants while doing so. In 2022, expenditure subcategories in other entertainment, supplies, equipment, and services declined as pandemic restrictions loosened and people felt more comfortable participating in indoor activities once again. Interestingly, winter sports equipment expenditures increased by 61.2 percent in 2022, after changing little over 2020 and 2021.Table I. Percent change in other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services expenditures, 2019–22Type of entertainment expenditure2019–202020–212021–22Rental of recreational vehicles-24.55125.74-9.43Boat and trailer rental out-of-town trips11.3187.43-28.96Rental of other vehicles on out-of-town trips-32.96120.6210.84Docking and landing fees112.9014.191.12Sports, recreation, and exercise equipment26.7147.46-22.80Athletic gear, game tables, and exercise equipment32.03110.47-28.16Bicycles70.6137.907.98Camping equipment-37.5916.40-4.92Hunting and fishing equipment41.9810.12-47.88Winter sports equipment-10.3712.0461.16Water sports equipment33.06-2.89-26.76Other sports equipment17.358.07-21.49Rental and repair of miscellaneous sports equipment1.8310.36-27.76Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.******Travel expenditures see large increases in 2022 after 2 years of lower spending**With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer expenditures allocated to out-of-town trips declined by 56 percent in 2020, falling from $2,100 to $926. (See table J.) Despite a rise of 95 percent in 2021 to $1,803, they were still 14 percent lower in 2021 than in 2019. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, four of the five major components of spending on out-of-town trips (food, alcohol, lodging, and entertainment) declined between 49 and 54 percent. However, the transportation component was the hardest hit, falling 65 percent in 2020. Similarly, transportation on out-of-town trips recovered least in 2021, with expenditures ($597) 30 percent lower in that year than in 2019. Expenditures for the remaining subcategories remained 2 to 7 percent lower in 2021 than in 2019. The exception was entertainment on trips, for which expenditures were 2.4 percent higher in 2021 than in 2019.By 2022, however, all major travel expenditure categories surpassed 2019 levels. In percentage terms, total travel expenditures were 27 percent higher in 2022 than 2019. Among the components, transportation on trips grew the least from 2019 to 2022 (20 percent), while lodging on trips grew the most (35 percent).Table J. Allocation of out-of-town trip expenditures, 2019–22Item2019202020212022Travel, total, component shares$2,100$926$1,803$2,671Food on trips423208394540Alcohol on trips70356693Lodging on trips619318604837Transportation on trips8493005971022Entertainment on trips13964142180Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Regardless, the allocation of dollars spent within the travel category varied little from 2019 to 2022. The two exceptions were the subcategories of lodging and transportation. (See chart 11A.) In 2019, lodging accounted for about $3 out of $10 spent on travel, while transportation accounted for about $4 out of $10 spent on travel. In 2020, the share for lodging rose, while the share for transportation fell, with both categories accounting for about $1 in $3 spent on travel. In 2021, this allocation was nearly unchanged. In 2022, both lodging and transportation shares increased. The lodging share grew slightly above its prepandemic level and accounted for about $3 in $10 spent on travel, while the transportation share grew closer to its prepandemic level and accounted for slightly less than $4 in $10 spent on travel.View Chart DataChart 11A. Allocation of out-of-town trip expenditures, 2019–22Item2019202020212022Food on trips20.122.421.820.2Alcohol on trips3.33.83.73.5Lodging on trips29.534.433.531.3Transportation on trips40.432.433.138.2Entertainment on trips6.67.07.96.7Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.In general, travel expenditures consist of many subcategories for which percent reporting is individually available upon request. However, for the aggregate categories, no such value is available. Nevertheless, the subcategories of nearly all travel expenditures follow the same pattern: percent reporting plunged in 2020, started to recover in 2021, and nearly returned to 2019 levels in 2022. Chart 11B shows this pattern in percent reporting for the airline fares subcategory, which accounted for 59 percent of transportation on trip expenditures and 23 percent of total travel expenditures in 2022.View Chart DataChart 11B. Percent reporting for airline fares, 2019–22Item2019202020212022Percent reporting13.255.389.9413.01Intriguingly, the increase in travel expenditures from 2019 to 2022 is not merely due to price increases as tracked by the CPI. Adjusting expenditures in 2019 to real 2022 dollars (the amount of purchasing power the consumer would have to forego in 2022 to make the same purchase in 2019) shows that travel expenditures were still higher in 2022 than in 2019. That is, the $2,100 nominal dollars spent on travel in 2019 convert to $2,403 real dollars in 2022, with 2022 prices being approximately 14.5 percent higher. Thus, in real 2022 dollars, expenditures for travel ($2,671) were 11 percent higher than in 2019 ($2,403), ranging from a 5-percent increase for transportation to an 18-percent increase for lodging. Note that this does not necessarily mean consumers were buying more lodging or transportation in 2022 than in 2019—prices for these commodities may have simply risen faster than other prices. Percent reporting was similar for most travel components in 2019 and 2022, which is also consistent with the hypothesis that prices for travel expenditures rose faster than those for other expenditures.Notes
			
 
 
 1 The 9.1-percent increase reflects the over-the-year percent change in the not seasonally adjusted CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, for base period 1982-84=100. For detailed information on the recent peak growth of inflation, please see the June 2022 Consumer Price Index news release: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_07132022.pdf. To access CPI data, see Consumer Price Index (CPI) Databases (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), https://www.bls.gov/cpi/data.htm.
 2 Unlike real dollar expenditures, nominal dollar expenditures are not adjusted for price change over time but reflect prices at the time of purchase. The terms “nominal” and “real” are identical to the terms “current” and “constant,” which are also used to describe expenditures, incomes, or other items denominated in dollar terms.
 3 A consumer unit consists of either: (1) all members of a particular household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; (2) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is financially independent; or (3) two or more persons living together who use their income to make joint expenditure decisions.
  The reference person is the first member mentioned by the respondent when asked to "Start with the name of the person or one of the persons who owns or rents the home." It is with respect to this person that the relationship of the other consumer unit members is determined.
 4 See Connor D. Wolf, “Driver Shortage Decreases Slightly to 78,000, ATA Says,” *Transport Topics*, October 25, 2022, https://www.ttnews.com/articles/driver-shortage-decreases-slightly-78000-ata-says and “Six key trends impacting global supply chains in 2022,” KPMG International, https://kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2021/12/six-key-trends-impacting-global-supply-chains-in-2022.html#.
 5 See “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes First Oral Antiviral for Treatment of COVID-19,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, December 22, 2021, https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-first-oral-antiviral-treatment-covid-19.
 6 For additional information on income dynamics from 2018 to 2021, please see “Consumer Expenditures in 2021,” *BLS Reports* (January 2023), https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/consumer-expenditures/2021/home.htm.
 7 For further insight on refining capacity and key terms, please see "U.S. refinery capacity decreased during 2021 for second consecutive year," U.S. Energy Information Administration, June 29, 2022, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=52939 and “Definitions, Sources, and Explanatory Notes,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/TblDefs/pet_pnp_unc_tbldef2.asp.
 8 See “30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States,” FRED Economic Data (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, updated October 19, 2023), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US.
 9 See “Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States,” FRED Economic Data (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, updated October 19, 2023), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS.
 10 For additional information on the tenuous situation with elective surgeries through summer 2022, please see Tracy Hampton, “Surgeries fail to return to pre-pandemic levels,” *The Harvard Gazette*, August 23, 2022, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/08/surgical-procedures-havent-recovered-from-covid/.
 11 The concept of relative shares depicts each expenditure as an allotment of cents to the next dollar of total expenditures. For example, if the relative share for transportation expenditures is 16.8 percent, then 16.8 cents of the next dollar of total expenditures are given to consumption and spending on transportation.
 12 Income quintiles are constructed by sorting consumer units in the sample from lowest to highest income before taxes. The population weight (i.e., the number of consumer units within the population that each sampled unit represents) associated with each consumer is summed with those of the consumer units preceding it in the sorted set, resulting in a cumulative frequency count. The first quintile includes all consumer units for which the cumulative frequency count is less than or equal to 20 percent of the number of consumer units in the population. The second quintile includes all those consumer units for which the cumulative frequency count is greater than 20 percent, but less than or equal to 40 percent of the population, and so forth. Because there were approximately 134 million consumer units in the population in 2022, each quintile includes over 26 million consumer units. In 2022, the lower income bounds for each quintile were: $25,807 for the second quintile; $50,092 for the third quintile; $83,696 for the fourth quintile; and $140,363 for the highest quintile.
 13 Additional information showing the lack of stimulus payments in 2022 can be found here: https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables/calendar-year/mean/cu-all-detail-2022.pdf
 14 Additional information on the breakdown of income dynamics can be found in CE’s detailed level tables (available upon request). For information on the Social Security benefits increase in 2022, please see Darlynda Bogle, “Social Security Benefits Increase in 2022,” Social Security Administration, October 13, 2021, https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-benefits-increase-in-2022/.
 15 Cash contributions spending for the second income quintile is suppressed on CE tables due to having a relative standard error (RSE) greater than or equal to 25 percent. This value is not suppressed for production purposes. For additional information on suppression criteria, please see: https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm#section5
 16 The percent reporting data are taken from the Diary Survey. While most items included in either food at home or food away from home are taken from the Diary Survey, there is one item included in food at home that is derived from the Interview Survey: Food prepared by consumer units on out-of-town trips. However, pandemic or not, these expenditures are both small in value (ranging from $50 to $69 annually in this period) and percent reporting (ranging from 8 to 12 percent quarterly in this period). The percent reporting data shown above represent what happened “in one’s own neighborhood,” rather than out of town.
 17 For additional information on how grain exports were affected by the war in Ukraine, please see Christian Bogmans, Andrea Pescatori, and Ervin Prifti, “Global Food Prices to Remain Elevated Amid War, Costly Energy, La Niña,” *IMF Blog*, International Monetary Fund, December 9, 2022, https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/12/09/global-food-prices-to-remain-elevated-amid-war-costly-energy-la-nina.
 18 To be clear, “more expensive” is meant in a relative sense here. If food prices rose (and they did) from 2019 to 2022, then, by definition, food was more expensive in 2022 than in 2019. But consider two specific food items: fresh salmon and rice. Regardless of year (at least, in this period), a consumer would expect to pay a lot more for one pound of fresh salmon than for one pound of rice. So, the idea in the text is that if grocery expenditures rose faster in this period than prices generally, it could be that consumers are buying more salmon and less rice.
 19 For information on the percent of employed persons who did some or all of their work at home in 2021 and 2022, please see the 2021 and 2022 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) news releases: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/atus_06232022.htm and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/atus_06222023.htm. For a map showing percent change in population by state from July 2021 to July 2022, please see “Percent Change in State Population: July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2022,” U.S. Census Bureau, December 22, 2022, https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2022/comm/percent-change-state-population.html. For time series data on housing inventory, please see “Housing Inventory: Active Listing Count in the United States,” FRED Economic Data (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, updated October 24, 2023), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ACTLISCOUUS.
 20 In CE, reduction in mortgage principal is considered a negative liability, not a reduction in expenditures. For this report, mortgage interest and reductions in mortgage principal were added together to calculate mortgage estimates values.
 21 See “Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals: 2020-2022,” U.S. Census Bureau, June 13, 2023, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html.
 22 See ibid.
 23 Expenditures data for natural gas, electricity, and fuel oil and other fuel oils are extracted from the utilities, fuels, and public services subsection of housing spending, which can be found in CE’s detailed level tables (available upon request).
 24 See “Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 25, 2023, https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm.
 25 For additional information on the Northeast’s history with utilizing home heating and fuel oils, please see Lucas Davis, “The Geography of Heating Oil and Propane,” *Energy Institute Blog*, Energy Institute at Haas, November 1, 2021, https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2021/11/01/the-geography-of-heating-oil-and-propane/.
 26 The following source corroborates the statement that rural homes, on average, are 30 percent larger than their urban counterparts: https://aese.psu.edu/nardep/publications/policy-briefs/rural-energy-use-and-the-challenges-for-energy-conservation-and-efficiency#:~:text=Rural%20households%20are%20about%2030,square%20foot%20than%20urban%20households.
 27 See Steve Cicala, “Powering Work from Home,” National Bureau of Economic Research, October 2020, https://www.nber.org/papers/w27937.
 28 For information on recent supply chain issues and the persistence of the global microchip shortage in the 2022 car market, please see “Inflation and the auto industry: When will car prices drop?,” J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., February 22, 2023, https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/economy/economy/when-will-car-prices-drop#.
 29 See “Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: New Vehicles in U.S. City Average,” FRED Economic Data (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, updated October 12, 2023), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUUR0000SETA01.
 30 For information on historical auto loan rates, please see Dash Lewis, “Historical Auto Loan Rates,” *MarketWatch*, June 14, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/car-loans/historical-auto-loan-rates/.
 31 Charts 8A and 8B are constructed from data sourced from the Interview detailed level tables (available upon request). Data in the table is reported as average annual expenditures, where the reported number is often far below what the typical CU would pay for a car. This stems from the fact that cars are infrequently purchased (i.e. low percent reporting) and those CUs who did not purchase a car have their value entered in as a zero, driving down the average. To account for this, average annual expenditures are converted to average quarterly expenditures to reflect the quarterly waves of the Interview Survey. This number is then divided by percent reporting over 100. This reflects the mean quarterly expenditure for those CUs which purchased at least one car or truck. Percent reporting is the percentage of CUs who reported purchasing a product, in this case, a new or used car and truck. In addition, it is possible that a CU purchased more than one vehicle.
 32 Trucks data also encompasses vans, minivans, and SUVs.
 33 See “Domestic Auto Inventories,” FRED Economic Data (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, updated October 6, 2023), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AUINSA.
 34 To see the time series data for used vehicle prices referenced above, please see: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/
 35 See the 2021 and 2022 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) news releases: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/atus_06232022.htm and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/atus_06222023.htm.
 36 For information on how geopolitical tensions and OPEC+ production cutbacks may have affected gasoline prices and expenditures, please see “Crude oil prices increased in first-half 2022 and declined in second-half 2022,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, January 4, 2023, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=55079#, and “OPEC+ announces new 1.66 mb/d crude oil production cuts,” Enerdata, April 4, 2023, https://www.enerdata.net/publications/daily-energy-news/opec-oil-production-cuts.html.
 37 For information on how recessions are timed, i.e., from peak to trough in the business cycle, please visit the NBER data page on U.S. Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions at https://www.nber.org/research/data/us-business-cycle-expansions-and-contractions.
 38 See the 2021 and 2022 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) news releases: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/atus_06232022.htm and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/atus_06222023.htm.
 39 Other entertainment equipment and services includes indoor exercise equipment, athletic shoes, bicycles, trailers, purchase and rental of motorized campers and other recreational vehicles, camping equipment, hunting and fishing equipment, sports equipment (winter, water, and other), boats, boat motors and boat trailers, rental of boats, landing and docking fees, rental and repair of sports equipment, photographic equipment and supplies (film and film processing), photographer fees, repair and rental of photo equipment, fireworks, and pinball and electronic video games.
	
	
	 
	 Statistical Tables
        
                                                                                                                                        


Table 1. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Less than $15,000
$15,000 to $29,999
$30,000 to $39,999
$40,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $69,999
$70,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $199,999
$200,000 and moreNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
13,222
18,689
11,328
10,142
17,314
18,934
20,770
10,239
13,451Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$7,624
$22,485
$34,988
$44,518
$59,200
$83,894
$121,806
$171,270
$322,568Age of reference person
52.1
54.4
60.5
55.6
53.6
50.7
48.7
48.2
48.6
49.4Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
1.6
1.7
2.1
2.2
2.4
2.7
2.9
3.2
3.2Children under 18
.6
.3
.3
.5
.5
.5
.7
.7
.8
.8Adults 65 and older
.4
.4
.6
.6
.6
.5
.4
.3
.3
.2Earners
1.3
.4
.5
.8
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.9
2.1
2.1Vehicles
1.9
.9
1.2
1.5
1.5
1.8
2.1
2.4
2.6
2.7Percent homeowner
65
38
53
57
57
62
68
77
85
90Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$31,066
$37,534
$45,424
$49,951
$57,942
$70,871
$89,354
$116,773
$167,088Food
9,343
5,337
5,040
6,038
7,154
8,170
9,336
11,732
14,021
17,678Food at home
5,703
3,885
3,477
4,042
4,640
5,285
6,000
6,941
7,964
9,136Cereals and bakery products
712
463
446
509
553
674
755
860
985
1,151Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
900
761
832
1,067
1,224
1,323
1,454
1,507
1,811Dairy products
532
349
331
398
448
483
557
672
704
834Fruits and vegetables
1,099
754
653
782
868
990
1,107
1,349
1,603
1,839Other food at home
2,144
1,420
1,286
1,522
1,703
1,915
2,258
2,606
3,165
3,501Food away from home
3,639
1,452
1,563
1,995
2,514
2,885
3,336
4,790
6,057
8,542Alcoholic beverages
583
233
240
285
346
457
496
787
1,049
1,439Housing
24,298
12,816
14,429
17,442
19,487
20,553
23,523
28,337
35,588
49,709Shelter
14,507
8,067
8,648
10,031
11,886
12,359
13,796
16,688
20,614
30,471Owned dwellings
8,230
2,325
3,298
4,308
5,373
6,101
7,277
10,558
14,752
21,865Rented dwellings
4,990
5,251
5,028
5,160
5,948
5,551
5,645
4,728
3,808
3,480Other lodging
1,287
[2]
322
564
565
707
875
1,402
2,053
5,126Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
2,605
3,199
3,820
4,062
4,292
4,735
5,420
6,102
6,860Household operations
1,849
736
894
1,160
1,184
1,274
1,753
2,126
3,151
4,812Housekeeping supplies
787
462
528
657
691
694
808
893
1,177
1,245Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
946
1,161
1,774
1,664
1,934
2,430
3,210
4,544
6,320Apparel and services
1,945
[2]
794
903
1,445
1,531
2,082
2,429
2,863
4,408Transportation
12,295
4,556
5,949
8,093
8,535
9,705
12,888
16,215
21,190
24,764Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
[2]
1,974
2,533
2,659
2,686
4,677
6,133
9,697
9,857Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
1,514
1,733
2,314
2,520
3,063
3,524
4,103
4,485
4,701Other vehicle expenses
3,834
1,545
1,969
2,801
2,912
3,434
4,069
5,003
5,659
7,229Public and other transportation
845
289
274
445
444
521
617
977
1,349
2,976Healthcare
5,850
2,722
4,035
4,544
4,477
5,748
6,152
7,099
7,764
9,885Entertainment
3,458
1,164
1,401
2,145
1,871
2,768
3,402
3,946
6,349
8,856Personal care products and services
866
383
432
561
656
779
915
1,038
1,429
1,686Reading
117
46
86
59
103
100
116
112
215
238Education
1,335
825
[2]
588
562
751
729
1,399
1,715
5,566Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
396
375
424
387
388
378
431
273
237Miscellaneous
1,009
425
574
733
667
782
936
1,270
1,419
2,352Cash contributions
2,755
588
[2]
1,433
1,315
1,586
2,094
2,278
4,470
8,874Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
403
969
2,176
2,945
4,624
7,822
12,282
18,428
31,394Life and other personal insurance
519
160
221
309
265
339
454
598
868
1,592Pensions and Social Security
8,223
244
749
1,867
2,680
4,285
7,369
11,683
17,560
29,802Footnotes[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 2. Quintiles of income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Lowest 20 percent
Second 20 percent
Third 20 percent
Fourth 20 percent
Highest 20 percentNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
26,860
26,830
26,698
26,893
26,810Lower limit
[3]
[3]
$25,807
$50,092
$83,696
$140,363Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$14,191
$37,441
$65,659
$108,730
$244,025Age of reference person
52.1
57.7
55.2
50.1
48.4
49.0Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
1.6
2.1
2.4
2.9
3.2Children under 18
.6
.3
.4
.6
.7
.8Adults 65 and older
.4
.5
.6
.4
.3
.2Earners
1.3
.4
.9
1.3
1.8
2.1Vehicles
1.9
1.0
1.5
1.9
2.3
2.6Percent homeowner
65
45
57
63
74
87Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$32,612
$47,657
$61,950
$81,957
$140,654Food
9,343
5,090
6,539
8,555
10,804
15,713Food at home
5,703
3,624
4,310
5,525
6,529
8,523Cereals and bakery products
712
448
533
696
816
1,066Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
809
945
1,290
1,343
1,690Dairy products
532
334
420
507
626
773Fruits and vegetables
1,099
695
818
997
1,293
1,692Other food at home
2,144
1,337
1,594
2,035
2,451
3,302Food away from home
3,639
1,466
2,229
3,030
4,275
7,191Alcoholic beverages
583
232
311
471
666
1,234Housing
24,298
13,376
17,927
21,550
26,215
42,429Shelter
14,507
8,201
10,619
12,895
15,359
25,466Owned dwellings
8,230
2,748
4,590
6,441
9,154
18,218Rented dwellings
4,990
5,066
5,496
5,695
4,982
3,716Other lodging
1,287
388
533
759
1,222
3,532Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
2,849
3,856
4,413
5,188
6,442Household operations
1,849
794
1,149
1,445
1,945
3,914Housekeeping supplies
787
494
642
748
835
1,215Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,037
1,661
2,050
2,888
5,392Apparel and services
1,945
904
1,216
1,719
2,270
3,611Transportation
12,295
4,928
8,156
10,749
14,719
22,926Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
1,416
2,612
3,404
5,327
9,722Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
1,553
2,360
3,166
3,919
4,601Other vehicle expenses
3,834
1,697
2,755
3,634
4,628
6,459Public and other transportation
845
262
429
544
845
2,145Healthcare
5,850
3,355
4,441
5,951
6,694
8,814Entertainment
3,458
1,233
1,972
2,932
3,765
7,389Personal care products and services
866
393
606
814
974
1,544Reading
117
71
79
91
124
218Education
1,335
652
507
660
1,180
3,678Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
374
415
374
418
276Miscellaneous
1,009
501
673
803
1,187
1,878Cash contributions
2,755
868
[2]
1,860
2,170
6,400Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
636
2,338
5,423
10,771
24,543Life and other personal insurance
519
187
278
391
523
1,218Pensions and Social Security
8,223
449
2,060
5,032
10,248
23,325Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
[3] Not applicable.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Table 3. Deciles of income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Lowest 10 percent
Second 10 percent
Third 10 percent
Fourth 10 percent
Fifth 10 percent
Sixth 10 percent
Seventh 10 percent
Eighth 10 percent
Ninth 10 percent
Highest 10 percentNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
13,454
13,406
13,296
13,535
13,329
13,370
13,494
13,399
13,424
13,386Lower limit
[3]
[3]
$15,272
$25,807
$37,117
$50,091
$64,970
$83,695
$107,055
$140,361
$199,135Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$7,769
$20,636
$31,496
$43,281
$57,225
$74,067
$95,163
$122,394
$165,297
$322,973Age of reference person
52.1
54.6
61.0
56.7
53.8
51.0
49.3
48.2
48.5
48.5
49.5Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
1.6
1.6
1.9
2.2
2.3
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.1
3.2Children under 18
.6
.3
.3
.4
.5
.5
.6
.7
.7
.8
.9Adults 65 and older
.4
.4
.6
.6
.6
.5
.4
.3
.3
.3
.2Earners
1.3
.4
.5
.7
1.0
1.2
1.5
1.7
1.9
2.1
2.1Vehicles
1.9
.9
1.1
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.7Percent homeowner
65
38
52
55
58
61
66
70
78
84
90Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$31,039
$34,192
$44,698
$50,578
$57,057
$66,831
$76,275
$87,675
$114,182
$167,200Food
9,343
5,332
4,848
5,732
7,341
7,937
9,172
9,771
11,841
13,661
17,771Food at home
5,703
3,873
3,374
3,897
4,721
5,125
5,925
6,024
7,036
7,887
9,160Cereals and bakery products
712
460
437
501
565
649
743
752
879
984
1,149Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
900
718
815
1,075
1,145
1,434
1,243
1,443
1,571
1,810Dairy products
532
343
325
390
450
481
533
572
681
712
834Fruits and vegetables
1,099
745
645
758
879
965
1,029
1,178
1,409
1,547
1,838Other food at home
2,144
1,426
1,249
1,434
1,753
1,885
2,185
2,279
2,624
3,074
3,530Food away from home
3,639
1,458
1,474
1,836
2,619
2,812
3,247
3,747
4,804
5,774
8,610Alcoholic beverages
583
236
228
276
346
451
491
563
770
1,033
1,436Housing
24,298
12,814
13,939
16,421
19,406
20,447
22,650
24,729
27,711
35,091
49,788Shelter
14,507
7,991
8,413
9,533
11,686
12,311
13,476
14,523
16,200
20,518
30,429Owned dwellings
8,230
2,308
3,189
3,781
5,385
5,955
6,926
7,989
10,328
14,508
21,938Rented dwellings
4,990
5,199
4,932
5,266
5,722
5,645
5,745
5,531
4,430
4,029
3,402Other lodging
1,287
[2]
291
486
579
711
806
1,004
1,442
1,981
5,088Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
2,615
3,083
3,637
4,071
4,283
4,542
4,955
5,423
5,991
6,894Household operations
1,849
722
867
1,048
1,247
1,226
1,662
1,833
2,059
2,978
4,852Housekeeping supplies
787
481
507
641
643
712
784
811
858
1,184
1,246Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,006
1,069
1,561
1,759
1,914
2,185
2,606
3,170
4,419
6,367Apparel and services
1,945
[2]
628
974
1,457
1,505
1,932
2,070
2,471
2,809
4,415Transportation
12,295
4,536
5,321
7,647
8,655
9,582
11,911
14,346
15,094
21,283
24,574Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
[2]
1,644
2,546
2,677
2,778
4,028
5,455
5,197
9,703
9,740Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
1,515
1,591
2,179
2,539
2,955
3,376
3,780
4,060
4,514
4,689Other vehicle expenses
3,834
1,546
1,848
2,540
2,966
3,348
3,919
4,358
4,899
5,698
7,222Public and other transportation
845
287
238
383
474
501
588
753
937
1,369
2,923Healthcare
5,850
2,723
3,990
4,298
4,582
5,776
6,125
6,206
7,185
7,672
9,960Entertainment
3,458
1,168
1,297
1,845
2,097
2,729
3,135
3,635
3,895
5,942
8,840Personal care products and services
866
384
403
555
657
752
876
956
993
1,409
1,679Reading
117
60
82
58
101
105
77
151
98
201
235Education
1,335
813
[2]
454
560
[2]
579
1,013
1,347
1,754
5,608Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
383
364
414
416
377
372
397
440
314
237Miscellaneous
1,009
413
589
604
741
787
820
1,169
1,204
1,403
2,355Cash contributions
2,755
594
[2]
[2]
1,260
1,502
[2]
1,983
2,358
3,935
8,872Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
403
869
1,704
2,960
4,366
6,476
9,284
12,268
17,675
31,431Life and other personal insurance
519
157
216
218
336
336
445
461
585
820
1,617Pensions and Social Security
8,223
246
653
1,487
2,624
4,029
6,031
8,823
11,683
16,855
29,813Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
[3] Not applicable.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 4. Region of residence: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Northeast
Midwest
South
WestNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
23,015
28,453
52,034
30,589Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$108,768
$91,430
$83,346
$103,418Age of reference person
52.1
52.8
52.5
52.0
51.4Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.5
2.4
2.4
2.5Children under 18
.6
.6
.5
.5
.6Adults 65 and older
.4
.4
.4
.4
.4Earners
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.2
1.4Vehicles
1.9
1.7
2.0
1.8
2.0Percent homeowner
65
62
71
67
59Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$79,741
$69,870
$65,576
$83,317Food
9,343
10,199
8,827
8,443
10,699Food at home
5,703
6,303
5,559
5,135
6,342Cereals and bakery products
712
825
703
622
786Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,325
1,148
1,149
1,308Dairy products
532
615
523
460
599Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,294
1,040
916
1,317Other food at home
2,144
2,244
2,146
1,988
2,333Food away from home
3,639
3,896
3,268
3,309
4,357Alcoholic beverages
583
679
591
506
634Housing
24,298
27,433
21,907
21,494
28,938Shelter
14,507
17,197
12,314
12,240
18,378Owned dwellings
8,230
9,791
7,952
6,961
9,471Rented dwellings
4,990
5,697
3,154
4,249
7,429Other lodging
1,287
1,710
1,208
1,030
1,478Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
4,829
4,534
4,481
4,468Household operations
1,849
2,052
1,721
1,662
2,135Housekeeping supplies
787
810
810
740
828Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
2,544
2,528
2,371
3,127Apparel and services
1,945
2,312
1,765
1,785
2,104Transportation
12,295
12,093
11,912
11,932
13,420Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,259
4,423
4,565
4,624Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
2,631
3,012
3,187
3,472Other vehicle expenses
3,834
4,005
3,764
3,579
4,206Public and other transportation
845
1,198
712
601
1,119Healthcare
5,850
6,069
6,569
5,376
5,828Entertainment
3,458
3,509
3,701
2,831
4,262Personal care products and services
866
979
842
768
971Reading
117
152
109
80
160Education
1,335
2,166
1,483
893
1,326Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
327
463
391
287Miscellaneous
1,009
1,097
979
906
1,143Cash contributions
2,755
2,732
1,910
2,750
[2]Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
9,995
8,812
7,422
9,979Life and other personal insurance
519
606
524
439
586Pensions and Social Security
8,223
9,390
8,288
6,983
9,393Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 5. Population size of area of residence: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Outside urban area
Urban consumer unitsAll urban consumer units
Less than 100,000
100,000 to 249,999
250,000 to 999,999
1,000,000 to 2,499,999
2,500,000 to 4,999,999
5,000,000 and moreNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
25,556
108,534
15,153
8,570
30,181
17,625
16,905
20,100Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$91,936
$94,490
$72,101
$74,449
$88,490
$95,644
$113,120
$112,244Age of reference person
52.1
56.0
51.2
52.4
53.0
51.1
51.3
48.8
51.4Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.5
2.4
2.4
2.3
2.4
2.4
2.5
2.6Children under 18
.6
.6
.6
.6
.5
.5
.5
.6
.6Adults 65 and older
.4
.6
.4
.4
.4
.4
.4
.3
.4Earners
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.2
1.2
1.3
1.3
1.4
1.4Vehicles
1.9
2.4
1.7
2.0
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.7
1.4Percent homeowner
65
83
61
63
68
62
64
59
54Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$70,750
$73,490
$60,488
$60,492
$69,741
$74,891
$87,270
$81,632Food
9,343
8,941
9,438
7,846
9,075
9,139
9,550
9,998
10,652Food at home
5,703
5,755
5,691
4,947
5,244
5,616
5,829
5,933
6,216Cereals and bakery products
712
746
704
625
610
718
715
721
755Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,222
1,214
1,039
1,221
1,126
1,220
1,211
1,469Dairy products
532
545
529
488
500
525
535
537
567Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,021
1,118
859
968
1,068
1,150
1,259
1,302Other food at home
2,144
2,222
2,126
1,936
1,946
2,179
2,209
2,204
2,123Food away from home
3,639
3,185
3,746
2,900
3,831
3,523
3,721
4,065
4,436Alcoholic beverages
583
469
610
388
517
554
662
774
721Housing
24,298
20,515
25,189
19,447
19,292
23,679
25,109
30,268
30,094Shelter
14,507
10,527
15,444
10,359
10,353
14,059
15,032
20,109
19,966Owned dwellings
8,230
7,804
8,330
5,757
6,141
7,820
8,540
10,479
9,977Rented dwellings
4,990
1,606
5,787
3,769
3,427
5,037
5,220
7,780
8,265Other lodging
1,287
1,117
1,327
833
[2]
1,203
1,272
1,850
1,724Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
4,899
4,467
4,322
4,354
4,494
4,436
4,506
4,578Household operations
1,849
1,529
1,925
1,430
1,634
1,719
2,090
2,391
2,193Housekeeping supplies
787
938
751
788
629
736
809
765
736Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
2,622
2,602
2,549
2,322
2,671
2,742
2,497
2,621Apparel and services
1,945
1,678
2,008
1,811
2,006
1,650
2,267
2,017
2,462Transportation
12,295
13,217
12,078
11,539
11,017
11,362
12,252
13,830
12,386Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,984
4,381
4,772
4,006
3,927
4,618
5,073
4,138Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
3,856
2,946
3,081
3,015
2,924
2,827
3,099
2,826Other vehicle expenses
3,834
3,793
3,844
3,272
3,459
3,797
3,978
4,330
3,982Public and other transportation
845
583
907
414
[2]
713
830
1,328
1,440Healthcare
5,850
6,509
5,695
5,261
5,179
6,071
5,910
5,957
5,273Entertainment
3,458
4,196
3,284
2,768
2,497
3,343
3,590
3,638
3,346Personal care products and services
866
709
903
684
681
836
907
1,171
1,041Reading
117
88
123
115
[2]
109
132
165
132Education
1,335
955
1,425
611
[2]
1,176
1,687
2,089
1,936Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
497
342
478
349
326
379
297
265Miscellaneous
1,009
1,042
1,001
898
[2]
1,001
1,031
1,147
966Cash contributions
2,755
[2]
2,549
2,078
1,762
2,381
2,104
[2]
2,004Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
8,308
8,844
6,562
6,432
8,114
9,311
11,135
10,354Life and other personal insurance
519
494
525
464
365
458
521
556
718Pensions and Social Security
8,223
7,815
8,319
6,098
6,067
7,656
8,789
10,579
9,636Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 6. Type of area: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Urban
RuralTotal urban
Urban principal city
Other urbanNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
108,534
46,272
62,262
25,556Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$94,490
$86,867
$100,155
$91,936Age of reference person
52.1
51.2
49.1
52.7
56.0Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.4
2.3
2.5
2.5Children under 18
.6
.6
.5
.6
.6Adults 65 and older
.4
.4
.3
.4
.6Earners
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.3Vehicles
1.9
1.7
1.5
1.9
2.4Percent homeowner
65
61
51
68
83Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$73,490
$67,963
$77,609
$70,750Food
9,343
9,438
8,846
9,884
8,941Food at home
5,703
5,691
5,244
6,029
5,755Cereals and bakery products
712
704
628
761
746Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,214
1,106
1,295
1,222Dairy products
532
529
479
567
545Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,118
1,065
1,158
1,021Other food at home
2,144
2,126
1,966
2,247
2,222Food away from home
3,639
3,746
3,602
3,855
3,185Alcoholic beverages
583
610
626
598
469Housing
24,298
25,189
23,860
26,180
20,515Shelter
14,507
15,444
15,233
15,601
10,527Owned dwellings
8,230
8,330
6,909
9,386
7,804Rented dwellings
4,990
5,787
7,087
4,821
1,606Other lodging
1,287
1,327
1,237
1,393
1,117Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
4,467
4,113
4,730
4,899Household operations
1,849
1,925
1,642
2,135
1,529Housekeeping supplies
787
751
656
823
938Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
2,602
2,215
2,891
2,622Apparel and services
1,945
2,008
1,980
2,029
1,678Transportation
12,295
12,078
10,872
12,974
13,217Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,381
3,919
4,724
4,984Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
2,946
2,569
3,227
3,856Other vehicle expenses
3,834
3,844
3,388
4,183
3,793Public and other transportation
845
907
997
840
583Healthcare
5,850
5,695
4,813
6,351
6,509Entertainment
3,458
3,284
2,856
3,605
4,196Personal care products and services
866
903
849
944
709Reading
117
123
136
114
88Education
1,335
1,425
1,362
1,472
955Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
342
363
326
497Miscellaneous
1,009
1,001
948
1,039
1,042Cash contributions
2,755
2,549
2,308
2,728
[2]Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
8,844
8,143
9,365
8,308Life and other personal insurance
519
525
468
567
494Pensions and Social Security
8,223
8,319
7,675
8,798
7,815Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 7. Composition of consumer unit: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Married couple consumer units
One parent, at least one child under 18
Single person and other consumer unitsTotal
Married couple only
Married couple with children
Other married couple consumer unitsTotal
Oldest child under 6
Oldest child 6 to 17
Oldest child 18 or olderNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
64,074
28,864
29,570
4,344
14,706
10,520
5,640
6,525
63,491Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$130,934
$111,791
$147,423
$143,431
$150,262
$145,103
$142,453
$53,674
$60,879Age of reference person
52.1
52.0
59.3
44.9
33.3
41.7
54.3
51.6
40.2
53.4Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
3.2
2.0
4.1
3.5
4.2
4.0
4.8
2.9
1.6Children under 18
.6
.8
[2]
1.6
1.5
2.2
.7
1.2
1.7
.2Adults 65 and older
.4
.5
.9
.1
[2]
[2]
.3
.7
[2]
.4Earners
1.3
1.7
1.1
2.0
1.7
1.8
2.5
2.4
1.2
1.0Vehicles
1.9
2.4
2.3
2.5
2.1
2.3
3.0
2.6
1.2
1.4Percent homeowner
65
80
83
79
75
77
83
77
36
53Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$95,382
$85,333
$104,891
$94,505
$110,019
$102,316
$96,707
$56,240
$52,043Food
9,343
12,152
10,242
13,852
11,054
14,711
14,031
12,926
8,815
6,547Food at home
5,703
7,328
6,224
8,309
7,051
8,486
8,703
7,761
5,453
4,081Cereals and bakery products
712
924
752
1,076
823
1,139
1,116
1,001
682
500Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,546
1,312
1,748
1,438
1,724
1,940
1,668
1,185
884Dairy products
532
697
594
784
718
819
768
767
528
365Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,423
1,209
1,621
1,393
1,699
1,629
1,451
1,066
775Other food at home
2,144
2,739
2,357
3,081
2,680
3,104
3,250
2,873
1,992
1,557Food away from home
3,639
4,824
4,018
5,543
4,003
6,225
5,329
5,166
3,362
2,467Alcoholic beverages
583
704
784
653
610
616
724
569
305
489Housing
24,298
29,654
26,310
32,577
34,521
34,250
29,439
31,457
21,723
19,156Shelter
14,507
16,903
15,145
18,396
17,770
20,143
16,214
18,069
13,073
12,236Owned dwellings
8,230
11,540
10,150
12,780
12,567
13,932
11,258
12,159
4,272
5,295Rented dwellings
4,990
3,438
2,959
3,691
4,291
4,156
2,793
4,567
8,107
6,237Other lodging
1,287
1,924
2,037
1,926
912
2,055
2,163
1,343
694
704Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
5,651
5,086
5,957
4,917
5,837
6,554
6,935
4,206
3,473Household operations
1,849
2,518
1,833
3,321
7,501
3,209
1,755
1,810
1,726
1,187Housekeeping supplies
787
995
979
974
1,012
894
1,068
1,214
821
573Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
3,587
3,267
3,928
3,321
4,167
3,848
3,429
1,896
1,687Apparel and services
1,945
2,534
1,836
3,189
2,837
3,576
2,834
2,598
[2]
1,300Transportation
12,295
16,170
13,633
18,501
15,564
18,396
19,870
16,927
8,625
8,761Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
6,040
4,794
7,291
6,646
7,374
7,441
5,855
[2]
3,177Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
4,095
3,343
4,654
3,652
4,565
5,194
5,014
2,705
2,178Other vehicle expenses
3,834
4,898
4,438
5,287
4,452
5,016
6,021
5,202
3,153
2,831Public and other transportation
845
1,138
1,058
1,269
813
1,442
1,215
856
600
575Healthcare
5,850
7,870
8,357
7,390
5,644
7,506
7,958
7,881
3,185
4,086Entertainment
3,458
4,767
4,373
5,339
4,786
6,253
4,273
3,730
2,406
2,245Personal care products and services
866
1,081
1,011
1,137
895
1,170
1,204
1,150
891
646Reading
117
138
148
138
[2]
132
156
85
94
97Education
1,335
2,005
1,318
2,687
[2]
2,921
3,236
1,935
700
725Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
368
347
329
224
308
402
680
279
384Miscellaneous
1,009
1,207
1,246
1,162
847
1,338
1,055
1,227
968
813Cash contributions
2,755
4,163
5,755
2,918
1,748
3,244
2,944
2,539
[2]
1,522Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
12,568
9,972
15,020
15,079
15,597
14,189
13,001
4,938
5,271Life and other personal insurance
519
802
839
750
573
800
754
[2]
227
264Pensions and Social Security
8,223
11,767
9,134
14,270
14,506
14,797
13,435
12,118
4,711
5,007Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 8. Highest education level of any member: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Less than college graduate
College graduateTotal
Less than high school graduate
High school graduate
High school graduate with some college
Associate's degree
Total
Bachelor's degree
Master's, professional, doctoral degreeNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
71,413
7,887
24,527
24,297
14,701
62,678
35,328
27,350Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$58,949
$37,422
$49,677
$63,934
$77,730
$133,943
$115,369
$157,935Age of reference person
52.1
53.2
56.2
53.4
52.4
52.3
50.9
49.8
52.2Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.6
2.5
2.6Children under 18
.6
.5
.7
.5
.5
.5
.6
.5
.6Adults 65 and older
.4
.4
.4
.5
.4
.4
.4
.4
.4Earners
1.3
1.2
.8
1.1
1.2
1.4
1.5
1.5
1.5Vehicles
1.9
1.7
1.1
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.1
2.0
2.1Percent homeowner
65
58
46
54
60
66
74
72
76Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$52,172
$37,012
$46,097
$56,511
$63,106
$96,540
$86,295
$109,691Food
9,343
7,201
5,463
6,603
7,800
8,037
11,715
10,816
12,839Food at home
5,703
4,739
4,307
4,587
4,823
5,053
6,767
6,327
7,313Cereals and bakery products
712
590
507
564
615
632
846
781
927Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,095
1,118
1,087
1,096
1,096
1,349
1,295
1,414Dairy products
532
433
357
398
454
493
641
596
695Fruits and vegetables
1,099
868
838
814
903
919
1,354
1,217
1,524Other food at home
2,144
1,753
1,487
1,724
1,755
1,912
2,577
2,437
2,752Food away from home
3,639
2,462
1,156
2,016
2,977
2,985
4,948
4,490
5,527Alcoholic beverages
583
346
156
251
453
429
849
775
942Housing
24,298
18,039
13,736
16,276
19,365
21,071
31,417
27,862
35,996Shelter
14,507
10,348
8,322
9,227
11,163
11,960
19,245
16,990
22,159Owned dwellings
8,230
4,901
3,068
3,888
5,386
6,770
12,023
10,423
14,090Rented dwellings
4,990
4,961
5,081
5,046
5,138
4,464
5,024
4,951
5,117Other lodging
1,287
486
173
293
638
725
2,199
1,616
2,952Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
4,137
3,249
4,012
4,280
4,583
5,019
4,877
5,203Household operations
1,849
1,075
500
969
1,182
1,383
2,731
2,103
3,542Housekeeping supplies
787
666
550
572
702
819
920
842
1,017Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,812
1,115
1,496
2,038
2,326
3,502
3,050
4,076Apparel and services
1,945
1,446
1,235
1,389
1,408
1,687
2,499
2,210
2,857Transportation
12,295
9,780
6,538
8,942
10,383
11,918
15,159
14,548
15,947Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
3,376
2,439
3,130
3,422
4,215
5,771
5,656
5,921Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
2,918
1,982
2,783
3,086
3,368
3,349
3,402
3,281Other vehicle expenses
3,834
3,132
1,768
2,758
3,485
3,903
4,633
4,412
4,917Public and other transportation
845
353
349
271
389
433
1,405
1,078
1,829Healthcare
5,850
4,501
2,993
3,956
4,928
5,516
7,385
6,992
7,889Entertainment
3,458
2,272
[2]
1,879
2,392
3,028
4,800
4,309
5,433Personal care products and services
866
617
409
525
677
780
1,146
1,025
1,297Reading
117
66
[2]
44
82
[2]
173
131
226Education
1,335
465
[2]
[2]
645
517
2,326
1,909
2,863Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
507
394
518
559
463
217
272
145Miscellaneous
1,009
778
480
586
907
1,045
1,270
1,054
1,545Cash contributions
2,755
1,366
851
989
1,706
1,708
4,337
3,078
5,964Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
4,788
2,697
3,824
5,206
6,827
13,247
11,313
15,746Life and other personal insurance
519
333
180
241
387
480
731
615
882Pensions and Social Security
8,223
4,455
2,517
3,583
4,819
6,347
12,516
10,698
14,865Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 9. Housing tenure: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Homeowner
RenterTotal
Homeowner with mortgage
Homeowner without mortgageNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
87,276
51,041
36,236
46,814Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$112,501
$136,242
$79,060
$59,518Age of reference person
52.1
55.8
50.3
63.5
45.2Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.6
2.9
2.1
2.2Children under 18
.6
.6
.8
.3
.6Adults 65 and older
.4
.5
.3
.8
.2Earners
1.3
1.4
1.7
.9
1.2Vehicles
1.9
2.2
2.4
2.1
1.2Percent homeowner
65
100
100
100
[2]Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$83,063
$95,603
$64,974
$54,159Food
9,343
10,467
11,530
8,709
7,253Food at home
5,703
6,348
6,822
5,552
4,505Cereals and bakery products
712
809
877
696
531Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,318
1,411
1,160
1,026Dairy products
532
598
637
533
409Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,220
1,321
1,049
876Other food at home
2,144
2,403
2,576
2,115
1,663Food away from home
3,639
4,119
4,708
3,157
2,748Alcoholic beverages
583
660
747
532
440Housing
24,298
26,067
31,100
18,929
21,004Shelter
14,507
14,337
18,248
8,827
14,825Owned dwellings
8,230
12,574
16,424
7,150
131Rented dwellings
4,990
144
98
208
14,026Other lodging
1,287
1,619
1,725
1,469
667Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
5,362
5,653
4,953
3,034Household operations
1,849
2,243
2,653
1,664
1,115Housekeeping supplies
787
932
974
861
519Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
3,193
3,573
2,625
1,512Apparel and services
1,945
2,109
2,432
1,575
1,640Transportation
12,295
13,947
16,206
10,764
9,214Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
5,140
6,185
3,666
3,296Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
3,527
3,949
2,934
2,360Other vehicle expenses
3,834
4,324
4,954
3,435
2,921Public and other transportation
845
956
1,117
728
638Healthcare
5,850
7,223
7,157
7,330
3,292Entertainment
3,458
4,274
4,737
3,597
1,939Personal care products and services
866
962
1,086
773
688Reading
117
130
129
133
93Education
1,335
1,511
1,709
1,230
1,008Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
362
355
371
389Miscellaneous
1,009
1,174
1,206
1,122
701Cash contributions
2,755
3,618
3,506
3,777
1,144Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
10,560
13,703
6,131
5,353Life and other personal insurance
519
676
765
552
226Pensions and Social Security
8,223
9,883
12,939
5,579
5,127Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Not applicable.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 10. Number of earners in consumer unit: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Single consumers
Consumer units of two or more peopleNo earner
One earner
No earner
One earner
Two earners
Three or more earnersNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
18,091
23,484
12,838
24,925
42,292
12,461Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$24,157
$64,636
$44,280
$84,159
$141,013
$162,123Age of reference person
52.1
70.2
45.7
68.3
50.4
45.1
48.3Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
1.0
1.0
2.2
3.0
3.0
4.4Children under 18
.6
[3]
[3]
.2
1.0
.8
1.0Adults 65 and older
.4
.8
.1
1.4
.5
.2
.2Earners
1.3
[3]
1.0
[3]
1.0
2.0
3.4Vehicles
1.9
1.0
1.1
2.0
1.9
2.3
3.0Percent homeowner
65
59
45
77
65
71
78Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$35,723
$50,858
$59,737
$74,274
$94,780
$106,324Food
9,343
4,404
5,830
8,252
10,125
12,047
13,881Food at home
5,703
3,017
3,372
5,772
6,455
6,960
8,308Cereals and bakery products
712
390
394
738
796
872
1,067Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
610
705
1,280
1,446
1,446
1,752Dairy products
532
316
298
559
609
649
718Fruits and vegetables
1,099
574
656
1,082
1,248
1,351
1,595Other food at home
2,144
1,126
1,319
2,114
2,356
2,642
3,175Food away from home
3,639
1,387
2,459
2,480
3,671
5,087
5,573Alcoholic beverages
583
232
607
445
549
750
694Housing
24,298
15,399
19,079
20,200
24,997
29,781
31,349Shelter
14,507
9,551
13,095
10,722
14,411
17,616
17,900Owned dwellings
8,230
4,624
5,081
6,773
8,035
10,984
11,941Rented dwellings
4,990
4,285
7,232
2,672
5,159
4,910
4,116Other lodging
1,287
642
782
1,277
1,217
1,723
1,843Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
2,870
2,862
4,723
4,860
5,285
6,868Household operations
1,849
1,141
985
1,672
1,927
2,662
1,789Housekeeping supplies
787
490
513
961
907
858
1,072Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,348
1,625
2,122
2,892
3,359
3,720Apparel and services
1,945
607
1,188
1,267
2,182
2,634
3,295Transportation
12,295
4,389
8,088
9,237
12,475
16,288
20,954Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
1,382
2,659
3,221
4,432
6,185
8,187Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
1,075
1,986
2,287
3,343
4,058
5,449Other vehicle expenses
3,834
1,588
2,729
3,103
3,901
4,923
6,117Public and other transportation
845
343
714
625
799
1,121
1,201Healthcare
5,850
4,662
3,087
8,357
6,099
6,639
7,032Entertainment
3,458
1,477
2,250
3,027
3,385
4,800
4,675Personal care products and services
866
431
634
753
889
1,064
1,367Reading
117
101
103
132
114
124
133Education
1,335
[2]
742
[2]
1,135
1,872
2,786Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
265
281
419
414
401
461Miscellaneous
1,009
713
707
909
1,036
1,281
1,143Cash contributions
2,755
2,097
1,468
[2]
3,666
2,561
2,424Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
273
6,793
[2]
7,210
14,539
16,130Life and other personal insurance
519
210
230
535
552
726
732Pensions and Social Security
8,223
[2]
6,563
[2]
6,658
13,813
15,398Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
[3] Not applicable.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 11. Size of consumer unit: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
One person
Two or more peopleTotal
Two people
Three people
Four people
Five or more peopleNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
41,574
92,516
43,906
19,141
16,116
13,353Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$47,022
$115,116
$99,957
$120,061
$139,902
$127,954Age of reference person
52.1
56.4
50.2
55.5
48.4
44.0
42.6Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
1.0
3.1
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.7Children under 18
.6
[2]
.8
.1
.6
1.5
2.7Adults 65 and older
.4
.4
.4
.7
.3
.1
.2Earners
1.3
.6
1.6
1.2
1.8
2.0
2.3Vehicles
1.9
1.1
2.2
2.1
2.2
2.4
2.5Percent homeowner
65
51
71
72
70
74
70Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$44,312
$85,799
$76,468
$86,265
$101,514
$96,814Food
9,343
5,235
11,160
9,363
11,158
13,055
14,790Food at home
5,703
3,224
6,799
5,635
6,862
8,012
9,066Cereals and bakery products
712
392
853
682
865
1,026
1,191Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
666
1,458
1,196
1,521
1,640
2,020Dairy products
532
305
632
530
644
740
819Fruits and vegetables
1,099
622
1,310
1,085
1,272
1,607
1,744Other food at home
2,144
1,239
2,545
2,143
2,559
2,999
3,292Food away from home
3,639
2,011
4,361
3,728
4,297
5,042
5,724Alcoholic beverages
583
446
644
717
608
660
435Housing
24,298
17,477
27,359
24,528
27,433
32,048
30,893Shelter
14,507
11,553
15,834
14,533
15,884
18,004
17,425Owned dwellings
8,230
4,882
9,734
8,531
9,726
11,953
11,022Rented dwellings
4,990
5,949
4,560
4,452
4,576
4,313
5,188Other lodging
1,287
721
1,541
1,550
1,582
1,739
1,215Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
2,865
5,306
4,679
5,455
5,872
6,471Household operations
1,849
1,053
2,207
1,645
2,398
3,282
2,483Housekeeping supplies
787
503
912
862
951
932
1,000Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,503
3,099
2,809
2,745
3,958
3,515Apparel and services
1,945
945
2,387
1,798
2,107
3,422
3,468Transportation
12,295
6,479
14,908
12,452
15,919
18,714
16,945Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
2,103
5,571
4,282
6,372
7,837
5,928Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
1,590
3,807
3,141
3,936
4,467
5,015Other vehicle expenses
3,834
2,233
4,554
4,116
4,678
5,189
5,049Public and other transportation
845
553
976
913
933
1,221
952Healthcare
5,850
3,770
6,785
6,878
6,660
7,288
6,045Entertainment
3,458
1,918
4,148
3,839
4,068
4,752
4,541Personal care products and services
866
547
1,008
916
993
1,109
1,219Reading
117
101
124
134
110
130
101Education
1,335
712
1,615
1,136
1,871
2,123
2,211Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
274
415
400
469
369
444Miscellaneous
1,009
710
1,142
1,148
1,181
1,076
1,146Cash contributions
2,755
1,742
3,210
4,165
2,093
2,463
2,572Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
3,956
10,893
8,996
11,594
14,305
12,005Life and other personal insurance
519
221
653
649
636
738
590Pensions and Social Security
8,223
3,735
10,240
8,347
10,958
13,567
11,415Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Not applicable.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 12. Age of reference person: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Under 25 years
25-34 years
35-44 years
45-54 years
55-64 years
65 years and older
65-74 years
75 years and olderNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
6,272
20,901
22,813
22,687
24,433
36,983
21,728
15,255Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$48,233
$89,514
$118,149
$128,980
$105,498
$60,359
$68,059
$49,392Age of reference person
52.1
21.9
29.8
39.5
49.5
59.6
74.2
69.3
81.0Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.1
2.6
3.4
2.9
2.2
1.7
1.8
1.6Children under 18
.6
.3
.9
1.4
.7
.2
[2]
.1
[2]Adults 65 and older
.4
[3]
[2]
[2]
.1
.1
1.4
1.4
1.3Earners
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.7
1.8
1.4
.5
.7
.3Vehicles
1.9
1.2
1.6
2.0
2.2
2.2
1.7
1.9
1.5Percent homeowner
65
18
43
62
71
76
77
77
77Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$46,359
$67,883
$86,049
$91,074
$78,079
$57,818
$60,844
$53,481Food
9,343
5,898
8,914
11,023
11,827
9,791
7,306
8,198
6,020Food at home
5,703
3,347
5,176
6,773
6,959
5,981
4,797
5,253
4,140Cereals and bakery products
712
394
638
847
898
722
605
643
551Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
817
1,055
1,441
1,414
1,361
1,019
1,143
839Dairy products
532
309
476
624
642
530
481
522
423Fruits and vegetables
1,099
640
1,021
1,353
1,303
1,094
944
1,031
818Other food at home
2,144
1,186
1,986
2,509
2,702
2,273
1,748
1,914
1,509Food away from home
3,639
2,551
3,738
4,250
4,868
3,811
2,509
2,946
1,880Alcoholic beverages
583
394
622
688
604
661
469
573
320Housing
24,298
16,837
24,301
28,975
28,281
24,140
20,362
21,094
19,317Shelter
14,507
11,737
15,429
17,316
16,836
13,905
11,692
12,049
11,184Owned dwellings
8,230
1,614
5,793
10,134
10,537
9,157
7,526
8,108
6,697Rented dwellings
4,990
9,358
8,824
6,017
4,471
3,094
3,021
2,635
3,571Other lodging
1,287
[3]
811
1,165
1,828
1,654
1,145
1,306
915Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
2,574
3,796
4,933
5,424
5,004
4,236
4,371
4,043Household operations
1,849
835
2,022
2,862
1,738
1,532
1,578
1,516
1,666Housekeeping supplies
787
314
722
788
894
883
787
831
723Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,377
2,333
3,075
3,390
2,817
2,070
2,327
1,701Apparel and services
1,945
1,184
2,249
2,632
2,600
1,830
1,130
1,357
801Transportation
12,295
9,583
12,089
15,220
15,619
13,596
8,172
9,550
6,209Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,170
4,504
5,902
5,529
5,096
2,649
3,183
1,890Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
2,495
3,131
3,818
4,051
3,443
2,004
2,382
1,467Other vehicle expenses
3,834
2,373
3,615
4,427
4,898
4,217
2,939
3,311
2,410Public and other transportation
845
546
839
1,074
1,142
840
579
675
442Healthcare
5,850
1,353
3,560
5,329
6,081
6,699
7,540
7,422
7,708Entertainment
3,458
2,075
2,884
4,361
4,481
3,698
2,672
3,182
1,943Personal care products and services
866
540
880
986
1,050
899
706
790
586Reading
117
[3]
100
107
105
108
152
147
159Education
1,335
2,960
982
1,237
2,661
1,537
373
[3]
[3]Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
226
277
440
427
541
261
334
158Miscellaneous
1,009
[3]
895
1,020
1,215
1,161
943
929
963Cash contributions
2,755
[3]
1,003
1,733
2,888
3,089
4,443
2,811
[3]Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
4,244
9,127
12,298
13,235
10,329
3,289
4,057
2,196Life and other personal insurance
519
[3]
224
545
606
760
533
568
484Pensions and Social Security
8,223
4,172
8,902
11,753
12,629
9,569
2,756
3,489
1,711Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Value is too small to display.
[3] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 13. Generation of reference person: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Birth year of 1997 or later
Birth year from 1981 to 1996
Birth year from 1965 to 1980
Birth year from 1946 to 1964
Birth year of 1945 or earlierNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
7,328
34,931
36,173
43,470
12,188Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$52,225
$100,315
$126,892
$81,827
$46,855Age of reference person
52.1
22.4
33.4
49.1
66.1
82.5Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.1
2.9
3.0
1.9
1.5Children under 18
.6
.3
1.1
.8
.1
[2]Adults 65 and older
.4
[2]
[3]
.1
.9
1.3Earners
1.3
1.4
1.6
1.8
1.0
.2Vehicles
1.9
1.2
1.8
2.1
2.0
1.4Percent homeowner
65
19
51
70
77
77Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$47,975
$74,782
$91,382
$66,362
$52,005Food
9,343
5,982
9,766
11,635
8,729
5,675Food at home
5,703
3,365
5,867
6,837
5,552
3,938Cereals and bakery products
712
397
727
867
680
527Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
791
1,240
1,404
1,239
789Dairy products
532
313
533
638
518
410Fruits and vegetables
1,099
653
1,161
1,304
1,048
787Other food at home
2,144
1,211
2,207
2,624
2,067
1,425Food away from home
3,639
2,617
3,898
4,798
3,177
1,737Alcoholic beverages
583
423
661
645
587
275Housing
24,298
17,279
26,241
28,536
21,962
18,792Shelter
14,507
11,989
16,181
16,973
12,480
11,131Owned dwellings
8,230
1,754
7,677
10,531
8,353
6,436Rented dwellings
4,990
9,512
7,587
4,628
2,763
3,851Other lodging
1,287
[2]
917
1,814
1,365
844Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
2,656
4,262
5,368
4,589
3,936Household operations
1,849
857
2,486
1,916
1,499
1,674Housekeeping supplies
787
319
741
924
827
690Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,457
2,572
3,355
2,567
1,361Apparel and services
1,945
1,181
2,415
2,604
1,499
677Transportation
12,295
9,731
13,128
16,236
10,595
5,828Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,142
4,813
6,307
3,568
1,734Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
2,519
3,432
4,001
2,727
1,371Other vehicle expenses
3,834
2,479
4,002
4,733
3,619
2,282Public and other transportation
845
591
880
1,195
681
442Healthcare
5,850
1,560
4,156
6,372
7,116
7,250Entertainment
3,458
2,103
3,510
4,330
3,382
1,840Personal care products and services
866
581
908
1,052
811
570Reading
117
[2]
103
108
129
163Education
1,335
2,910
912
2,581
635
[2]Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
223
341
462
410
143Miscellaneous
1,009
[2]
969
1,113
1,090
878Cash contributions
2,755
[2]
1,269
2,709
3,016
[2]Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
4,814
10,402
13,001
6,404
[2]Life and other personal insurance
519
[2]
359
602
672
441Pensions and Social Security
8,223
4,716
10,043
12,399
5,732
[2]Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
[3] Value is too small to display.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 14. Selected age of reference person: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Under 30 years
30 and older
Under 50 years
50 and older
Under 55 years
55 and older
Under 65 years
65 and olderNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
15,873
118,217
60,787
73,303
72,673
61,417
97,107
36,983Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$67,557
$97,554
$104,057
$85,667
$107,260
$78,317
$106,817
$60,359Age of reference person
52.1
25.1
55.7
35.7
65.7
38.3
68.4
43.7
74.2Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.2
2.5
2.9
2.0
2.9
1.9
2.7
1.7Children under 18
.6
.5
.6
1.0
.2
.9
.1
.8
[2]Adults 65 and older
.4
[2]
.5
[2]
.8
[2]
.9
.1
1.4Earners
1.3
1.5
1.3
1.6
1.0
1.7
.9
1.6
.5Vehicles
1.9
1.4
1.9
1.8
1.9
1.9
1.9
1.9
1.7Percent homeowner
65
29
70
52
76
55
77
61
77Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$55,481
$75,321
$77,194
$69,429
$78,896
$65,889
$78,691
$57,818Food
9,343
7,060
9,653
9,935
8,821
10,184
8,301
10,088
7,306Food at home
5,703
3,968
5,939
5,899
5,530
6,050
5,271
6,034
4,797Cereals and bakery products
712
473
744
741
687
760
652
751
605Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
877
1,262
1,240
1,194
1,264
1,156
1,287
1,019Dairy products
532
362
555
547
519
557
501
550
481Fruits and vegetables
1,099
783
1,142
1,159
1,046
1,176
1,004
1,156
944Other food at home
2,144
1,473
2,235
2,212
2,084
2,294
1,958
2,289
1,748Food away from home
3,639
3,092
3,714
4,036
3,291
4,134
3,030
4,055
2,509Alcoholic beverages
583
507
594
626
549
617
545
627
469Housing
24,298
19,684
24,919
26,105
22,808
26,356
21,866
25,796
20,362Shelter
14,507
13,424
14,652
16,058
13,221
16,142
12,572
15,579
11,692Owned dwellings
8,230
3,260
8,897
7,917
8,489
8,276
8,175
8,498
7,526Rented dwellings
4,990
9,431
4,394
7,036
3,294
6,630
3,050
5,741
3,021Other lodging
1,287
733
1,361
1,105
1,438
1,236
1,347
1,341
1,145Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
3,006
4,756
4,405
4,669
4,556
4,541
4,669
4,236Household operations
1,849
1,132
1,946
2,200
1,559
2,094
1,560
1,953
1,578Housekeeping supplies
787
436
835
724
843
756
825
787
787Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
1,686
2,730
2,718
2,517
2,807
2,368
2,809
2,070Apparel and services
1,945
1,867
1,955
2,348
1,592
2,378
1,410
2,244
1,130Transportation
12,295
10,816
12,494
13,817
11,034
13,956
10,330
13,865
8,172Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,405
4,508
5,231
3,886
5,234
3,623
5,199
2,649Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
2,747
3,170
3,535
2,775
3,579
2,577
3,545
2,004Other vehicle expenses
3,834
2,960
3,952
4,070
3,640
4,162
3,448
4,175
2,939Public and other transportation
845
705
864
981
733
982
683
946
579Healthcare
5,850
2,313
6,326
4,446
7,020
4,709
7,205
5,209
7,540Entertainment
3,458
2,288
3,616
3,794
3,178
3,774
3,082
3,753
2,672Personal care products and services
866
732
884
915
825
935
783
926
706Reading
117
93
120
106
127
103
134
104
152Education
1,335
1,917
1,257
1,573
1,138
1,757
836
1,701
373Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
243
389
355
385
370
372
413
261Miscellaneous
1,009
514
1,075
954
1,055
991
1,030
1,033
943Cash contributions
2,755
750
3,024
1,634
3,684
1,783
3,904
2,112
4,443Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
6,694
9,017
10,585
7,214
10,983
6,090
10,819
3,289Life and other personal insurance
519
172
566
411
609
431
624
514
533Pensions and Social Security
8,223
6,522
8,451
10,174
6,605
10,552
5,466
10,305
2,756Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Value is too small to display.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 15. Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Hispanic or Latino
Not Hispanic or LatinoTotal
White, and all other races, not including Black or African-American [1]
Black or African-AmericanNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [2]
134,090
19,535
114,555
97,574
16,981Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$75,900
$97,091
$101,465
$71,956Age of reference person
52.1
45.4
53.2
53.7
50.4Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
3.1
2.3
2.3
2.5Children under 18
.6
.9
.5
.5
.7Adults 65 and older
.4
.2
.5
.5
.3Earners
1.3
1.6
1.3
1.3
1.2Vehicles
1.9
1.7
1.9
2.0
1.4Percent homeowner
65
48
68
71
48Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$64,330
$74,443
$77,369
$57,646Food
9,343
9,302
9,349
9,726
7,191Food at home
5,703
5,684
5,707
5,897
4,622Cereals and bakery products
712
657
722
747
578Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,393
1,184
1,190
1,151Dairy products
532
521
534
564
362Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,168
1,087
1,122
888Other food at home
2,144
1,945
2,179
2,273
1,644Food away from home
3,639
3,618
3,642
3,830
2,569Alcoholic beverages
583
417
612
658
351Housing
24,298
22,964
24,527
25,116
21,150Shelter
14,507
14,086
14,579
14,896
12,756Owned dwellings
8,230
5,847
8,636
9,160
5,623Rented dwellings
4,990
7,609
4,544
4,200
6,522Other lodging
1,287
630
1,399
1,536
611Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
4,433
4,569
4,588
4,462Household operations
1,849
1,371
1,931
2,027
1,376Housekeeping supplies
787
679
806
828
684Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
2,396
2,642
2,777
1,872Apparel and services
1,945
2,197
1,900
1,831
2,296Transportation
12,295
12,586
12,245
12,609
10,153Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,374
4,517
4,729
3,295Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
3,663
3,027
3,106
2,574Other vehicle expenses
3,834
3,878
3,827
3,851
3,689Public and other transportation
845
671
875
923
595Healthcare
5,850
3,964
6,173
6,572
3,883Entertainment
3,458
2,329
3,652
3,966
1,851Personal care products and services
866
840
871
876
843Reading
117
67
125
135
70Education
1,335
895
1,411
1,545
639Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
213
398
410
334Miscellaneous
1,009
695
1,062
1,125
704Cash contributions
2,755
1,046
3,046
3,273
1,744Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
6,815
9,071
9,529
6,437Life and other personal insurance
519
256
564
573
516Pensions and Social Security
8,223
6,558
8,507
8,957
5,921Footnotes:
[1] All other races includes Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, as well as respondents reporting more than one race.
[2] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 16. Occupation of reference person: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
Self-employed workers
Wage and salary earners
Retired
All other, including not reportingTotal wage and salary earners
Managers and professionals
Technical, sales and clerical workers
Service workers
Construction workers and mechanics
Operators, fabricators and laborersNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [1]
134,090
9,620
80,867
35,226
18,976
16,771
3,528
6,366
29,420
14,184Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$147,179
$111,763
$149,604
$88,233
$77,509
$89,189
$75,253
$48,780
$50,490Age of reference person
52.1
51.4
44.9
45.1
44.3
45.0
42.6
46.9
73.7
48.7Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.7
2.6
2.6
2.5
2.7
3.0
2.7
1.7
2.8Children under 18
.6
.7
.7
.7
.6
.7
.8
.7
[2]
.9Adults 65 and older
.4
.3
.2
.2
.2
.2
.1
.2
1.2
.2Earners
1.3
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.7
1.8
1.8
1.8
.2
.6Vehicles
1.9
2.1
2.0
2.1
1.8
1.8
2.2
2.1
1.8
1.4Percent homeowner
65
70
63
70
58
55
58
58
79
46Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$96,511
$80,071
$98,907
$68,589
$63,354
$70,607
$59,032
$54,975
$53,974Food
9,343
11,134
10,035
11,829
8,895
8,428
9,378
7,949
7,350
8,397Food at home
5,703
6,516
5,876
6,610
5,273
5,474
5,405
4,898
4,938
5,779Cereals and bakery products
712
804
731
815
674
698
631
580
623
725Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,324
1,239
1,315
1,104
1,299
1,173
1,116
1,077
1,297Dairy products
532
625
536
609
480
492
476
442
491
538Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,277
1,141
1,302
1,010
1,052
1,044
915
936
1,089Other food at home
2,144
2,485
2,229
2,569
2,005
1,933
2,081
1,845
1,811
2,129Food away from home
3,639
4,617
4,159
5,219
3,622
2,954
3,973
3,051
2,412
2,619Alcoholic beverages
583
803
658
862
590
401
506
492
455
278Housing
24,298
28,468
26,338
31,760
23,130
21,745
23,050
19,736
19,792
19,199Shelter
14,507
17,229
15,989
19,507
13,943
13,178
13,565
11,364
11,186
11,102Owned dwellings
8,230
10,346
9,004
11,950
7,444
6,455
6,225
5,611
7,180
4,557Rented dwellings
4,990
4,760
5,647
5,486
5,628
6,002
6,507
5,177
2,860
5,825Other lodging
1,287
2,123
1,338
2,071
871
721
834
576
1,146
[3]Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
5,098
4,693
4,941
4,396
4,604
4,595
4,498
4,228
4,023Household operations
1,849
2,087
2,007
2,742
1,561
1,349
1,534
1,250
1,572
1,367Housekeeping supplies
787
966
786
906
744
685
618
595
811
632Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
3,088
2,864
3,664
2,486
1,929
2,739
2,030
1,995
2,075Apparel and services
1,945
2,291
2,278
2,697
1,970
2,122
1,845
1,512
1,129
1,522Transportation
12,295
18,189
13,751
15,700
12,164
11,925
15,491
11,551
8,065
8,772Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
7,629
5,035
5,792
4,587
4,243
[3]
3,590
2,729
2,963Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
4,245
3,501
3,637
3,134
3,338
4,561
3,677
1,982
2,545Other vehicle expenses
3,834
5,133
4,250
4,812
3,866
3,690
4,168
3,809
2,789
2,754Public and other transportation
845
1,183
966
1,459
577
654
[3]
474
564
510Healthcare
5,850
6,699
5,471
6,679
4,660
4,665
4,009
4,129
7,505
4,012Entertainment
3,458
4,609
3,826
5,027
3,478
2,460
2,729
2,401
2,589
2,395Personal care products and services
866
993
957
1,155
945
743
741
552
695
620Reading
117
149
114
156
91
79
24
[3]
134
77Education
1,335
1,707
1,576
2,224
1,197
1,049
[3]
[3]
[3]
1,734Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
330
376
248
400
501
519
606
269
584Miscellaneous
1,009
1,604
1,052
1,341
838
839
992
687
881
623Cash contributions
2,755
[3]
2,268
3,372
1,371
1,431
1,581
1,421
[3]
[3]Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
15,372
11,369
15,855
8,858
6,967
8,480
7,222
1,776
3,719Life and other personal insurance
519
699
545
767
439
313
420
310
451
392Pensions and Social Security
8,223
14,673
10,824
15,089
8,419
6,654
8,060
6,912
1,325
3,326Footnotes:
[1] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[2] Value is too small to display.
[3] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 17. Race of reference person: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2022
Item
All consumer units
White, Asian, and all other races, not including Black or African-American
Black or African- AmericanTotal
White, and all other races, not including Black or African-American [1]
AsianNumber of consumer units (in thousands) [2]
134,090
116,562
109,090
7,471
17,528Consumer unit characteristics:Income before taxes
$94,003
$97,333
$95,344
$126,383
$71,859Age of reference person
52.1
52.4
52.9
45.2
50.2Average number in consumer unit:People
2.4
2.4
2.4
2.8
2.5Children under 18
.6
.5
.5
.7
.7Adults 65 and older
.4
.4
.4
.3
.3Earners
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.6
1.2Vehicles
1.9
1.9
2.0
1.7
1.4Percent homeowner
65
68
68
62
48Average annual expenditures
$72,967
$75,211
$74,333
$87,950
$57,996Food
9,343
9,663
9,527
11,507
7,180Food at home
5,703
5,867
5,786
6,945
4,598Cereals and bakery products
712
732
717
933
578Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
1,216
1,227
1,193
1,675
1,141Dairy products
532
557
560
522
360Fruits and vegetables
1,099
1,131
1,097
1,584
884Other food at home
2,144
2,220
2,219
2,232
1,636Food away from home
3,639
3,796
3,741
4,562
2,582Alcoholic beverages
583
617
634
390
354Housing
24,298
24,734
24,404
29,560
21,395Shelter
14,507
14,737
14,389
19,818
12,975Owned dwellings
8,230
8,604
8,438
11,030
5,738Rented dwellings
4,990
4,749
4,584
7,164
6,596Other lodging
1,287
1,384
1,368
1,623
640Utilities, fuels, and public services
4,549
4,563
4,583
4,262
4,459Household operations
1,849
1,919
1,900
2,204
1,384Housekeeping supplies
787
801
809
692
691Household furnishings and equipment
2,606
2,713
2,723
2,584
1,886Apparel and services
1,945
1,891
1,859
2,337
2,310Transportation
12,295
12,617
12,434
15,299
10,151Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
4,496
4,681
4,510
7,175
3,263Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil
3,120
3,201
3,230
2,771
2,581Other vehicle expenses
3,834
3,857
3,866
3,716
3,685Public and other transportation
845
879
827
1,636
622Healthcare
5,850
6,148
6,183
5,643
3,869Entertainment
3,458
3,694
3,772
2,599
1,880Personal care products and services
866
868
862
943
854Reading
117
123
124
108
74Education
1,335
1,429
1,330
2,880
712Tobacco products and smoking supplies
371
371
386
162
371Miscellaneous
1,009
1,053
1,061
940
710Cash contributions
2,755
2,909
2,953
c/
1,726Personal insurance and pensions
8,742
9,093
8,804
13,311
6,410Life and other personal insurance
519
521
517
577
506Pensions and Social Security
8,223
8,571
8,286
12,734
5,904Footnotes:
[1] All other races includes Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, as well as respondents reporting more than one race.
[2] Data are rounded to the nearest thousands.
[3] Data are suppressed due to the Relative Standard Error (RSE) being equal to or greater than 25 percent. See www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm for more information.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Technical Notes
     
The primary goal of the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) is to collect, process, and publish data on the purchasing habits of U.S. consumers. CE data are used by a wide variety of stakeholders, such as government agencies, the private sector, and academia, to generate cutting edge research. In addition, the data are required for the regular revision of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) market basket. To craft a complete picture of how illuminating the CE is, it is important to consider its extensive history; individual components; how seamlessly it interacts with other stakeholders within the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and outside of the agency; and practical, published applications of the data.
**CE History: 135 years of insight into the U.S. consumer’s spending habits**
The CE has a rich and dynamic history spanning 135 years of survey collection and administration. The CE was first conducted in 1888. At the time, the survey was administered on a roughly 10-year basis, leading to noticeable gaps in spending data. The infrequency of survey collection meant that the CE missed the opportunity to collect data on several time periods: the initial phase of the Great Depression from 1929–33, spending in WWII (for which an article was published in 2015) and the immediate postwar period, and other key historic junctures of the first four-fifths of the twentieth century. This policy would hold constant through the 1972–73 survey. The 1972–73 collection cycle marked the division of the then-singular survey into two: the Diary and Interview Surveys, each with independent samples. Beginning in 1980, these two surveys also began to be conducted on an annual basis, rather than the 10-year basis that had been used previously.1
However, the 1970s were marked by high inflation, energy shortages, and recessions, among other economic hardships for consumers. This led to the recognition that more frequently collected data allowed for better understanding of how economic conditions—“boom” or “bust”—affected consumers. This demand for more frequent and timely spending data drove BLS toward annual collections for the CE. As a result, data collection on a continuing basis began in late 1979, with the U.S. Census Bureau conducting the surveys for BLS.
As the dot-com boom of the 1990s and early 2000s set in, the CE continued to collect the Diary and Interview surveys purely on paper: without the use of digital aides. The year 2003 marked the first shift in that direction with the adaptation of an electronic form of data collection. CE introduced a computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) instrument for the two surveys. Among other short- and long-term goals, it sought to minimize respondent burden and nonresponse bias and move the survey administration process into the modern era. In 2021, spurred by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to provide more timely data, mid-year CE Public Use Microdata (PUMD) were released. Mid-year data are released in the second quarter of a given year and provide a partial snapshot into spending trends in anticipation of the annual data release. The year 2022 saw another milestone regarding digital implementation with the full adoption of a revamped and modern online interface for the Diary Survey.
**The Diary and Interview surveys**
As noted above, the CE is composed of two distinct surveys: the 2-week Diary Survey and the quarterly Interview Survey. The Diary Survey is designed to capture expenditures on small, frequently purchased items that are normally more difficult for respondents to recall purchasing multiple months ago. It is considerably easier to recall the purchase of fruit from a grocery store over a 2-week reference period than a 12-week reference period. Respondents keep detailed entries of consumption for several key expenditure categories. A major category that the Diary Survey contains is that of food and beverage spending, both for food at home and food away from home. The former comprises spending at grocery stores, public markets, and corner convenient stores. The latter focuses on food purchased at restaurants (full service, fast food, etc.), or employer and school cafeterias. Other items collected in the Diary Survey include tobacco; housekeeping supplies; nonprescription drugs; daily transportation needs, such as gasoline, taxi fares, and tolls; personal care products and services; and apparel. Although the Diary Survey was designed to collect information on expenditures that are not recalled easily over an extended reference period, respondents are asked to report all expenses that the CU incurs during the survey week, except those incurred while traveling on an out-of-town trip. For example, a New York-based CU would record spending on a taxi or limousine within Manhattan but not for one from the airport to the hotel at the start of an out-of-town trip.
The Interview Survey is designed to capture data on expenditures centered around large-scale purchases and recurring payments. Unlike the Diary Survey, respondents for the Interview Survey are asked to report purchases that can be recalled for at least 3 months, recorded by the interviewer. As stated, expenditures that consumers can be expected to recall in a typical interview wave can be sorted into two main categories, the first being large-scale purchases. Examples of large-scale purchases that a CU would report in the Interview Survey include the purchase of a new or used automobile, major appliances, and the maintenance of housing property. Recurring payments reported in the Interview Survey include items such as rent, utility payments, and insurance premiums. In addition, unlike the Diary Survey, the Interview Survey collects expenditures on out-of-town trips (excluding spending for business purposes). These data alone account for 60–70 percent of total expenditures for the average CU. After adding in respondents’ global estimates for spending on food, alcohol, and tobacco products, estimates rise to about 95 percent of expenditures that are covered in the Interview Survey.2 Nonprescription drugs, household supplies, and personal care items are excluded from Interview Survey collection.
**Survey design, administration, and scope**
Beyond the expenditure categories included in each survey, it is important to lay out the overall design, how each survey is administered, and what other implications they have. For the Diary Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau draws a sample of 17,800 addresses per year for the CE, with approximately 14,800 of those addresses found to be occupied housing units. The other 3,000 addresses are ineligible for the survey as generally, they are nonexistent, nonresidential, or vacant. Approximately 6,200 of those occupied housing units respond to the survey, yielding a response rate of roughly 42 percent of eligible units. Each household is then asked to complete two weekly diaries, recording all expenditures in that 2-week window. This yields a total of 12,400 weekly diaries per year. In a similar fashion, for the Interview Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau visits 13,175 addresses on a quarterly basis, with 11,000 of those addresses having eligible, occupied housing units. Out of the 11,000 occupied units visited, approximately 5,000 of those housing units respond to the survey for a corresponding quantity of interviews per quarter, yielding a response rate of 45 percent. Each CU is interviewed once per quarter, for four consecutive quarters, yielding 20,000 samples annually. Given that the panel of CUs interviewed rotates each quarter, a consistent quantity of CUs rotate in and out of the survey. Data from both the Diary and Interview Surveys are collected on an ongoing basis in 91 Primary Sampling Units (PSUs), which are defined geographic areas of the United States. Integrated data from the Diary and Interview Surveys provide a more complete accounting of consumer expenditures and income than either survey is designed to do on its own. One reason is that data on some expenditure items are collected in only one of the surveys. For example, the Diary Survey does not collect information on reimbursements or expenses incurred by CU members while on an out-of-town trip. Examples of expenditures for which reimbursements are included in the Interview Survey are medical care; automobile repairs; and construction, repairs, alterations, and maintenance of property. Similarly, the Interview Survey collects only global, not detailed, expenditures on food, at or away from home.
**Source selection and data changes**
For expenditure items that are unique to one survey or the other, the choice of which survey to use as the source of data is obvious. However, there is considerable overlap in coverage between the two surveys, and when dealing with integrated data, careful analysis and thought must be given when choosing the appropriate survey from which to select specific expenditure items. Once data are available from both surveys, economists in the BLS CE and CPI programs conduct statistical analyses to decide the most reliable survey source. The team relies on three key statistical methods to decide which survey is more reliable including counts sufficiency; statistical significance through the transmission mechanism of weighted z-scores; and, starting in 2020, the introduction of edit rates to gauge data quality. In this way, some items are selected from the Interview Survey, and others are selected from the Diary Survey. BLS reviews the survey sources on an annual basis. For source selection details, see “CE Source Selection for Publication Tables” in the Consumer Expenditure Survey Anthology, 2011 (BLS Report, no. 1030).
For the year 2022, the CE and CPI team made one source selection change. This involved moving expenditure data at the Universal Classification Code level for taxi and limousine fares from the Diary Survey to the Interview Survey.
**Additional key CE and CPI information**
As noted above, the CPI market basket is revised in accordance with results from the CE, however, the population coverage of the CE differs from that of the CPI. For example, the CE data cover the total population, including rural areas, whereas the CPI covers only the population in urban areas. With the latest CPI geographic revisions, BLS is making efforts to align the urban areas sampled by the CE and the CPI.
Definitions of components also differ between the CE and CPI. For example, homeownership is treated differently in the two surveys. Actual expenditures of homeownership (mortgage payments) are reported in the CE, whereas the CPI uses a rental equivalence approach that estimates the change in the cost of obtaining, in the rental marketplace, services equivalent to those provided by owner-occupied homes. (For an overview of the CPI methodology, see the *Handbook of Methods* section on the Consumer Price Index.)
**Interpreting CE data**
When interpreting CE data, users should keep a few key points in mind. Expenditures are averages for CUs with specified characteristics, regardless of whether any individual CU with those characteristics incurred an expense for a given item during the survey collection. Thus, the average expenditure shown for an item may be considerably lower than the average expenditure by the CUs who purchased the item. The less frequently an item is purchased, the greater the difference between the average for all CUs and the average for those purchasing the item. Take new cars for example. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price of a new car was $49,507 in 2022.3 Conversely, the average annual expenditure for new cars and trucks in 2022 was just under $2,200. Similarly, an individual CU who purchases the item of interest may spend more or less than the average. Factors such as income, age and number of family members, and the geographic location of the CU influence its expenditures. For example, a CU in the highest income quintile will likely spend more on food on out-of-town trips than a CU in the lowest income quintile due to the highest income quintile CU’s higher disposable income. In addition, even within groups with similar characteristics, the distribution of expenditures varies substantially, as consumer tastes and preference, prices, and other factors not collected in the CE (e.g., health status of CU members) also influence expenditure patterns.
Such points should be considered when comparing reported averages with the circumstances of any individual CU of interest. Users of these survey data should also keep in mind that the data reflect conditions at the time they were collected, which may be different than current circumstances. For one thing, prices may have changed. All prices, as measured by the CPI-U, increased 8.0 percent from 2021 to 2022 (annual average index). Undoubtedly, some prices rose more than the average 8.0 percent; some rose less, some stayed the same, and some may have even declined, either within this period or after 2022.
In addition, sample surveys are subject to two types of error: sampling and non-sampling. Sampling errors arise from the constraint of not being able to survey the entire population. Whenever data are collected from a subset of a larger entity and are extrapolated to apply to all elements of that entity, there is bound to be error in the data. Therefore, the mean of the sample may differ from the mean that would be obtained if data from the entire population were available. On the other hand, non-sampling error results from data collection constraints and inconsistencies. Any of the following are sources of non-sampling error: the inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information regarding spending patterns, differences in interviewers’ abilities to convince respondents to provide fully accurate answers, mistakes in recording or coding, and other processing errors. For additional information on these types of errors, see the sampling and non-sampling errors questions on the CE FAQs page.
**Data products**
**Published tables, 1960–61, 1972–73, 1984–2022**
Tables in this report include data integrated from the Diary Survey and Interview Survey components of the CE. Integrated data enables users to paint a more complete picture of CU spending dynamics by pulling key components such as food and apparel from the Diary Survey and rent, utilities, and household appliances from the Interview Survey. Integrated tables also provide expenditure breakdowns by the 17 demographic characteristics collected in the CE, allowing for analyses of comprehensive spending trends by such characteristics as education level, occupation, and housing tenure. For more detail than is provided in this report, see the CE tables archive. This archive provides tables from as far back as 1960–61.
In addition to annual tables, CE offers published tables with a 2-year collection period. The 2-year tables are available in two broad categories: cross-tabulated tables and geographic area tables. Cross-tabulated tables analyze the intersection of two demographic characteristics. Examples of both 2-year table categories are listed below.
Cross-tabulated tables
income before taxes, cross-tabulated by age, CU size, or region.
region of residence by income before taxes or housing tenure.
single consumers by sex of reference person, cross-tabulated by either income (of the CU) or age (of reference person).Geographic area tables
selected states by quintiles of income before taxes including California, Florida, New York, and Texas.4
selected metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), such as New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., and San Francisco.
Census region and division of residence.**Detailed tables, 1984–2022**
To complement the published tables, BLS also produces detailed level CE tables on request. Detailed level tables contain additional sub-categories of spending by demographic characteristics, allowing users to not only view how much a CU spends on “public and other transportation,” but also spending levels on airline tickets, intracity mass transit spending, and local transportation on out-of-town trips. However, while detailed level tables provide a more robust breakdown of spending data, they have larger variances relative to other tables. For additional information on variability concerns, please see “How does the variability of Consumer Expenditure data impact your analysis?.” A detailed table showing results at the all consumer units level, at even the most detailed breakdown of expenditures, is available in the Top Line Means Tables. Detailed level tables broken down by demographics are available by request by reaching out to the following email address: CEXInfo@bls.gov.
**New additions to CE tables**
Beginning with 2022 data, BLS determined that CE estimates with a Relative Standard Error (RSE) of 25 percent or more should be considered unreliable and began including data suppressions for these estimates in the CE tables.5 RSE is defined as the ratio of the mean to its standard error (SE). For any estimate with an RSE that equals or exceeds the 25 percent threshold, the mean expenditure, SE, and expenditure share will now be suppressed. RSEs tend to be smaller for nationwide estimates than for smaller demographic groups, primarily due to their different sample sizes. Generally, RSEs decrease as the sample size “*n*,” or the frequency of purchases, increases. Therefore, infrequently purchased items are more susceptible to large RSEs, while frequently purchased items tend to have smaller RSEs. For more information on variance estimation, please see the Tables Getting Started Guide. While the CE tables contain new data suppressions, CE public use microdata can still be used to obtain estimates that are suppressed in the tables.
**LABSTAT Database**
The CE LABSTAT database provides tools to access CE estimates on the CE LABSTAT Database homepage, and documentation for how to use the database is available in the CE LABSTAT Getting Started Guide. Beginning with the release of 2022 data, the CE LABSTAT database includes standard errors from 2010 forward, shares of average annual expenditures from 2010 forward, and shares of aggregate expenditures from 2011 forward. In addition, a “Top Picks” feature has been added to the database, which allows users to quickly retrieve the most commonly requested CE time series data.
**Public use microdata**
The 2022 CE public use microdata (PUMD), including the Interview Survey files, Diary Survey files, and paradata (information about the data collection process), are available on the CE Public Use Microdata homepage. The Interview Survey files contain expenditure data in three distinct formats: MTBI, FMLI, and EXPN files. MBTI files present monthly values in an item-coding framework based on the CPI-U pricing scheme. FMLI files present user-friendly summary expenditure variables. Finally, EXPN files present detailed data files that organize expenditures by the section of the Interview questionnaire in which they are collected. Expenditure values on detailed data files cover different time periods depending on the specific questions asked. In addition, these files also contain relevant non-expenditure information not found on the MTBI files. The Diary Survey files contain expenditure data in two different formats: EXPD files that present weekly values in the same item-coding framework based on the CPI-U pricing scheme and FMLD files that present user-friendly summary expenditure variables. Documentation of the CE PUMD, its conventions, files, sample code, and methodology, can be found in the CE PUMD Getting Started Guide.
New estimates of local, state, and federal tax liabilities were included in the 2013 PUMD release and thereafter. The CE introduced these estimates to improve the quality of surveyed tax liabilities, which suffered from low response rates. For more information on the aforementioned improvements and for recent applications of tax estimates, please see “Improving data quality in Consumer Expenditure Survey with TAXSIM” and “New estimates of personal taxes in Consumer Expenditure Survey.” Free public use microdata are available at the PUMD data files webpage for SAS, STATA, and Comma Delimited Excel files for the years 1980 to 2022.
**Recent publications highlighting CE data**
To highlight the far-reaching scope of the data, economists in the CE program frequently produce research for both agency and public audiences. BLS actively publishes articles in the following publications: *The Economics Daily*, *Spotlight on Statistics*, *Beyond the Numbers*, and the *Monthly Labor Review*.
*The Economics Daily* provides readers with high-level, short highlights and headlines of current developments using BLS data. Recent articles published in *The Economics Daily* from CE economists include “Consumer spending increased 9.0 percent in 2022,” “Consumer expenditures rise 8.6 percent in April-June 2022 quarter compared with year earlier,” “Consumer spending on public and other transportation in metro areas before and during COVID-19,” and “Consumer expenditures for athletic gear, game tables, and exercise equipment doubled in 2021.”
Articles in *Spotlight on Statistics* present their stories via a collection of charts, focusing on the visual aspect of presenting CE data to the viewer. The most recent CE publication is “How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Urban and Rural Spending Habits.”
*Beyond the Numbers* articles take a more in-depth look at a topic of interest, focusing on analysis and commentary, with a selection of related charts and tables. As of December 2023, the most recent *Beyond the Numbers* articles highlighting CE data include “We love our pets, and our spending proves it” and “How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect healthcare spending?”
The most comprehensive analyses of CE data can be found in the *Monthly Labor Review.* Articles in this journal exhibit more technical concepts and use statistical techniques not found in other publications. The most recent article highlighting CE data in the Monthly Labor Review is “Developing a consumption measure, with examples of use for poverty and inequality analysis: a new research product from BLS.”
In addition, the CE research library includes general articles and research papers using CE data, including instructional and how-to documents. The CE data quality and comparison webpage provides users with a comprehensive analysis on how CE data compares with other seminal outlets that release expenditure data on a frequent basis. Outlets that have CE comparison profiles include but are not limited to: the American Community Survey, Personal Consumption Expenditure, and Panel Study of Income Dynamics. For those interested in information on the methodology used to calculate and collect CE data, including the CE data quality profile, please reference the CE Handbook of Methods.
**Other survey information**
Other survey information available on the website includes answers to frequently asked questions and a glossary of terms. Current and historic forms used to conduct the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey are available on the Survey Questionnaires and Materials page.
**Contact information**
This report was prepared by Kristen Thiel and Geoffrey D. Paulin, senior economists in the Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; and Shane Meyers, an economist in the Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Email: thiel.kristen@bls.gov; paulin.geoffrey@bls.gov; meyers.shane@bls.gov.
For more detailed information on the availability of current and earlier data, contact the Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Office of Prices and Living Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20212-0001; call (202) 691-6900; email: CEXInfo@bls.gov; or visit the Consumer Expenditure Surveys page. Information in this publication is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permission. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
**Additional notes**
1 The 1980 surveys covered the entire U.S. population on aggregate. However, due to budget constraints, the survey covered only the urban population for part of the period from 1981 through 1983. In 1984, the full national sample was reestablished, and both surveys have represented the total U.S. population since then.
2 A global question is one that collects broad, general information on the item of interest. For example, the Diary Survey collects detailed information on purchases of food at home, such as rice or chuck steak. In contrast, the Interview Survey asks the global question, “what has been (your/your household’s) usual WEEKLY expense for grocery shopping?”.
3 As reported by Kelley Blue Book in January 2023, the average price of a new car that rolled off the lot was $49,507, considerably more than the average annual expenditure for a car at the all consumer units level. See Sean Tucker, “Average new car price tops $49,500,” Kelley Blue Book, January 11, 2023, https://www.kbb.com/car-news/average-new-car-price-tops-49500/.
4 As of the 2022 collection cycle, a state weight for New Jersey is no longer produced, for additional information, please see: https://www.bls.gov/cex/research_papers/pdf/krieger-swanson-discontinuation-of-nj-state-weight.pdf
5 Beginning with the 2022 CE tables publication, BLS replaced the term ‘coefficient of variation’ with ‘relative standard error.’ Facebook
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