Age of reference person · BLS CE 2024
Ages 65–74: Household Spending
How much households headed by someone aged 65–74 spend each year, broken down by category, from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey.
- Avg annual spending
- $65,354
- Categories tracked
- 14
- Top: Housing
- $22,329
Where ages 65–74 sits by total spend
Ages 65–74 average $65,354 among 7 BLS age-of-reference cohorts (inventory of life-stage spend, not a quality ranking). Orthogonal to the category stack below.
Ages 65–74 vs all age cohorts by total annual spend
Where this cohort's average expenditures sit among every tracked age group
$65,354 5th of 7 higher than 2 of 7 age cohorts
Cohorts, banded by average annual expenditures
Each bar is a $0.001K-wide band; taller bars hold more age cohorts. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey · 2026-08-09
Spending Insight: 65–74 Households
Households headed by someone aged 65–74 spent an average of $65,354 per year in 2024, which is 16.8% below the national household average of $78,535. The top three categories - Housing ($22,329), Transportation ($11,414), and Food ($8,483) - together consume a substantial share of this age group's annual budget, illustrating how life stage drives consumption priorities.
Housing alone accounts for 34.2% of total spending at $22,329 per year, making it the single largest fixed cost for this cohort. Healthcare spending of $7,715 represents 11.8% of the budget, a figure that typically trends upward with age as medical needs intensify and Medicare supplement premiums accumulate. These ratios reveal structural pressures, younger cohorts allocate more to transportation and education, middle-aged households peak on housing and children, while older households shift toward healthcare and cash contributions.
Compared to other age brackets, the 65–74 group's spending signature reflects both earning capacity and life-stage obligations. The BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shows spending typically rises through peak earning years (ages 45-54) before declining in retirement, though healthcare costs continue climbing. Use the category breakdown above to drill into specific line items, or compare this age group's allocation patterns against income quintiles and regions to understand whether these averages match your own household's situation.
Ages 65–74 household spend stack
Ages 65–74 · top 8 categories · 2024
Spending across the lifecycle
Total annual household spending by age of the reference person · 2024
| Category | Annual Amount |
|---|---|
| Food | $8,483 |
| Alcoholic beverages | $610 |
| Housing | $22,329 |
| Apparel and services | $1,377 |
| Transportation | $11,414 |
| Healthcare | $7,715 |
| Entertainment | $3,122 |
| Personal care products and services | $817 |
| Reading | $117 |
| Education | $482 |
| Tobacco products and smoking supplies | $320 |
| Miscellaneous | $1,067 |
| Cash contributions | $2,921 |
| Personal insurance and pensions | $4,579 |
What to do with this age-group data
Households headed by someone aged 65–74 spend $65,354 a year on average, here's how to see where your own household fits.
- Compare your spending against the national income quintiles. Budget calculator
- See how spending shifts across the other age brackets. All age groups
- Save the categories you want to track to your watchlist. Save categories
Age-group figures are BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey averages; households within a bracket vary by income and size.
Nationwide age groups with similar spending patterns
Two peer sets for households headed by someone aged 65–74, each excluding this bracket, total spending and healthcare budget share are different axes.
Similar total spending
Nearest other age groups by average annual household spend ($65,354 here).
Similar healthcare share
Nearest other age groups by healthcare as a share of the budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do households aged 65–74 spend per year? ▼
What are the biggest expenses for the 65–74 age group? ▼
How much do 65–74 households spend on healthcare? ▼
What share of the budget goes to housing for 65–74 households? ▼
How does 65–74 spending compare to the national average? ▼
Spending Guides
Related Age Groups
Compare spending for adjacent age cohorts from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey CE Survey, calendar-year mean expenditures by age of reference person · 2024 Mean annual expenditures by age group from the CE Interview survey. Income before taxes used for quintile cuts.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.