Spending by Income Level

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics divides the roughly 130,000,000 American households into five income quintiles in its Consumer Expenditure Survey. According to the 2023 release covering 13,000+ sampled households, the top quintile spends roughly 4 times what the bottom quintile spends in absolute dollars, while necessity categories (food at home, utilities, healthcare) consume a far larger share of bottom-quintile budgets; see our methodology for how each quintile is defined and adjusted. Select an income group to see how spending patterns differ across all categories.

bottom 20%

Lowest 20%

Lowest-income households, largest share spent on necessities
20–40%

Second 20%

Lower-middle income households
40–60%

Middle 20%

Middle-income households
60–80%

Fourth 20%

Upper-middle income households
top 20%

Highest 20%

Highest-income households, largest absolute spending

About Income Quintiles

The BLS divides all consumer units into five equal groups (quintiles) ranked by income before taxes. Each quintile represents 20% of all households. Spending patterns differ dramatically: lower-income households spend a much larger share of income on necessities like food and housing, while higher-income households spend more in absolute terms on all categories.