Household Spending Lookup
Pick any dimension below to jump to detailed BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey figures for that slice of the US population. Every page below shows annual spending, share of total budget, and 2020 – 2024 trend.
How to read this lookup. The Consumer Expenditure Survey publishes
average annual expenditures per consumer unit - a household-equivalent unit
that includes singles, couples, families, and roommates filing jointly. National 2024
average was $78,535 per consumer unit. Income-quintile pages reveal
the steepest gradient: the highest-income fifth spends roughly 4.4× the lowest fifth.
Age-group pages tell a different story, spending peaks in the 45 – 54 bracket and falls
sharply after 65. Regional pages show the smallest spread, mostly cost-of-living driven.
The underlying BLS survey samples approximately 24,000 consumer units per year using a
rotating panel design, with each unit interviewed across five consecutive quarters, and
results are published annually every September for the prior calendar year. When the BLS
suppresses a category or demographic cross-tabulation due to insufficient sample size or
high variance, this lookup displays that transparently rather than estimating a value.
By Spending Category
14 major categories tracked since 2020.
By Income Quintile
Five equal-sized population groups by pre-tax household income.
By Age Group
Reference person's age, the household member named first when responding to the survey.
By Census Region
Four official US Census Bureau regions.
Source
All figures derive from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), 2020 – 2024 published microdata release. See methodology for processing notes.