Highest Household Spending Categories
All spending categories ranked by average annual expenditure.
Spending Insight: Highest Household Spending Categories
The top-ranked category in this list is Housing at $26,266, followed by Transportation ($13,318) and Food ($10,169). In total, this ranking covers 14 spending categories drawn from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey.
Housing dominates American household budgets, consuming roughly a third of all spending. Transportation and food round out the top three, together accounting for over 60% of average household expenditures. These three necessities leave limited room for discretionary spending on healthcare, entertainment, and education. The composition of spending has shifted over decades — housing and healthcare have grown as a share, while food and apparel have shrunk.
The spread between the top-ranked Housing ($26,266) and the bottom-ranked Reading ($125) illustrates how uneven household spending is across categories. Rankings like this are most useful when paired with the per-category detail pages, which break spending down by income quintile, age group, Census region, household size, and housing tenure. Click any category name in the table below to drill into that demographic breakdown and see where your own household might fit within the broader distribution.
| # | Category | Annual Avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Housing | $26,266 |
| 2 | Transportation | $13,318 |
| 3 | Food | $10,169 |
| 4 | Personal insurance and pensions | $9,797 |
| 5 | Healthcare | $6,197 |
| 6 | Entertainment | $3,609 |
| 7 | Cash contributions | $2,292 |
| 8 | Apparel and services | $2,001 |
| 9 | Education | $1,569 |
| 10 | Miscellaneous | $1,218 |
| 11 | Personal care products and services | $978 |
| 12 | Alcoholic beverages | $643 |
| 13 | Tobacco products and smoking supplies | $352 |
| 14 | Reading | $125 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys — Verify with BLS →. See methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do Americans spend the most money on?
Housing is the largest expense at roughly $26,000/year (33% of budget), followed by transportation (~$13,000, 17%) and food (~$10,000, 13%). Together these three categories consume about 63% of the average household budget, according to BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey data.
How does spending differ by income level?
Higher-income households spend more in absolute terms on every category, but the proportion shifts dramatically. Low-income households spend 40%+ on housing, while high-income households spend under 30%. Wealthier households spend a larger share on personal insurance, pensions, and entertainment.
Explore Related Rankings
Browse other rankings compiled from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey and U.S. Census Bureau demographic dimensions.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.