Consumer units in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa., metropolitan area spent an average of $60,791 per year in 2012-2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that this figure was over 18 percent higher than the $51,299 average expenditure level for a typical household in the United States. Households in the New York area spent significantly more than the U.S. average, and also allocated their dollars significantly differently in 7 of the 8 major categories. For example, the expenditure share for healthcare, which accounted for 5.9 percent of a typical New York household budget, was significantly less than the national average of 7.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Housing in the New York metropolitan area averaged $24,187 annually and was the largest expenditure category, accounting for 39.8 percent of a New York area household’s total budget, significantly greater than the national average of 33.2 percent. (See table 1 and table 2.) Overall, 8 of the 18 published metropolitan areas had expenditure shares for housing significantly above the U.S. average. Only one area, Detroit, had a share for housing that was significantly below the U.S. average. (See chart 2.) Housing expenditure shares ranged from 39.9 percent in Miami to 30.0 percent in Detroit. (See table 3.)

The majority of housing expenditures in the New York area went toward shelter, 67.2 percent, which includes mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, and rent, among other items; nationwide, 58.6 percent of the housing budget was allocated toward shelter. (See table A.) Utilities, fuels, and public services expenses accounted for 17.4 percent of the housing budget locally; nationally, they made up 21.7 percent. The rate of homeownership in the New York area, at 55.0 percent, compared to the U.S. average of 64.0 percent.

Table A. Percent distribution of housing expenditures, United States and New York metropolitan area, 2012-2013

Category	United States	New York
Total housing	100.0	100.0
Shelter	58.6	67.2
Utilities, fuels, and public services	21.7	17.4
Household operations	6.8	6.8
Housekeeping supplies	3.7	2.5
Household furnishings and equipment	9.2	6.1
Note: Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding.

At 13.5 percent of the total budget, transportation was the second-largest expenditure category in the New York area; this was significantly lower than the national average of 17.5 percent. Among the 18 metropolitan areas nationwide, 6 had shares significantly below the U.S. average. Detroit and Houston had transportation shares that were significantly above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

Of the $8,235 spent annually for transportation by New York area consumer units, 85.7 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to a national average of 94.0 percent. The remaining 14.3 percent of New York area household expenditures was spent on public transportation, which includes fares for taxis, buses, trains, and planes; this allocation was significantly above the 6.0-percent average for the nation. (See table B.) The average number of vehicles per household in New York was 1.3; nationally, the average was 1.9.

Table B. Percent distribution of transportation expenditures, United States and New York metropolitan area, 2012-2013

Category	United States	New York
Transportation	100.0	100.0
Vehicle purchases (net outlays)	36.0	25.1
Gasoline and motor oil	29.8	26.5
Other vehicle expenses	28.2	34.1
Public transportation	6.0	14.3
Note: Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding.

The portion of New York area consumer unit’s budget spent on food, 11.9 percent, was significantly below the 12.9-percent U.S. average. Among the 18 metropolitan areas, 12 had food expenditure shares that were not significantly different from the nationwide average.

Households in the New York area spent $4,111, or 56.9 percent, of their food dollars on food prepared at home and the remaining 43.1 percent ($3,114) on food prepared away from home, such as restaurant meals, carry-out, board at school, and catered affairs. In comparison, the typical U.S. household spent 59.8 percent of its food budget on food at home and 40.2 percent on food away from home.

As noted, New York is 1 of 18 metropolitan areas nationwide for which Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data are available. Metropolitan area CE data and data for the four geographic regions of the United States are available on our Web site at https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm. Metropolitan area CE news releases are available at https://www.bls.gov/regions/subjects/consumer-spending.htm.

Additional information

Data contained in this release are from the CE Survey, which is conducted on an ongoing basis by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CE data in this release were averaged over a two-year period, 2012 and 2013. CE data are available for the nation, the 4 geographic regions of the country, and 18 metropolitan areas. The metropolitan area discussed in this release is New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa., which is comprised of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, Middlesex, and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

The survey consists of two components, a diary of recordkeeping survey, and an interview survey. The integrated data from the BLS Diary and Interview Surveys provide a complete accounting of consumer expenditures and income, which neither survey component alone is designed to do. Due to changes in the survey sample frame, metropolitan area data in this release are not directly comparable to those prior to 1996.

A consumer unit is defined as members of a household related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangement; a single person living alone or sharing a household with others but who is financially independent; or two or more persons living together who share responsibility for at least 2 out of 3 major types of expenses – food, housing, and other expenses. The terms household or consumer unit are used interchangeably for convenience.

CE metropolitan area estimates are not comparative cost of living surveys, as neither the quantity nor the quality of goods and services has been held constant among areas. Differences may result from variations in demographic characteristics such as consumer unit size, age, preferences, income levels, etc. However, expenditure shares, of the percentage of a consumer unit’s budget spent on a particular category, can be used to compare spending patterns across areas. Sample sizes for the metropolitan areas are much smaller than for the nation, so the U.S. estimates and year-to-year changes are more reliable than those for the metropolitan areas. Users should also keep in mind that prices for many goods and services have changed since the survey was conducted.

Expenditure shares for housing and transportation that are above or below that for the nation after testing for significance at the 95-percent confidence interval are also identified in charts 2 and 3 for the 18 metropolitan areas surveyed.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with our ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

For additional technical documentation and related information, see https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cex/home.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

 

Table 1. Percent distribution of average annual expenditures, United States and New York metropolitan area, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2012-2013

Category	United States	New York
Average annual expenditures	$51,299	$60,791*
Percent distribution:	100.0	100.0
Food	12.9	11.9*
Alcoholic beverages	0.9	0.8
Housing	33.2	39.8*
Apparel and services	3.3	3.7*
Transportation	17.5	13.5*
Healthcare	7.0	5.9*
Entertainment	5.0	4.2*
Personal care products and services	1.2	1.2
Reading	0.2	0.2*
Education	2.3	3.8*
Tobacco products and smoking supplies	0.6	0.4*
Miscellaneous	1.4	1.2*
Cash contributions	3.7	2.5*
Personal insurance and pensions	10.8	11.0
Note: An asterisk (*) represents a statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level. Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Table 2. Consumer unit characteristics and average annual expenditures, United States and New York metropolitan area, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2012-2013

Category	United States	New York
Consumer unit characteristics:
Income before taxes	$64,686	$80,862
Age of reference person	50.1	51.1
Average number in consumer unit:
Persons	2.5	2.6
Children under 18	0.6	0.6
Persons 65 and over	0.3	0.4
Earners	1.3	1.3
Vehicles	1.9	1.3
Percent homeowners	64	55
Average annual expenditures	$51,299	$60,791
Food	6,600	7,225
Food at home	3,949	4,111
Cereals and bakery products	541	590
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	854	988
Dairy products	416	442
Fruits and vegetables	741	855
Other food at home	1,397	1,236
Food away from home	2,651	3,114
Alcoholic beverages	448	498
Housing	17,030	24,187
Shelter	9,986	16,257
Owned dwellings	6,082	9,448
Rented dwellings	3,255	5,948
Other lodging	649	860
Utilities, fuels, and public services	3,693	4,200
Household operations	1,152	1,652
Housekeeping supplies	627	604
Household furnishings and equipment	1,571	1,475
Apparel and services	1,677	2,254
Transportation	9,001	8,235
Vehicle purchases (net outlay)	3,241	2,067
Gasoline and motor oil	2,683	2,180
Other vehicle expenses	2,537	2,811
Public and other transportation	540	1,177
Healthcare	3,594	3,585
Entertainment	2,553	2,529
Personal care products and services	618	704
Reading	106	102
Education	1,172	2,280
Tobacco products and smoking supplies	331	248
Miscellaneous	736	710
Cash contributions	1,873	1,543
Personal insurance and pensions	5,559	6,690
Life and other personal insurance	336	409
Pensions and Social Security	5,224	6,280

Table 3. Percent share of average annual expenditures for housing, transportation, and food, United States and 18 metropolitan areas, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2012-2013

Area	Housing	Transportation	Food
United States	33.2	17.5	12.9
Atlanta	33.4	17.1	12.6
Baltimore	32.5	15.5	11.0*
Boston	32.6	15.6*	13.3
Chicago	35.4*	15.6*	12.7
Cleveland	31.6	18.2	12.8
Dallas	33.5	17.9	12.6
Detroit	30.0*	19.7*	13.5
Houston	33.1	21.0*	12.0
Los Angeles	38.2*	15.4*	13.4
Miami	39.9*	16.2	14.0
Minneapolis	32.0	18.3	11.3*
New York	39.8*	13.5*	11.9*
Philadelphia	35.4*	15.4*	13.7
Phoenix	34.8	18.9	13.6
San Diego	38.2*	15.8	11.5*
San Francisco	35.8*	13.7*	11.9*
Seattle	33.4	15.6	13.0
Washington	35.3*	16.7	10.9*
Note: An asterisk (*) represents a statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level.