Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Consumer Expenditure Surveys

The Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) program provides data on expenditures, income, and demographic characteristics of consumers in the United States. The CE program provides these data in tablesLABSTAT databasenews releasesreports, and public use microdata files.

CE data are collected by the Census Bureau for BLS in two surveys: the Interview Survey for major and/or recurring items and the Diary Survey for more minor or frequently purchased items. CE data are primarily used to revise the relative importance of goods and services in the market basket of the Consumer Price Index. The CE is the only Federal household survey to provide information on the complete range of consumers' expenditures and incomes. Here is an overview of the CE program and its methods.

To be notified when new datasets become available, sign up for CE updates. The menu will prompt you to select Consumer Expenditures. If you have comments or questions about this page and its contents, contact us.

Notices

  • The 2023 midyear public use microdata and Data Quality Profile are now available. (5/3/2024) Read More »
  • Levy Institute Contract: Integrating Nonmarket Consumption into the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey (03/05/2024) Read More »
  • Monthly Labor Review: A Consumption Measure for Automobiles. (01/30/2024) Read More »

News Releases

Consumer unit expenditures in 2022 are $72,967; a 9.0% increase from 2021

09/08/2023

Average expenditures for all consumer units in 2022 were $72,967, a 9.0-percent increase from 2021, and average income before taxes increased 7.5 percent.
HTML | PDF | RSS


read more »

Publications

Monthly Labor Review

Monthly Labor Review article image

A consumption measure for automobiles

This article is an estimation of the consumption of automobiles by using a user-cost approach and data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys Interview Survey (CE). read more »

Beyond the Numbers

Beyond the Numbers article image

We love our pets, and our spending proves it

This Beyond the Numbers article uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditures Surveys (CE) to examine trends in pet spending from 2013 to 2021. It compares pet expenditures to other consumer expenditure trends. It further analyzes trends in components of pet expenditures, specifically pet food and pet purchase, supplies, and medicine, during the COVID-19 pandemic. read more »

The Economics Daily

The Economics Daily article image

Consumer spending increased 9.0 percent in 2022

Average annual expenditures for all consumer units increased 9.0 percent from 2021 to 2022, similar to the 9.1 percent increase from 2020 to 2021. The only major component to decrease from 2021 to 2022 was entertainment (−3.1 percent). read more »