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Consumer Expenditure Surveys

Consumer Expenditure Surveys

The Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) are a pair of nationwide household surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to find out how consumers in the United States spend their money. It is the only federal government survey that provides information on the complete range of consumers' expenditures as well as their incomes and demographic characteristics. BLS publishes 12-month estimates of consumer expenditures once a year with the estimates summarized by various income levels and household characteristics.

Website

https://www.bls.gov/cex

Release Schedule

Annual

Data Source

The CE consists of two surveys, the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey. The Quarterly Interview Survey is designed to collect data on large and recurring expenditures that consumers can be expected to recall for a period of 3 months or longer, such as rent and utilities, and the Diary Survey is designed to collect data on small, frequently purchased items, including most food and clothing. Together, the data from the two surveys cover the complete range of consumers' expenditures. CE data are collected for BLS by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Data Type

Means & Aggregates

Collection Unit

The classification of interview families according to: (1) relationship of other family members to the reference person; (2) age of the children of the reference person; and (3) combination of relationship to the reference person and age of the children. Stepchildren and adopted children are included with the reference person's own children.

Sample Characteristics

The Census Bureau selects a sample of approximately 18,000 addresses per year from the master address file (MAF) and group quarters frames to participate in the Diary Survey. Usable diaries (two 1-week diaries per household) are obtained from approximately 6,700 households at those addresses.

The Interview Survey is a rotating panel survey in which approximately 13,000 addresses are contacted each calendar quarter of the year for the survey. One-fourth of the addresses that are contacted each quarter are new to the survey. Usable interviews are obtained from approximately 5,000 households at those addresses each quarter of the year. After a housing unit has been in the sample for four consecutive quarters, it is dropped from the survey, and a new address is selected to replace it.

The CE is representative of the entire U.S. civilian noninstitutional population. The sample includes people living in houses, condominiums, apartments, and group quarters such as college dormitories. It excludes military personnel living overseas or on base, nursing home residents, and people in prisons. The civilian noninstitutional population represents more than 98 percent of the total U.S. population.

Notable Sample Exclusions

The CE excludes military personnel living overseas or on base, nursing home residents, and people in prisons.

Methodology

https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cex/home.htm

Data Comparison: Diary to Interview

As seen in Chart 1 below, the CE estimates of average annual expenditures in the Diary Survey were 63 percent of the Interview Survey mean in 2022. Diary estimates of alcoholic beverages, apparel and services, entertainment, food, and reading compared well with the Interview Survey, with Diary Survey means ranging from 78 percent (food in 2022) to 96 percent (apparel and services in 2022) of the Interview Survey means. Diary estimates of all other expenditure means ranged from 27 percent (education in 2022) to 173 percent (Personal care products and services in 2022). Diary expenditure estimates for personal care products and services was the only expenditure categories with average annual expenditures higher than the Interview Survey equivalent in 2022.

Differences in the means are directly attributed to differences in design and purpose. The Interview Survey is a rotating panel survey in which approximately 13,000 addresses are contacted each calendar quarter of the year for the survey. One-fourth of the addresses that are contacted each quarter are new to the survry. Useable interviews are obtained from approximately 5,000 households at those addresses each quarter of the year. The Interview Survey is designed to collect larger expenditures that are more easily recalled by the respondent. On the other hand, the Census Bureau selects a sample of approximately 18,000 addresses per year from the Census Bureau's master address file and group quarters frames to participate in the Diary Survey. Useable diaries (two 1-week diaries per household) are obtained from approximately 6,700 households at those addresses. The Diary Survey is designed to collect detailed expenditures that are more easily recalled over a single week. For more information, see the chapter Consumer Expenditures and Income in the BLS Handbook of Methods.

For more information on these detailed expenditure ratios, please see the CE tab in CE data comparisons.


Methodology and Concordance:

The CE estimates provided in this comparison were developed using the same methods used in estimating average annual figures in the CE tables. For more information on this methodology, see the Tables Getting Start Guide. Weekly expenditures from the Diary Survey were annualized in order to compare the results to that of the Interview Survey.

Supporting Documentation

  • CE data comparisons (XLSX)
  • Tables Getting Start Guide (HTML)

Last Modified Date: October 20, 2023