For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, September 25, 2024 USDL-24-1862
Technical information: (202) 691-6900 * CEXInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cex
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
Consumer Expenditures--2023
Average annual expenditures for all consumer units in 2023 were $77,280, a 5.9-percent increase from 2022, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (See table A.) During the same period, the Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 4.1 percent, and average income before taxes increased 8.3 percent.
Table B shows average annual expenditure shares broken down into 14 major components. Overall, housing accounted for
the largest share of total expenditures (32.9 percent), followed by transportation (17.0 percent), food (12.9 percent),
personal insurance and pensions (12.4 percent), healthcare (8.0 percent), and entertainment (4.7 percent). Each of the
remaining components contributed less than 4.0 percent of total expenditures.
Among the 14 major components of household spending, the largest percent increase in expenditures was in education
(+24.0 percent). The next largest increase was in miscellaneous expenditures (+17.3 percent), followed by personal care
products and services spending (+9.7 percent). The only major components to decrease from 2022 to 2023 were cash
contributions (-13.7 percent) and tobacco products and smoking supplies (-0.3 percent).
Selected spending patterns, 2023
--Housing expenditures (32.9 percent of total expenditures) increased 4.7 percent in 2023, after a 7.4-percent
increase in 2022. Expenditures on rented dwellings and owned dwellings both increased, by 7.6 percent and 5.7
percent, respectively. (For more information on how owned dwellings are defined see the methodology section.)
Other lodging also increased 11.1 percent in the same period.
--Transportation expenditures (17.0 percent of total expenditures) increased 7.1 percent in 2023, after an
increase of 12.2 percent in 2022. This increase was driven by a large increase in public and other transportation
spending (+29.7 percent), followed by a 23.2-percent increase in vehicle purchases (net outlay). (For more
information on how net outlay is defined see the methodology section.) In contrast, partially offsetting the
increase in total transportation expenditures, gasoline spending was down 12.7 percent in 2023, after a 44.0-percent
increase in 2022.
--Spending on food (12.9 percent of total expenditures) increased 6.9 percent in 2023, compared to an increase of
12.7 percent in 2022. Increases in both food at home (+6.1 percent) and food away from home (+8.1 percent) led
to this increase in overall food spending.
--Personal insurance and pensions spending (12.4 percent of total expenditures) increased 9.3 percent in 2023,
after increasing 11.0 percent in 2022. A 9.6-percent increase in contributions to pensions and Social Security
largely contributed to this increase. Within contributions to pensions and Social Security, there was a 16.8-percent
increase in deductions for private pensions, as well as a 13.3-percent increase in contributions to retirement
plans (such as 401(k)s or Individual Retirement Accounts). At the same time, spending on life and other personal
insurance increased by 5.2 percent.
--Spending on cash contributions (3.1 percent of total expenditures) decreased by 13.7 percent in 2023, after a
14.1-percent increase in 2022. Cash contributions comprise cash contributed to persons or organizations outside
the consumer unit, including alimony and child support payments; care of students away from home; and contributions
to religious, educational, charitable, or political organizations.
--Education expenditures (2.1 percent of total expenditures) increased 24.0 percent in 2023, after rising 8.9 percent
in 2022. This increase was driven by a 39.2-percent increase in elementary and high school tuition, after being
unchanged from 2021 to 2022. The categories of test preparation and tutoring services (+29.6 percent) and school
supplies, etc., unspecified (+38.6 percent) also contributed to this increase.
--Spending on miscellaneous expenditures (1.5 percent of total expenditures) increased 17.3 percent in 2023, after an
increase of 2.3 percent in 2022, mainly due to a 63.5-percent increase in legal fees. In addition to these fees,
miscellaneous expenditures include safety deposit box rental, checking account fees and other bank service charges,
credit card memberships, accounting fees, funerals, cemetery lots, union dues, occupational expenses, expenses for
other properties, and finance charges other than those for mortgages and vehicles.
Spending by composition of consumer unit, 2023
Table C compares the shares that consumer units of different compositions allocated to selected expenditures in 2023. They
show that, among all consumer unit compositions, single-parent consumer units allocated the highest shares to housing
(37.3 percent) and the lowest shares to personal insurance and pensions (9.0 percent), healthcare (4.9 percent), and
entertainment (3.8 percent). In contrast, married couples with children allocated the lowest shares in housing (30.6 percent)
and the highest shares in personal insurance and pensions (15.1 percent). Compared to other consumer unit compositions,
married-couple-only consumer units allocated the highest shares to healthcare (10.0 percent) and entertainment (5.0 percent),
while having the lowest shares in food (12.2 percent). Single person and other consumer units allocated the lowest shares to
transportation (16.3 percent).
Spending and income before taxes by income quintile, 2023
Table D shows the annual percent change in expenditures and income before taxes by income quintile. Overall spending increased
in all five quintiles, with the largest increase in the fourth quintile (+7.3 percent) and the smallest increase in the second
quintile (+2.7 percent). Four major components of spending—food, housing, personal care products and services, and personal
insurance and pensions—all increased for each of the five income quintiles.
Overall, before tax income increased faster than expenditures in 2023. That is, average annual income before taxes rose 8.3
percent in 2023, while expenditures increased 5.9 percent. This general finding held for all income quintiles. The lowest
quintile experienced the largest increase in income (+9.9 percent). The second quintile had the lowest increase in expenditures
(+2.7 percent), along with the second largest increase in income (+8.8 percent).
This increase in income for all consumer units in 2023 (+8.3 percent) follows a similarly sized increase in 2022 (+7.5 percent).
Increases in income before taxes ranged from 7.4 percent for the fourth quintile to 9.9 percent for the lowest quintile.
Table A. Average income and expenditures of all consumer units, 2021-23
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Percent change
Item 2021 2022 2023 2021-22 2022-23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of consumer units (in thousands) 133,595 134,090 134,556 0.0** 0.0**
Average Income before taxes $87,432 $94,003 $101,805 7.5* 8.3*
Average annual expenditures $66,928 $72,967 $77,280 9.0* 5.9*
Food 8,289 9,343 9,985 12.7* 6.9*
Food at home 5,259 5,703 6,053 8.4* 6.1*
Food away from home 3,030 3,639 3,933 20.1* 8.1*
Alcoholic beverages 554 583 637 5.2 9.3
Housing 22,624 24,298 25,436 7.4* 4.7*
Owned dwellings 7,591 8,230 8,699 8.4* 5.7*
Rented dwellings 4,684 4,990 5,370 6.5* 7.6*
Other lodging 983 1,287 1,430 30.9* 11.1
Apparel and services 1,754 1,945 2,041 10.9 4.9
Transportation 10,961 12,295 13,174 12.2* 7.1*
Vehicle purchases (net outlay) 4,828 4,496 5,539 -6.9 23.2*
Gasoline 1,948 2,805 2,449 44.0* -12.7*
Public and other transportation 452 845 1,096 86.9* 29.7*
Healthcare 5,452 5,850 6,159 7.3* 5.3*
Health insurance 3,704 3,843 4,049 3.8* 5.4*
Medical services 1,070 1,184 1,252 10.7 5.7
Entertainment 3,568 3,458 3,635 -3.1 5.1
Fees and admissions 654 833 951 27.4* 14.2
Pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment 969 908 1,057 -6.3 16.4*
Other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services 925 698 653 -24.5 -6.4
Personal care products and services 771 866 950 12.3* 9.7*
Reading 114 117 117 2.6 0.0**
Education 1,226 1,335 1,656 8.9 24.0*
Elementary and high school tuition 199 199 277 0.0** 39.2
Test preparation and tutoring services 21 27 35 28.6 29.6
School supplies, etc., unspecified 66 57 79 -13.6 38.6*
Tobacco products and smoking supplies 341 371 370 8.8 -0.3
Miscellaneous 986 1,009 1,184 2.3 17.3*
Legal fees 157 170 278 8.3 63.5*
Cash contributions 2,415 2,755 2,378 14.1 -13.7
Personal insurance and pensions 7,873 8,742 9,556 11.0* 9.3*
Life and other personal insurance 473 519 546 9.7 5.2
Pensions and Social Security 7,400 8,223 9,011 11.1* 9.6*
Deductions for private pensions 379 333 389 -12.1 16.8
Contributions to retirement plans 1,319 1,699 1,925 28.8* 13.3
Note: Only selected subcategories are shown; as a result, the subcategories do not sum to their respective major item category.
* Values are significant at the 95 percent level. See methodology section for more information.
** Values are less than 0.05 percent.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table B. Percent distribution of total annual expenditures by major category for all consumer units, 2020-23
___________________________________________________________________________
Spending Category 2020 2021 2022 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average annual expenditures 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Food 11.9 12.4 12.8 12.9
Alcoholic beverages 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
Housing 34.9 33.8 33.3 32.9
Apparel and services 2.3 2.6 2.7 2.6
Transportation 16.0 16.4 16.8 17.0
Healthcare 8.4 8.1 8.0 8.0
Entertainment 4.7 5.3 4.7 4.7
Personal care products and services 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2
Reading 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Education 2.1 1.8 1.8 2.1
Tobacco products and smoking supplies 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Miscellaneous 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5
Cash contributions 3.7 3.6 3.8 3.1
Personal insurance and pensions 11.8 11.8 12.0 12.4
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table C. Shares of average expenditures on selected major components by composition of consumer unit, 2023
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Item All Married Married Other One Single
Consumer couple couple married parent, person
Units only with couple at least and other
children consumer one child consumer
under 18 units units
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Housing 32.9 31.2 30.6 30.7 37.3 36.3
Transportation 17.0 16.9 17.4 19.3 19.0 16.3
Food 12.9 12.2 13.6 14.5 14.3 12.3
Personal insurance and pensions 12.4 11.9 15.1 13.3 9.0 10.4
Healthcare 8.0 10.0 6.9 7.8 4.9 7.9
Entertainment 4.7 5.0 4.9 4.1 3.8 4.5
Other expenditures* 12.1 12.9 11.6 10.3 11.7 12.2
Other expenditures* include alcoholic beverages, apparel and services, personal care products and services, reading,
education, tobacco products and smoking supplies, cash contributions, and miscellaneous.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table D. Change in average annual expenditures of major components by income quintile, 2022-23
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Item Lowest Quintile Second Quintile Third Quintile Fourth Quintile Highest Quintile
Over-the- Over-the- Over-the- Over-the- Over-the-
year year year year year
change change change change change
Dollar Percent Dollar Percent Dollar Percent Dollar Percent Dollar Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 1,164 3.6 1,266 2.7 3,537* 5.7* 5,965* 7.3* 9,439* 6.7*
Food 188 3.7 561 8.6 434 5.1 746* 6.9* 1,283* 8.2*
At home 83 2.3 370 8.6 231 4.2 388 5.9 675* 7.9*
Away from home 105 7.1 192 8.6 204 6.7 358 8.4 606 8.4
Alcoholic beverages -15 -6.5 18 5.7 -30 -6.4 106 15.9 192* 15.5*
Housing 567 4.2 729 4.1 1,124* 5.2* 1,736* 6.6* 1,468 3.5
Apparel and services 34 3.7 31 2.5 -79 -4.6 217 9.5 277 7.7
Transportation -11 -0.2 -347 -4.3 1,160 10.8 1,195 8.1 2,353 10.3
Healthcare 184* 5.5* 403* 9.1* -198* -3.3* 316* 4.7* 819* 9.3*
Entertainment 212 17.2 262 13.3 -214 -7.3 106 2.8 509 6.9
Personal care products and services 45 11.3 31 5.2 61 7.5 137* 14.0* 143 9.3
Reading -6 -8.0 -7 -9.3 -3 -3.4 29 22.9 -10 -4.5
Education 75 11.6 24 4.7 419 63.5 -4 -0.3 1,088* 29.6*
Tobacco products and smoking supplies 4 1.2 -55 -13.2 76 20.2 -22 -5.3 -11 -3.8
Miscellaneous -73 -14.6 350 52.0 286* 35.5* 83 7.0 228 12.1
Cash contributions -119 -13.7 -1,005** -40.6** -21 -1.1 213 9.8 -959 -15.0
Personal insurance and pensions 77 12.2 270* 11.6* 519* 9.6* 1,107* 10.3* 2,061* 8.4*
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Values are significant at the 95 percent level. See methodology section for more information.
**Estimate has a high Relative Standard Error (RSE) and is suppressed in the published tables. See the methodology section
below for more information.
Additional Information
Data Products
In addition to expenditures, the BLS Consumer Expenditures Surveys (CE) program also collects data on income, demographics,
assets, and liabilities. Tables with more expenditure detail than are presented here are available at www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm.
Published tables provide 2023 CE data by standard classifications that include income quintile, income decile, income range,
age of reference person, generation of reference person, size of consumer unit, number of earners, composition of consumer
unit, region of residence, Census division of residence, housing tenure, race, Hispanic origin, occupation, highest education
level of any member, and type of area (urban or rural). These tables include expenditure means, aggregates, shares, and standard
errors. Expenditure tables by age, region, size, or sex cross-tabulated by income before taxes and other demographic variables
can also be found on the CE website. Furthermore, a table showing results for all consumer units including the most detailed
breakdown of expenditures is available at www.bls.gov/cex/tables/top-line-means.htm. Historical published tables for data dating
back to 1984 and for selected metropolitan area tabulations are also available. Unpublished, but releasable, tables of detailed
expenditures by demographic can be obtained by sending a request to cexinfo@bls.gov.
The CE LABSTAT database provides tools to access CE estimates and can be found at www.bls.gov/cex/data.htm. Documentation for
how to use the CE LABSTAT database is available at www.bls.gov/cex/ce-labstat-getting-started-guide.pdf. This year the BLS
expanded the CE LABSTAT database to now include detailed level estimates from 2010-23. Data users now have access to an expanded
library of expenditure items and increasing the number of estimates available to over 8 million. The previous database only
included items released in the published calendar year tables, such as items of higher-level aggregation like medical services.
The expanded database now includes not just medical services, but also related underlying detail items such as physician’s services,
dental services, hospital room and services, and others. Annual means, standard errors, shares of total expenditures, aggregate
expenditures, and aggregate shares for these detailed estimates are available for seventeen different demographics, as well as all
consumer units. The expanded database enables chart and time series development for the detailed item categories, either through
the search tools at www.bls.gov/cex/data.htm or via other software platforms using underlying text files at
download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx.
Additionally, CE public use microdata (PUMD) for 1980 through 2023 are available at www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_data.htm. The PUMD
includes Interview Survey files, Diary Survey files, and paradata (information about the data collection process). The Interview
Survey files contain expenditure data in three different formats: MTBI files that present monthly values in an item-coding
framework based on the CPI-U pricing scheme, FMLI files that present user-friendly summary expenditure variables (e.g., total
expenditures, total expenditures on food, etc.), and detailed data files that organize expenditures by the section of the
Interview Survey questionnaire in which they are collected. Expenditure values on detailed data files cover different time
periods depending on the specific questions asked, and the files also contain relevant non-expenditure information not found
on the MTBI files, such as policy type and number of persons covered by health insurance. The Diary Survey files contain expenditure
data in two different formats: EXPD files that present weekly values in the same item-coding framework based on the CPI-U pricing
scheme, and FMLD files that present user-friendly summary expenditure variables (e.g., food at home, cereal and bakery products,
beef, etc.). Documentation of the CE PUMD, its conventions, files, sample code, and methodology can be found at
www.bls.gov/cex/pumd-getting-started-guide.htm.
BLS began an initiative to produce a new research consumption measure in early 2021. An aim of this initiative is to produce
a more comprehensive measure of economic well-being than is possible with expenditures alone. BLS is aiming to publish
consumption estimates, as well as supporting public use microdata in November of 2024. These products are intended to
improve the CE data user experience by filling a need for a measure of consumption. Measures will be provided both with
and without health insurance. These data are expected to be used by other federal agencies, academics, private businesses,
researchers, and the public to understand the economic behavior of the U.S. consumers. For more information, please visit
www.bls.gov/cex/consumption-home.htm. At the present time, the BLS has no plans to produce an official consumption measure,
the work being undertaken at the BLS represents research activities focused on alternative measures of household economic well-being.
BLS prepares special tabulations for other federal agencies and the public based on the CE data. These tabulations are
created at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Commerce Department, and the Treasury Department. In
addition, BLS, using the CE data, produces special variance tabulations for charitable giving. Users can obtain historical
tabulations by sending a request to cexinfo@bls.gov.
Publications
The BLS Beyond the Numbers publication series provides analyses of topical economic issues and long-term spending trends. At
the time of publication of this release, the most recent Beyond the Numbers article that features CE data (November 2023) is
“We love our pets, and our spending proves it” (www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-12/we-love-our-pets-and-our-spending-proves-it-1.htm).
This and other recent CE-specific articles are available in the Beyond the Numbers publication series at
www.bls.gov/cex/csxwebarticles.htm. Additional methodological and analytical articles using CE data will be published in
these series as they become available.
The BLS CE program also produces occasional articles for publication in the Monthly Labor Review (MLR) and Spotlight on
Statistics series. The flagship publication of the BLS, the MLR publishes scholarly articles on many topics in labor
economics. Items in the Spotlight series are meant to be shorter pieces accessible to the general public. A Spotlight
generally includes a series of charts or graphs accompanied by a brief explanation of their relevance to the analysis. At
the time of publication of this release, the most recent analytical MLR article that features CE data (June 2024) is “Two
hours to the office, two minutes to the kitchen table: trends in local public-transportation expenditures from 2018 to 2021”
(www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2024/article/two-hours-to-the-office-two-minutes-to-the-kitchen-table-trends-in-local-public-transportation
-expenditures-from-2018-to-2021.htm); the most recent Spotlight (December 2022) is “How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Urban and
Rural Spending Habits” (www.bls.gov/spotlight/2022/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-changed-urban-and-rural-spending-habits/home.htm).
In addition, articles in The Economics Daily (TED) series occasionally feature findings using CE data. Members of the BLS CE
program authored the most recent articles, while BLS staff in the publication’s office authored earlier TED articles. The most
recent TED articles have described pet care services spending by generation (www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/generation-x-outspent-
baby-boomers-in-pet-care-services-from-2018-21.htm), consumer spending in 2022 (www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/consumer-spending-
increased-9-0-percent-in-2022.htm), and consumer expenditures in April-June of 2022 (www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/consumer-expenditures
-rise-8-6-percent-in-april-june-2022-quarter-compared-with-year-earlier.htm).
The 2023 Data Quality Profile, which reports quality metrics and indicators for the Interview and Diary Surveys regarding
measurement, nonresponse, and processing error, will be available shortly after this release at www.bls.gov/cex/cecomparison.htm.
The 2023 Annual Report, which includes more detailed information on spending patterns, is planned for publication in late
2024. (See www.bls.gov/cex/csxreport.htm#annual). The 2022 Annual Report, published December 2023, is available at
www.bls.gov/opub/reports/consumer-expenditures/2022/home.htm.
The 2023 publication tables release includes a research table investigating spending patterns of consumer units with veterans
and active-duty military.
For a listing of links to other published reports featuring CE data, see the CE publications page at
www.bls.gov/cex/csxreport.htm.
Survey Materials
Also available at www.bls.gov/cex/csxsurveyforms.htm are the Diary Survey questionnaire and a modified version of the Computer
Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) instrument used to collect the Interview Survey data.
Methodology
Consumer Price Index Citation. The change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) cited in the text
was calculated as the percentage change between the 2022 12-month (January to December) average CPI-U for all items (292.655)
and the 2023 12-month (January to December) average CPI-U for all items (304.702). This data was obtained from the CPI
databases “Top Picks” section which can be found at www.bls.gov/cpi/data.htm.
CE Instrument Redesign. Over the years, the CE surveys have faced issues involving declining response rates, measurement
error due to underreporting, and an evolving consumer environment. In July 2013, BLS approved a redesign proposal,
outlining the future direction of the CE. BLS focused on the phased implementation of a production online Diary Survey in
2022, and an Interview Survey streamlined questionnaire in 2023, with additional phases to follow. As part of this redesign,
several Diary Survey items were consolidated into broader categories. The implementation of phase 1 of the Interview Survey
streamlined questionnaire, paired with the Diary Survey consolidations resulted in the consolidation of 121 categories into
42 in the 2023 table publications. While these changes have reduced the overall level of detail that is provided in our
detailed tables, the consolidation is intended to provide more accurate, higher-level estimates for users to analyze. The
food at home expenditure category saw the most changes. A total of 53 categories were consolidated to create 20 new categories.
A high-level change to highlight is the combination of “Processed fruits” and “Processed vegetables” to create a new “Processed
fruits and vegetables” category. For more information on what the BLS is doing to maintain response rates, please visit
www.bls.gov/blog/2023/what-is-bls-doing-to-maintain-data-quality-as-response-rates-decline.htm.
Data Suppressions. For the 2023 tables publication, BLS included data suppressions for estimates with a Relative Standard
Error (RSE) of 25 percent or more. RSE is defined as the ratio of the mean to its standard error (SE). For any estimate
with an RSE that equals or exceeds the 25 percent threshold, the mean expenditure, SE, expenditure share, and RSE will be
suppressed. The BLS CE program determined that estimates with RSEs of 25 percent or more were considered unreliable. RSEs
tend to be smaller for the nationwide estimates than for smaller demographic groups. This is primarily due to their
different sample sizes. In general, RSEs decrease as the sample size “n” increases. RSEs often decrease as the frequency
of purchases increases. Infrequently purchased items are more susceptible to large RSEs while frequently purchased items
tend to have smaller RSEs. For more information on variance estimation please see the Tables Getting Started Guide at
www.bls.gov/cex/tables-getting-started-guide.htm. While data are suppressed in the tables estimates, users can still use
the CE Public Use Microdata to obtain estimates suppressed in published tables. Beginning with the 2024 release of publication
tables in September 2025, BLS will include estimates that have high RSEs, however these estimates will be flagged instead of
being suppressed to inform data users of their high variance. BLS is investigating the possibility of providing the
unsuppressed estimates for 2022 and 2023 via the CE LABSTAT database.
Consumer Units. Consumer units consist of families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but
who are financially independent, or two or more persons living together who share major expenses.
Net Outlay. A net outlay is defined as the household's total payment or purchase amount of a good or service minus any
reimbursements. A net outlay is commonly referred to as the total out of pocket spending. Vehicle purchases (net outlay)
include the purchase price minus trade-in value on new and used domestic and imported cars and trucks and other vehicles,
such as motorcycles.
Owned Dwellings. Expenditures on owned dwellings include interest on mortgages, interest on home equity loans and lines
of credit, property taxes and insurance, refinancing and prepayment charges, ground rent, expenses for property management
and security, homeowners' insurance, fire insurance and extended coverage, expenses for repairs and maintenance contracted
out, and expenses of materials for owner-performed repairs and maintenance for dwellings used or maintained by the consumer
unit. Mortgage principal repayments are excluded from this category.
Reference Person. Reference person is defined as the first member mentioned by the respondent when asked to "Start with
the name of the person or one of the persons who owns or rents the home." It is with respect to this person that the
relationship of the other consumer unit members is determined.
Composition of Consumer Unit. The composition of a consumer unit is defined as 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. Other married couple consumer units comprise of the married
couple and at least one member who is not their child (e.g., in-law, grandchild, or unrelated person who is not financially
independent from the couple according to the definition of a consumer unit).
Components of Income Before Taxes. Income before taxes in the CE includes the following components: Wages and salaries;
self-employment income; Social Security; private and government retirement; interest and dividends; rental and other property
income; unemployment, workers' compensation, and veterans' benefits; public assistance, supplemental security income, and food
stamps; regular contributions for support; and other income. Not included in these estimates are government subsidies for
businesses as these are out of scope for the CE.
The CE before-tax income estimates include government transfer payments of these three types: Supplement Security Income;
Public Assistance; and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments. Not included in these estimates are government
subsidies for businesses as these are out of scope for the CE.
Income Quintiles. Income quintiles are constructed by sorting consumer units in the sample from lowest to highest income
before taxes. The population weight (i.e., the number of consumer units within the population that each sampled unit
represents) associated with each consumer unit is summed with those of the consumer units preceding it in the sorted set,
resulting in its cumulative frequency count. The first quintile includes all consumer units for which the cumulative
frequency count is less than or equal to 20 percent of the number of consumer units in the population. The second quintile
includes all those consumer units for which the cumulative frequency count is greater than 20 percent, but less than or
equal to 40 percent of the population, and so forth. Because there were approximately 135 million consumer units in the
population in 2023, each quintile includes about 27 million consumer units. In 2023, the lower income bounds for each quintile
were: $28,262 for the second quintile; $54,553 for the third quintile; $90,239 for the fourth quintile; and $148,682 for the
highest quintile. This and other definitions of CE terms are in the CE glossary at www.bls.gov/cex/csxgloss.htm.
Source Selection. Some expenditures are collected only in one survey. For example, detailed food expenditures are
collected only in the Diary Survey. Travel expenditures (goods or services purchased on out-of-town trips) are collected
only in the Interview Survey. This makes the source of these data in the published tables obvious. However, several
expenditures are collected in both surveys. For these expenditures, the BLS CE program uses a statistical method to
select the source used in publication.
Significance Testing. Significance tests for values in Tables A and D were performed using the standard z-score method
with 1.96 standard errors. Values denoted with this footnote have calculated z-score values greater than 1.96. A z-score
of less than 1.96 is not statistically significant.
Information on the methodology used to calculate and collect CE data is available at
www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cex/home.htm. General articles and research papers using CE data are in the CE research library
at www.bls.gov/cex/research_papers/research-paper-catalog.htm.
Upcoming Events
BLS plans to hold a CE Microdata Users’ Workshop in the summer of 2025. More information about this event is available
on the CE website (www.bls.gov/cex/csxannualworkshop.htm).
Contact Information
For further information, contact the Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Office of Prices and Living Conditions
at (202) 691-6900 or by email at cexinfo@bls.gov. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please
dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
United States Department of Labor
