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Consumer expenditures on food in 2011

June 07, 2013

In 2011, food expenditures increased for all consumers and income quintiles. (Income quintiles group consumer units according to their income; each quintile consists of one-fifth, or 20 percent, of consumer units.) The second income quintile registered the largest percentage increase in food expenditures, an increase of 10.6 percent from $4,214 in 2010, to $4,659 in 2011. This reflected an 8.3-percent increase in food-at-home spending and a 15.0-percent increase in food-away-from-home expenditures.

 

Average annual expenditures on food, food at home, and food away from home, all consumer units and income quintiles, 2010–2011
CategoryAll consumer unitsLowest 20 percentSecond 20 percentThird 20 percentFourth 20 percentHighest 20 percent

2010

      

  Food

$6,129$3,309$4,214$5,596$6,843$10,676

    Food at home

3,6242,2702,8163,4333,9175,683

    Food away from home

2,5051,0391,3982,1642,9264,993

2011

      

  Food

$6,458$3,547$4,659$5,620$7,466$10,991

    Food at home

3,8382,4483,0513,4964,3645,828

    Food away from home

2,6201,0991,6082,1253,1035,163

Percent change from 2010 to 2011

      

  Food

5.4%7.2%10.6%0.4%9.1%3.0%

    Food at home

5.97.88.31.811.42.6

    Food away from home

4.65.815.0-1.86.03.4

The third income quintile barely increased overall food expenditures (0.4 percent). This quintile's 1.8-percent increase in food-at-home expenditures was mostly offset by a 1.8-percent decrease in food-away-from-home expenditures. The fourth income quintile had the largest percentage increase in food-at-home expenditures, 11.4 percent, from $3,917 in 2010 to $4,364 in 2011.

There was an increase in food expenditures across all age groups between 2010 and 2011. The two oldest age groups (65 to 74 years old and 75 and older) had the highest percentage increase in overall food expenditures, with spending rising 12.7 percent for the 65- to 74-year-old age group and 13.8 percent for the 75-and-older age group. For both of these age groups, the over-the-year percentage increase was higher for food-away-from-home expenditures than for food-at-home expenditures.

Percent change of expenditures on food, food at home, and food away from home, all consumer units and age of reference person, 2010–2011
CategoryAll consumer unitsUnder 25 years25-34 years35-44 years45-54 years55-64 years65-74 years75 years and older

2010

        

  Food

$6,129$4,073$6,091$7,483$7,230$6,068$5,148$3,873

    Food at home

3,6242,1973,3384,2554,3693,6813,2132,643

    Food away from home

2,5051,8762,7533,2272,8612,3871,9351,230

2011

        

  Food

$6,458$4,354$6,211$7,765$7,424$6,520$5,804$4,408

    Food at home

3,8382,3823,4474,5944,4213,9083,5942,980

    Food away from home

2,6201,9732,7643,1713,0032,6112,2101,429

Percent change from 2010 to 2011

        

  Food

5.4%6.9%2.0%3.8%2.7%7.4%12.7%13.8%

    Food at home

5.98.43.38.01.26.211.912.8

    Food away from home

4.65.20.4-1.75.09.414.216.2

These data come from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. To learn more, see "Consumer Expenditures in 2011" (PDF), BLS Report 1042. Consumer units include 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 expenses.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Consumer expenditures on food in 2011 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130607.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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