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Consumer spending on vehicles averaged $8,427 in 2016

September 11, 2017

Consumers in the United States spent an average of $3,634 in 2016 to buy new or used vehicles. Spending averaged $1,909 on gasoline and motor oil and $1,149 for car or truck insurance. Adding up those and other costs, such as maintenance and licensing, total vehicle spending averaged $8,427 in 2016.

 

 

Average annual vehicle spending by age, 2016
Category All ages Under 25 years 25–34 years 35–44 years 45–55 years 55–64 years 65 years and older

Total spending

$8,427 $5,731 $8,575 $9,585 $10,213 $9,066 $6,320

Vehicle purchases

3,634 2,852 4,029 4,129 4,169 3,858 2,623

Gasoline and motor oil

1,909 1,380 1,906 2,379 2,386 2,010 1,264

Insurance

1,149 458 986 1,125 1,509 1,270 1,099

Maintenance and repairs

849 516 745 837 1,071 994 724

Rental, leasing, licensing, and other charges

660 380 646 797 791 720 492

Finance charges

226 145 263 318 287 214 118

Spending on vehicles varied with a consumer’s age. The youngest and oldest consumers spent around $6,000 on average in 2016. Consumers ages 45 to 55 spent the most of any age group, $10,213.

Differences in spending result from several reasons, including the percentage of consumers who own vehicles, the quality of the vehicles people buy, and the number of miles driven. Consumers ages 35 to 44 and 45 to 55 may spend the most because they drive more or buy pricier vehicles.

These data are from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. To learn more, see “Consumer Expenditures — 2016” (HTML) (PDF). The age is that of the reference person, the first household member the survey respondent mentions when asked to name all the people living or staying in the household.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Consumer spending on vehicles averaged $8,427 in 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/consumer-spending-on-vehicles-averaged-8427-in-2016.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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