Consumer spending increased for all income groups from 2022 to 2023

From 2022 to 2023, average consumer spending increased 5.9 percent, compared with 9.0 percent from 2021 to 2022. Consumer spending increased for all five income groups, ranging from 2.7 percent for households in the second 20 percent of income to 7.3 percent for households in the fourth 20 percent of income.

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 groups. The lowest group experienced the largest increase in income (+9.9 percent). The second group 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 households in 2023 (+8.3 percent) follows a similarly sized increase in 2022 (+7.5 percent).

These data are from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys. To learn more, see “Consumer Expenditures — 2023.” Households, also known as 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.