Households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va., metropolitan area spent an average of $75,344 per year in 2015–16, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that this figure was significantly higher than the $56,648 average expenditure level for households in the United States. Washington-area household expenditure shares were significantly different from the nation in seven of the eight major categories. For example, the share of expenditures for housing, which accounted for 35.7 percent of the average household’s budget in the Washington area, was significantly higher than the national average of 32.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

Highlights of the Washington area’s 2015–16 spending patterns:

• Housing: This was the largest expenditure category for Washington-area households and averaged $26,921. Housing accounted for 35.7 percent of the area’s household budget, significantly higher than the 32.9-percent U.S. average. (See table 1.) Housing expenditure shares among the 22 areas nationwide for which data were available ranged from 40.3 percent in San Francisco to 30.3 percent in Detroit. (See table 2.)
• Personal insurance and pensions: Washington households spent 14.1 percent ($10,631) of their annual budget on personal insurance and pensions, making this the second-largest expenditure category for the area’s households. The portion a local-area household spent on personal insurance and pensions was significantly above the national average of 11.6 percent.
• Transportation: Washington-area households spent 12.8 percent of their budgets on transportation, significantly lower than the national average of 16.4 percent. Of the $9,674 in annual transportation expenditures in Washington, 85.2 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 93.1 percent. Among 22 metropolitan areas nationwide for which data were available, Washington was 1 of 8 areas to have a transportation expenditure share that was significantly lower than the national average; only Houston had a significantly higher-than-average share. Among the 22 published metropolitan areas, transportation expenditure shares ranged from 21.0 percent in Houston to 11.4 percent in New York.
• Food: The portion of a Washington household’s budget spent on food, 10.8 percent, was significantly lower than the 12.6-percent U.S. average. Washington-area households spent $4,289, or 52.9 percent, of their food dollars on food at home and $3,819 (47.1 percent) on food away from home. In comparison, the average U.S. household spent 56.7 percent of its food budget on food at home and 43.3 percent on food away from home.

Additional Information

Data in this release are from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE), which the U.S. Census Bureau conducts for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data in this release were averaged over a 2-year period, 2015 and 2016.                                                                          

A household in the CE survey is defined as a consumer unit which includes 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. The terms household or consumer unit are used interchangeably for convenience.

Differences in spending among metropolitan areas may reflect differences in the cost of living, but they also may reflect other causes. Spending differences may result from different consumer preferences or variations in demographic characteristics, such as household size, age, or income levels. However, expenditure shares, or the percentage of a household’s budget spent on a particular category, can be used to compare spending patterns across areas. Sample sizes for the metropolitan areas are much smaller than for the nation, so the U.S. estimates and year-to-year changes are more reliable than those for the metropolitan areas. Users should also keep in mind that prices for many goods and services have changed since the survey was conducted.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with our ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. A large difference between two values may not be statistically significant, while a small difference could be significant; both the sample size and the variation among the values in the sample affect the relative error of the estimates.

For additional technical and related information, see www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cex/home.htm. Data for the nation, the four geographic regions of the U.S., and 22 metropolitan areas nationwide are available at www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm. Metropolitan definitions used in the survey are available at www.bls.gov/cex/ce_msa_201516.htm. The metropolitan area discussed in this release is the Washington, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the District of Columbia; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park cities and Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties in Virginia; and Jefferson County in West Virginia. Metropolitan area news releases for the Consumer Expenditure Survey are available at www.bls.gov/regions/subjects/consumer-spending.htm.  

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.