Households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, metropolitan area spent an average of $88,767 per year in 2020–21, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this figure was significantly higher than the $64,187 average expenditure level for households in the United States. Six of the eight largest major components in the Washington area differed significantly from their respective U.S. averages. For example, the share of expenditures for transportation, which accounted for 10.5 percent of the average household’s budget in the Washington area, was lower than the national average of 16.2 percent. Local households allocated their dollars similarly to the nation in 2 of the 8 largest major components. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Highlights of the Washington area’s 2020–21 spending patterns:

• Housing: This was the largest expenditure component for Washington-area households and averaged $33,242. Housing accounted for 37.4 percent of the area’s household budget, significantly higher than the 34.3-percent U.S. average. Housing expenditure shares among the 22 published metropolitan areas ranged from 41.9 percent in San Francisco to 30.7 percent in St. Louis. (See table 2.)

• Transportation: Washington-area households spent 10.5 percent of their budget on transportation, significantly lower than the national average of 16.2 percent. Of the $9,295 in annual transportation expenditures in Washington, 92.1 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 96.6 percent.

• Food: The portion of a Washington household’s budget spent on food, 12.0 percent, was not significantly different from the 12.2-percent U.S. average. Washington-area households spent $6,584, or 62.1 percent, of their food dollars on food at home and $4,025 (37.9 percent) on food away from home. In comparison, the average U.S. household spent 65.3 percent of its food budget on food at home and 34.7 percent on food away from home.

Technical Note

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, 2020 and 2021.

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 component, 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 United States, 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-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average annual expenditures, characteristics, and percent distributions, United States and Washington, DC, metropolitan area, 2020–21

Category	United States	Washington, DC
Consumer unit characteristics:
Income before taxes	$85,906	$128,621
Age of reference person	52	49.2
Average number in consumer unit:
People	2.5	2.5
Children under 18	0.6	0.6
Adults 65 and over	0.4	0.3
Earners	1.3	1.5
Vehicles	1.9	1.7
Percent homeowner	65	64
Average annual expenditures	$64,187	$88,767*
Percent distribution
Total	100.0	100.0
Food	12.2	12.0
Alcoholic beverages	0.8	0.7
Housing	34.3	37.4*
Apparel and services	2.5	2.4
Transportation	16.2	10.5*
Healthcare	8.3	7.3*
Entertainment	5.1	4.4*
Personal care products and services	1.1	1.1
Reading	0.2	0.4*
Education	1.9	2.8
Tobacco products and smoking supplies	0.5	0.2*
Miscellaneous	1.5	1.4
Cash contributions	3.7	5.1*
Personal insurance and pensions	11.8	14.3*
Note: An asterisk (*) represents a statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level.

Table 2. Percent share of average annual expenditures for housing, transportation, and food, United States and 22 metropolitan areas, 2020–21

Area	Housing	Transportation	Food
United States	34.3	16.2	12.2
Anchorage	34.4	12.1*	14.6*
Atlanta	35.9	15.4	13.9*
Baltimore	33.2	17.9	11.3
Boston	34.2	10.6*	12.3
Chicago	37.3*	13.8	13.0
Dallas-Fort Worth	36.5	17.5	9.6*
Denver	36.2	16.3	11.2
Detroit	33.0	16.4	12.3
Honolulu	41.2*	12.4*	15.2*
Houston	37.2*	17.7	9.3*
Los Angeles	38.0*	16.3	12.7
Miami	39.9*	16.8	12.1
Minneapolis-St. Paul	33.6	13.1*	10.4*
New York	39.6*	11.7*	12.2
Philadelphia	34.3	11.6*	11.6
Phoenix	34.2	18.9	11.4
San Diego	37.0*	12.2*	11.9
San Francisco	41.9*	12.1*	11.9
Seattle	36.9*	14.3	11.9
St. Louis	30.7*	14.9	13.0
Tampa	36.3	18.2	11.6
Washington, DC	37.4*	10.5*	12.0
Note: An asterisk (*) represents a statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level.