Households in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., metropolitan area spent an average of $48,654 per year in 2016–17, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that this figure was significantly lower than the $58,681 average expenditure level for households in the United States. Tampa-area households allocated their dollars similarly among seven of the eight major categories, with one differing significantly from the U.S. average. The share of expenditures for cash contributions, which accounted for 2.0 percent of the average household’s budget in the Tampa area, was significantly lower than the national average of 3.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

• Housing: This was the largest expenditure category for Tampa-area households and averaged $17,131. Housing accounted for 35.2 percent of the area’s household budget, not significantly different than the 33.0-percent U.S. average. (See table 1.) Housing expenditure shares among the 22 published metropolitan areas nationwide ranged from 41.2 percent in San Francisco to 31.2 percent in Detroit. (See table 2.)

• Transportation: Tampa area households spent 17.1 percent of their budgets on transportation, not significantly different than the national average of 15.9 percent. Of the $8,307 in annual transportation expenditures in Tampa, 96.4 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 92.8 percent.

• Food: The portion of a Tampa household’s budget spent on food, 12.9 percent, was similar to the national average of 12.7-percent. Tampa-area households spent $3,615, or 57.5 percent, of their food dollars on food at home and $2,675 (42.5 percent) on food away from home. In comparison, the average U.S. household spent 56.3 percent of its food budget on food at home and 43.7 percent on food away from home.

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, 2016 and 2017.

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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., Metropolitan Statistical Area which comprises Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties in Florida. Metropolitan area news releases for the Consumer Expenditure Survey are available at www.bls.gov/regions/subjects/consumer-spending.htm

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