Households in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, metropolitan area spent an average of $64,668 per year in 2015–16, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that this figure was significantly higher than the $56,648 average expenditure level for households in the United States. Houston household spending allocations differed from the nation in six major categories, with three categories above and three below their respective national averages. For example, the share of expenditures for transportation accounted for 21.0 percent of the average household’s budget in Houston, significantly higher than the national average of 16.4 percent.  (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

Highlights of the Houston area’s 2015-16 spending patterns:

• Housing: This was the largest expenditure category for Houston-area households and averaged $20,582. Housing accounted for 31.8 percent of the area’s household budget, not significantly different from 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.)

• Transportation: As noted, Houston-area households spent 21.0 percent of their budgets on transportation, significantly higher than the national average of 16.4 percent. Of the $13,577 in annual transportation expenditures in Houston, 95.5 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 93.1 percent. Among the 22 published metropolitan areas, Houston was the only area to have a transportation expenditure share significantly higher than the national average. Transportation expenditure shares among the 22 areas ranged from 21.0 percent in Houston to 11.4 percent in New York. (See table 2.)

• Food: The portion of a Houston household’s budget spent on food, 14.2 percent, was significantly higher than the 12.6-percent U.S. average. Houston-area households spent $4,691, or 51.1 percent, of their food dollars on food away home and $4,494 (48.9 percent) on food at home. In comparison, the average U.S. household spent 43.3 percent of its food budget on food away home and 56.7 percent on food at 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 include 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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area which comprises Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller Counties in Texas. 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.