Where US household money goes: spending by category: $27,790 (largest: housing, per household a year). The largest item is housing at $27,790 a household a year (33.9% of this group), followed by transportation ($13,492).
Data last updated · Period: 2025
Understanding the chart
The bar chart above shows where US household money goes: spending by category, with one bar for each of the 14 figures, sorted from highest to lowest. Each bar is labelled with its exact value, and values are average spending per household, in $ a year. The longest bar is the highest. The first bar is Housing at $27,790 and the last Reading at $114. The data table below the chart lists every value, and you can download the data, embed the chart or share it from the buttons above. The figures cover 2025 and come from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures—2025 (news release USDL-26-1619, 29 October 2026), tables 1 to 3; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer expenditures in 2024 (BLS Report 1119, August 2026), tables 1 and 2.
Key insights
- The top three are Housing ($27,790), Transportation ($13,492), Food ($10,633).
- The lowest are Reading ($114), Tobacco products and smoking supplies ($365), Alcoholic beverages ($630).
- Across all 14 groups, the median is $2,124, and the top value is 13.1 times the median.
Analysis
The middle half of the 14 values lies between $986 and $6,470, so a typical value is around $2,124 (the median); the average is $5,850, pulled up by a few very high values. 5 of the 14 are above the average and 9 below it. The highest value, $27,790 for Housing, is 243.8 times the lowest, $114 for Reading.
What it means
For businesses, average household spending sets the size of the prize: multiplied by the number of households in a town or region, it gives a first estimate of the local market. Spending that is growing faster than prices points to rising demand, while spending that lags inflation means customers are buying less in real terms and competing businesses fight harder for each dollar. Higher-income households spend far more in absolute terms, so who your customers are matters as much as the national average.
Related figures
- Average annual spending of US households, 2021–2025: $81,905 (per household a year, 2025). US households spent an average of $81,905 a year on goods and services in 2025, up 4.3% from $78,527 in 2024.
- US household spending and income by income level, 2025: $159,512 (spending a year, highest-income fifth). The highest-income fifth of US households spent $159,512 in 2025, 4.2 times the lowest fifth ($37,935).
About this statistic
These figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE), the main official source on what American households buy. It combines two surveys run by the Census Bureau for BLS: a quarterly interview survey of large and regular purchases and a two-week diary of small, frequent purchases. Results are averages per consumer unit, which is close to a household: about 138 million in 2025, with 2.4 people on average.
Spending is out of pocket, so it excludes things paid for by employers or government, such as employer health premiums. Because of the 2025 lapse in federal appropriations, the survey could not be collected in October and November 2025, and BLS adjusted the survey weights to cover the gap. Year-to-year changes in small categories can reflect sampling, which is why BLS tests them for statistical significance.
Questions and answers
Which groups rank highest for where US household money goes: spending?
$27,790 (largest: housing, per household a year). The largest item is housing at $27,790 a household a year (33.9% of this group), followed by transportation ($13,492).
Which rank lowest, and what is typical?
The top three are Housing ($27,790), Transportation ($13,492), Food ($10,633). The lowest are Reading ($114), Tobacco products and smoking supplies ($365), Alcoholic beverages ($630).
Where does this data come from?
From U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures—2025 (news release USDL-26-1619, 29 October 2026), tables 1 to 3; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer expenditures in 2024 (BLS Report 1119, August 2026), tables 1 and 2, covering 2025. BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2025 averages for all households. Because of the 2025 lapse in federal appropriations, the Census Bureau could not collect the survey in October and November 2025; BLS adjusted the survey weights to account for the missing months.
How this page was made
Generated by Advanton from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures—2025 (2025), data updated 10 November 2026: chart, ranks, comparisons and text are computed from the published figures; no figures are changed. Our methodology.
Data
| Category | Average spending per household ($ a year) |
|---|---|
| Housing | $27,790 |
| Transportation | $13,492 |
| Food | $10,633 |
| Personal insurance and pensions | $10,175 |
| Healthcare | $6,470 |
| Entertainment | $4,084 |
| Cash contributions | $2,237 |
| Clothing, footwear and apparel services | $2,010 |
| Education | $1,583 |
| Miscellaneous | $1,335 |
| Personal care products and services | $986 |
| Alcoholic beverages | $630 |
| Tobacco products and smoking supplies | $365 |
| Reading | $114 |
Source and notes
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures—2025 (news release USDL-26-1619, 29 October 2026), tables 1 to 3; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer expenditures in 2024 (BLS Report 1119, August 2026), tables 1 and 2. Period: 2025. Coverage: United States.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2025 averages for all households. Because of the 2025 lapse in federal appropriations, the Census Bureau could not collect the survey in October and November 2025; BLS adjusted the survey weights to account for the missing months.
Cite this statistic
Formats, embedding and reuse: how to cite Advanton.
Please also credit the original source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures—2025 (news release USDL-26-1619, 29 October 2026), tables 1 to 3; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer expenditures in 2024 (BLS Report 1119, August 2026), tables 1 and 2.Related statistics
- Average annual spending of US households, 2021–2025
- US household spending and income by income level, 2025
- US household spending on reading, 2021–2025
- US household healthcare spending by type, 2025
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