Attachment J(c) CE in the News 2023

See how news sources from around
the country use the Consumer
Expenditure Surveys to talk about
how U.S. consumers spend their money.

Inflation
“That 'basket' of goods and services is designed to
be representative of what households actually spend
their money on… That spending data is derived from
the Consumer Expenditure Surveys that the BLS
produces annually.”
fortune.com | February 14, 2023
Ivana Pino

“Households outside urban areas spent 37% more
than the U.S. average on used cars and trucks, while
spending in central cities was 9% lower than the
average. The spending category saw one of the largest
price increases in September's CPI, up 24.4%.”

Food
“In the Anchorage, Alaska metro area, [2019-2020]
food expenditures account for 11.24% of the
average household income... Residents spend an
average of $10,291 on food each year, while 7.51%
of the average household income pays for food
eaten at home, the highest such percentage of any
metro area.”
yahoo.com | October 7, 2021
Patrick Villanova

 Housing

 TV
“The BLS found that U.S. consumers spent an
average of $574.75 a year on “cable and satellite
television services” in 2021.”
washingtonpost.com | January 6, 2023
Michelle Singletary

Income
“The average income in the U.S. was $84,352 per
household in 2020.”
valuepenguin.com | November 28, 2022
Lindsay Bishop

“The average U.S. household spends $20,679 annually
($1,723 per month) on housing, representing
approximately 33% of total annual expenditures.”
visionretirement.com | January 12, 2021

Wall Street Journal | October 15, 2021
Max Rust and Ana Rivas

 Transportation
“Households spent an average of $10,961 on
transportation in 2021… Transportation expenditures
grew by the third largest amount (11.6 percent) from
2020 to 2021, behind apparel and services (22.3
percent) and food (13.4 percent).”
data.bts.gov
Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Pet spending
“Average annual household spending on pets rose
from $460 in 2013 to $770 in 2021.”
washingtonpost.com | December 30, 2022
Andrew Van Dam and Alyssa Fowers

 Eating out
“In 2021, the typical household spent $3,030 a year
on food away from home, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).”
washingtonpost.com | January 6, 2023
Michelle Singletary

 Vacation
“The average household in the United States spent
around $4,580 on vacation/travel expenses, including
transportation, lodging, food, and leisure.”
businessinsider.com | March 5, 2023
Devan Leos

How
you
spend
your
money
is in the
News

How YOU
spend your
money matters
As the founder of American Demographics
magazine, Peter Francese states:

of goods and services need timely
“Providers
and accurate information about consumer

demand. It is vitally important for researchers and
forecasters to understand the spending behavior
trends of different types of households such as
home-owners, or married couples. Only the BLS
surveys are large, accurate, and consistent enough
to provide annually comparable data on consumer
spending for so many different consumer groups.
The BLS survey data is of great value to businesses
looking at where to expand (and thus to create
jobs), but it is also useful to answer questions
about the need for affordable housing or public
transportation. I have been using the Consumer
Expenditure data for many purposes for over 20
years, and I can safely say that our economic growth
would be a lot less predictable and probably smaller
without it.”

Your input is important
Your household is chosen randomly to participate
and actually represents as many as 15,000 other
households! By participating, you make sure that
the Consumer Expenditure Surveys are as

accurate as possible and represent all U.S. consumers.
You are helping the United States and performing a
public service. Your participation gives you a voice
in the statistics that are used to evaluate and guide
the actions of the Federal Government. By law, your
participation is kept confidential, and you cannot be
identified by your responses. 

■

Information for Respondents
For questions or additional information regarding
participation in the Consumer Expenditure Surveys,
visit the Information for Survey Respondents page at
www.bls.gov/respondents/cex.