2019 Consumer Expenditures Surveys — 2020-09-09

Average annual expenditures for all consumer units(1) in 2019 were $63,036, a 3.0-percent increase from 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) rose 1.8 percent and average income before taxes increased 5.4 percent. In total expenditures, 8 of the 10 largest components of household spending increased during 2019. (See table A.) The 10.1-percent rise in transportation spending was the largest percentage increase among all major components, followed by a 5.7-percent rise in cash contributions. The largest decline in spending was entertainment (-4.2 percent), followed by personal insurance and pensions (-1.8 percent). --Transportation expenditures increased 10.1 percent from 2018 to 2019 to $10,742. This change was largely driven by vehicle insurance spending. Vehicle insurance spending showed a sizable increase (58.3 percent), in part due to a change in source selection from the Diary Survey to the Interview Survey, which was determined to better measure spending for this item in 2019.