2018 Consumer Expenditures Surveys — 2019-09-10

Average expenditures per consumer unit(1) for 2018 were $61,224, a 1.9-percent increase from 2017 levels, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) rose 2.4 percent and average pretax income increased by 6.9 percent. Nine of the 10 largest components of household spending increased during 2018. (See table A.) The 7.8-percent rise in personal insurance and pensions expenditures was the largest percentage increase among all major components, followed by a 2.5-percent rise in food. The only decrease among the largest components was a 5.6-percent drop in education spending. --Personal insurance and pensions spending increased 7.8 percent, compared to a decrease of 0.9 percent in 2017. This was driven by a 7.5-percent increase in contributions to pensions and Social Security. --Spending on food increased 2.5 percent. The increase was driven by both food at home spending, up 2.3 percent, and food away from home spending, up 2.8 percent.