The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) program consists of two surveys, the quarterly Interview Survey and the Diary Survey, that provide information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics. The survey data are collected for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The most recent data tables are for 2006, and were made available on October 26, 2007. See Tables Created by BLS and Economic News Releases sections on the CE home page for current data tables and news release.

CE News Releases

Consumer Expenditures in 2006

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit, which is similar to a household, rose 4.3 percent in 2006, following an increase of 6.9 percent in 2005, according to results from the Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The increase in expenditures from 2005 to 2006 was larger than the 3.2 percent rise in the annual average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) over this period. More...

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Featured CE Tables

Tables (1984 through 2006)

One Year Tables

CURRENT EXPENDITURE TABLES

  • Age of reference person (TXT) (PDF 22K)
  • Composition of consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 23K)
  • Education of reference person (TXT) (PDF 24K)
  • Higher income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 21K)
  • Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person (TXT) (PDF 18K)
  • Housing tenure and type of area (TXT) (PDF 22K)
  • Income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 23K)
  • Number of earners in consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 21K)
  • Occupation of reference person (TXT) (PDF 24K)
  • Population size of area of residence (TXT) (PDF 26K)
  • Quintiles of income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 25K)
  • Race of reference person (TXT) (PDF 22K)
  • Region of residence (TXT) (PDF 19K)
  • Size of consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 25K)
  • Selected age of reference person (TXT) (PDF 23K)

Previous Years »


CURRENT EXPENDITURE SHARES TABLES

  • Age of reference person (TXT) (PDF 17K)
  • Composition of consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 19K)
  • Education of reference person (TXT) (PDF 19K)
  • Higher income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 17K)
  • Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person (TXT) (PDF 15K)
  • Housing tenure and type of area (TXT) (PDF 18K)
  • Income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 18K)
  • Number of earners in consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 18K)
  • Occupation of reference person (TXT) (PDF 16K)
  • Quintiles of income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 18K)
  • Race of reference person (TXT) (PDF 18K)
  • Region of residence (TXT) (PDF 15K)
  • Size of consumer unit (TXT)(PDF 19K)

Previous Years »

CURRENT AGGREGATE EXPENDITURE SHARES TABLES

  • Age of reference person (TXT) (PDF 20K)
  • Composition of consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 22K)
  • Education of reference person (TXT) (PDF 22K)
  • Higher income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 20K)
  • Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person (TXT) (PDF 19K)
  • Housing tenure and type of area (TXT) (PDF 21K)
  • Income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 21K)
  • Number of earners in consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 20K)
  • Occupation of reference person (TXT) (PDF 22K)
  • Quintiles of income before taxes (TXT) (PDF 19K)
  • Race of reference person (TXT) (PDF 20K)
  • Region of residence (TXT) (PDF 18K)
  • Size of consumer unit (TXT) (PDF 23K)

Previous Years »

Additional CE Data Tables »

CE Products

  • Public Use Microdata
  • Public Use Microdata Documentation
    • 2006 Public Use Interview Survey Microdata Documentation (PDF 830K)
    • 2006 Public Use Diary Survey Microdata Documentation (PDF 349K)
    • Archives

CE Survey Forms

Current Survey Forms

CE Publications

CE Frequently Asked Questions

CE Special Notices

CE Related Links

Other BLS Programs

  • Consumer Price Indexes --monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.

Other Useful Links