Midwest Information office

     The typical Cleveland household spent 65.7 percent of its
budget on the three largest expenditure items-food, housing, and
transportation, close to the 65 percent spent by the average U.S.
household.  (See table 1.)  Among three other selected major
metropolitan areas in the Midwest chosen for comparison, expenditures
shares were also close to the national average for these three
categories in Detroit and Chicago (65.8 and 66 percent,
respectively), and higher in Cincinnati (67.1 percent).

     This report contains annual data averaged over a two-year
period-2002 and 2003.  The data are from the Consumer Expenditure
Survey, which is collected on an ongoing basis by the U.S. Census
Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  The Consumer
Expenditure Survey is the only national survey that provides both
complete data on household expenditures and the demographic
characteristics of those households.  Survey data cannot be used to
make cost of living comparisons between areas.  Expenditures vary
among areas not only because of economic factors such as the prices
of goods and services and family income, but also because of
differences such as the age of the population, climate, consumer
tastes, family size, etc.  However, expenditure shares, or the
percentage of a consumer unit's budget spent on a particular
category, can be used to compare spending patterns across areas.  The
survey provides average expenditures for consumer units.  An
individual consumer unit may spend more or less than the average,
depending on its particular characteristics.

     Housing, the largest expenditure category for a Cleveland area
household, accounted for 32.9 percent of the total budget, about the
same as the 32.8-percent national average.  Households in Cincinnati
and Detroit also had expenditure shares for housing that either were
close to or equaled the U.S. average.  Those in Chicago, however,
spent a considerably larger portion of their budget on housing, 36.3
percent.  The majority of the $12,335 spent on housing in Cleveland
went for shelter (58.9 percent), which includes mortgage interest,
property taxes, repairs, and rent, among other items; this percentage
was on a par with the national share.  (See table A.)  Utilities,
fuels and public services, on the other hand, accounted for 25
percent of total housing expenditures, above the 20.6 percent spent
nationally.  The rate of home ownership in Cleveland, at 73 percent,
exceeded the national average of 67 percent.  Of the four
metropolitan areas in the Midwest under comparison, only residents of
Cincinnati had a less than average likelihood (58 percent) of being
homeowners.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                         | United |         |        | Cin-   |
           Item          | States |Cleveland|Chicago |cinnati |Detroit
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total housing            | 100.0  |  100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0 
 Shelter                 |  58.8  |   58.9  |  60.3  |  59.0  |  61.1
 Utilities, fuels & serv.|  20.6  |   25.0  |  18.7  |  19.3  |  20.2
 Household operations    |   5.3  |    3.8  |   5.1  |   4.5  |   5.1
 Housekeeping supplies   |   4.0  |    3.5  |   3.7  |   3.9  |   3.7
 Household furnishings   |  11.3  |    8.8  |  12.2  |  13.3  |  10.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

    At 20.5 percent of the total budget, transportation was the
second largest expenditure category in the Cleveland area; this was
above the 19.1 percent nationwide average.  Expenditure shares for
transportation also exceeded the national norm in Detroit (20.5
percent) and Cincinnati (20 percent), but not Chicago (16.9 percent).
Of the $7,702 annual expenditure for transportation in Cleveland,
95.5 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles.  (See
table 2 for detailed expenditure levels.)  The remaining 4.5 percent
of a Cleveland household's transportation budget was spent on public
transit which includes taxis, buses, trains, and planes; not very
different from the 5.0-percent average nationwide.  The average
number of vehicles per household in Cleveland was 1.8, below the
national average of 2.0.  Of the four areas under comparison, only
households in Chicago averaged fewer vehicles (1.7); however,
Chicagoans also spent a larger than average percentage of their
transportation dollars (8.3 percent) on public transit.

     Cleveland consumer units spent 12.2 percent ($4,574) of their
budget on food, below the U.S. average of 13.1 percent.  Of the four
selected metropolitan areas in the Midwest, only households in
Cincinnati had an expenditure share for food (13.6 percent)
surpassing the nationwide average.  Households in Cleveland spent
60.4 percent of their food budget on food prepared at home, the only
metropolitan area under comparison to exceed the 58.1-percent
national average.  The remaining 39.6 percent of a Cleveland
household's food dollars was spent on food prepared away from home,
such as restaurant meals, carry-outs, board at school, and catered
affairs.  Expenditure shares for "eating out" were all above the
national average of 41.9 percent in the other three areas, with
Detroit the highest at 44.3 percent.

     Payments for personal insurance and pensions accounted for 11.3
percent of total expenditures in Cleveland, above the 9.8-percent
national average and the largest share among the four metropolitan
areas.  Expenditure shares in Detroit matched the U.S. norm and were
lower than average in Cincinnati and Chicago at 8.9 and 8.7 percent,
respectively.

     Out-of-pocket health care expenses, which includes health
insurance premiums, medical services, drugs (prescription and
nonprescription), and medical care supplies, accounted for 5.4
percent of total household expenditures in Cleveland.  All of the
selected areas were below the national average of 5.9 percent, with
Detroit the lowest at 4.5 percent.

     Cleveland area households spent 4.8 percent of their budgets on
entertainment, close to the 5.1-percent share allocated nationally.
Shares were also close to the national average in Chicago (4.9
percent) and Cincinnati (5.2 percent).  Of the four selected areas in
the Midwest, Detroit had the lowest expenditure share for
entertainment, 4.4 percent.

     Spending on apparel and related services accounted for 3.7
percent of total expenditures in Cleveland, the same percentage as in
Cincinnati.  This was a bit below the 4.2 percent allocated
nationally.  The expenditure shares for clothing were on a par with
the national average in Chicago (4.3 percent) and well above in
Detroit (5.6 percent).

     Cash contributions accounted for 2.3 percent of a consumer
unit's spending in Cleveland, the lowest share among the four areas
and below the national average of 3.2 percent.  None of the other
metropolitan areas had expenditure shares surpassing that for the
nation, though Chicago's (3.0 percent) and Cincinnati's (3.1 percent)
were close to the national average

                                # # #


Additional Data Available

    Data tables are available for the four Census regions and for
the national average.  These tables may be obtained from the
Bureau's automated Fax-on-Demand service.  See below.  Additional
tables are offered under the heading "Tables Created by BLS" on the
BLS Internet site www.bls.gov/cex.
---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                | No. |
  BLS Fax-on-Demand - Chicago (312) 353-1880    | of  |Document
                                                |pages|   no.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Expenditures in 2003 - 
   national news release (annual)               |  2  |   2705
---------------------------------------------------------------
Data tables containing consumer expenditures-
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By quintiles of income before taxes (Table 1) |  4  |   2710
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By income before taxes (Table 2)              |  4  |   2715
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By age of reference person (Table 3)          |  4  |   2720
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By size of consumer unit (Table 4)            |  4  |   2725
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By composition of consumer unit (Table 5)     |  4  |   2730
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By number of earners (Table 6)                |  4  |   2735
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By housing tenure, race, Hispanic origin, and |     |
     type of area - urban or rural (Table 7)    |  4  |   2740
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By region of residence (Table 8)              |  4  |   2745
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By occupation of reference person (Table 9)   |  4  |   2750
---------------------------------------------------------------
  By education of reference person (Table 10)   |  4  |   2760
---------------------------------------------------------------
  Metropolitan statistical areas                |  4  |   9279
---------------------------------------------------------------

                             Technical Note

    The current Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) program began in
1980.  Its principal objective is to collect information on the
buying habits of American consumers.  The consumer expenditure data
are used in a wide variety of research by government, business,
labor, and academic analysts.  The data are also required for
periodic revision of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

    The survey consists of two components, a diary or recordkeeping
survey, and an interview survey.  The Diary Survey, completed by
participating consumer units for two consecutive 1-week periods,
collects data on frequently purchased smaller items.  The Interview
Survey, in which the expenditures of consumer units are obtained in
five interviews conducted every 3 months, collects data for larger-
cost items and expenditures that occur on a regular basis.  The U.S.
Census Bureau collects the survey data.

    Each component of the survey queries an independent sample of
consumer units which is representative of the U.S. population.  Over
the year, about 7,500 consumer units are sampled for the Diary
Survey.  The Interview sample is conducted on a rotating panel basis,
with about 7,500 consumer units participating each quarter.  The data
are collected on an ongoing basis in 105 areas of the country.

    The integrated data from the BLS Diary and Interview Surveys
provide a complete accounting of consumer expenditures and income,
which neither survey component alone is designed to do.  Due to
changes in the survey sample frame, metropolitan area data in this
release are not directly comparable to those prior to 1996.

    The expenditure data in this release should be interpreted with
care.  The expenditures are averages for consumer units with the
specified characteristics, regardless of whether or not a specific
unit incurred an expense for that specific item during the recording
period.  The average expenditure may be considerably lower than the
expenditure by those consumer units that purchased the item.  This
study is not intended as a comparative cost of living survey as
neither the quantity nor the quality of goods and services has been
held constant among areas.  Differences may result from variations in
consumer unit preferences or characteristics such as consumer unit
size, age, income levels, etc.  Users should keep in mind that prices
for many goods and services have risen since the survey was
conducted.

    In addition, sample surveys are subject to two types of errors.
Sampling errors occur because the data are collected from a
representative sample rather than the entire population.  Nonsampling
errors result from the inability or unwillingness or respondents to
provide correct information, differences in interviewer ability,
mistakes in recording or coding, or other processing errors.  The
year-to-year changes are volatile and should be interpreted
carefully.  The survey sample for the nation is much larger than for
individual metropolitan areas, meaning the resulting national
estimates are more reliable than those for the metropolitan areas.

    Some expenditure components are subject to large fluctuations from
one year to the next because these components include expensive items
that relatively few consumers purchase each year.  Thus, shifts from
year to year in the number of consumers making such purchases can
have a large effect on average expenditures.  Examples of these types
of expenses are purchases of new cars and trucks in the
transportation component, and spending on boats and recreational
vehicles in the entertainment component.

    The Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Consolidated
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs) covered by the Consumer
Expenditure Survey represent areas designated by the U.S. Office of
Management and Budget and are based on definitions in effect as of
December 1992.  The general concept of an MSA is one of a large
population nucleus, together with adjacent communities which have a
high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus.
The following metropolitan areas are discussed in this release:

    Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin CMSA which is
comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall,
Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties,
Indiana; and Kenosha County, Wisconsin;

    Cleveland-Akron, Ohio CMSA which is comprised of Ashtabula,
Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit Counties;

    Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Michigan CMSA which is comprised of
Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St.
Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties; and

    Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota-Wisconsin CMSA which is comprised
of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott,
Sherburne, Washington, and Wright Counties, Minnesota; and Pierce and
St. Croix Counties, Wisconsin.

    The Consumer Expenditure Survey also provides data for the four
regions of the country as defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census -
Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.  Data for metropolitan areas
presented in tables 1 and 2 of this release are part of the Midwest
region which includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South
Dakota, and Wisconsin.

                             Definitions

    Consumer unit - members of a household related by blood, marriage,
adoption, or other legal arrangement; a single person living alone or
sharing a household with others but who is financially independent;
or two or more persons living together who share responsibility for
at least 2 out of 3 major types of expenses - food, housing, and
other expenses.  The terms household and consumer unit are used
interchangeably for convenience.

    Complete income reporter - in general, a consumer unit that
provides values for at least one of the major sources of its income
such as wages and salaries, self-employment income, or Social
Security income.  Even complete income reporters may not have
provided a full accounting of all income from all sources.

    Expenditures - consists of the transaction costs, including excise
and sales taxes, of goods and services acquired during the interview
or recordkeeping period.  Expenditure estimates include expenditures
for gifts, but exclude purchases or portions of purchases directly
assignable to business purposes.  Also excluded are periodic credit
or installment payments on goods or services already acquired.  The
full cost of each purchase is recorded even though full payment may
not have been made at the date of purchase.

    Income before taxes - the total money earnings and selected money
receipts during the 12 months prior to the interview date.


Table 1.  Consumer unit characteristics and percent distribution
of expenditures, U.S. and selected metropolitan areas, Consumer
Expenditure Survey, 2002-2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              | United |         |        |  Cin-  | 
          Item                | States |Cleveland|Chicago |cinnati |Detroit
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer unit characteristics:
 Income before taxes 1/        $50,302   $50,391  $64,670  $52,271  $57,541
 Age of reference person          48.2      49.2     47.7     48.6     48.8
 
Average number in consumer unit:
 Persons                           2.5       2.4      2.8      2.3      2.6
 Children under 18                  .6        .6       .8       .6       .7
 Persons 65 and over                .3        .3       .2       .3       .3
 Earners                           1.3       1.4      1.5      1.3      1.3
 Vehicles                          2.0       1.8      1.7      1.9      2.0

Percent homeowner                   67        73       69       58       74


Average annual expenditures    $40,748   $37,487  $47,016  $39,030  $44,039
 Total (percent):                100.0     100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0
 
Food                              13.1      12.2     12.8     13.6     12.5

Alcoholic beverages                 .9        .8      1.0       .9      1.0

Housing                           32.8      32.9     36.3     33.5     32.8

Apparel & services                 4.2       3.7      4.3      3.7      5.6

Transportation                    19.1      20.5     16.9     20.0     20.5

Health Care                        5.9       5.4      5.2      5.4      4.5

Entertainment                      5.1       4.8      4.9      5.2      4.4

Personal care products & serv.     1.3       1.1      1.3      1.3      1.4

Reading                             .3        .3       .3       .4       .3

Education                          1.9       2.1      2.6      1.6      1.7

Tobacco products & smoking  
 supplies                           .7        .9       .6       .8       .9

Miscellaneous                      1.7       1.6      2.0      1.4      1.8

Cash contributions                 3.2       2.3      3.0      3.1      2.6
 
Personal insurance &  pensions     9.8      11.3      8.7      8.9      9.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Components of income and taxes are derived from "complete income
reporters" only; see definitions.


Table 2.  Average annual expenditures, U.S. and selected metropolitan
areas, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2002-2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              | United |         |        |  Cin-  | 
          Item                | States |Cleveland|Chicago |cinnati |Detroit
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average annual expenditures:   $40,748   $37,487  $47,016  $39,030  $44,039

Food                             5,357     4,574    6,001    5,303    5,511
 Food at home                    3,114     2,761    3,418    3,052    3,073
 Food away from home             2,243     1,813    2,583    2,250    2,439

Alcoholic beverages                384       306      486      363      430

Housing                         13,359    12,335   17,059   13,072   14,429
 Shelter                         7,859     7,262   10,290    7,715    8,814
 Utilities, fuels & public serv. 2,749     3,079    3,190    2,520    2,911
 public services 
 Household operations              706       472      876      586      732
 Housekeeping supplies             537       432      624      510      530
 Household furnishings & equip.  1,508     1,089    2,080    1,741    1,442

Apparel & services               1,694     1,378    2,017    1,435    2,473

Transportation                   7,770     7,702    7,961    7,803    9,024
 Vehicle purchases (net outlay)  3,699     3,716    3,570    3,917    3,955
 Gasoline & motor oil            1,285     1,107    1,325    1,152    1,354
 Other vehicle expenses          2,400     2,531    2,410    2,466    3,229
 Public transportation             387       349      657      269      486

Health care                      2,384     2,035    2,462    2,126    1,999

Entertainment                    2,069     1,794    2,326    2,047    1,950

Personal care products & serv.     526       397      588      502      630

Reading                            133       125      138      166      145

Education                          768       789    1,224      629      767
 
Tobacco products & smoking
 supplies                          305       347      300      323      383

Miscellaneous                      698       616      945      554      805

Cash contributions               1,324       863    1,431    1,229    1,158

Personal insurance & pensions    3,978     4,227    4,077    3,478    4,335
 Life & other personal ins.        402       469      324      331      304
 Pensions & Social Security      3,576     3,758    3,754    3,147    4,031
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Modified Date: March 3, 2005