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 2008, and were made available on October 6, 2009. See Featured CE Tables and Economic News Releases sections on the CE home page for current data tables and news release.

The most recent public use microdata sets are for 2008, and were made available for sale on October 15, 2009. These data include information on the 2008 tax stimulus.

Announcements

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CE News Releases

Consumer Expenditures

October 06, 2009
Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 1.7 percent in 2008 following an increase of 2.6 percent in 2007. Increases in spending on housing (1.1 percent) and food (5.1 percent) coupled with decreases in spending for transportation (-1.8 percent) and apparel (-4.3 percent) contributed to the small overall increase in 2008.

Reports

CE Databases

CE Database

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  • Text files (FTP)--For those who want it all. Download a flat file of the entire database or large subset of the database.

Featured CE Tables

Tables (1984 through 2008)

One Year Tables

CURRENT EXPENDITURE TABLES

  • Age of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Composition of consumer unit — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Education of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Higher income before taxes — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Housing tenure and type of area — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Income before taxes — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Number of earners in consumer unit — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Occupation of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Population size of area of residence — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Quintiles of income before taxes — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Race of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Region of residence — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Size of consumer unit — (TXT) (PDF (XLS)
  • Selected age of reference person — ( TXT) (PDF) (XLS)

Previous Years »

CURRENT EXPENDITURE SHARES TABLES

  • Age of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Composition of consumer unit — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Education of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Higher income before taxes — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Hispanic or Latino origin of reference person — (TXT) (PDF 14K) (XLS)
  • Housing tenure and type of area — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Income before taxes — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Number of earners in consumer unit — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Occupation of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Quintiles of income before taxes — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Race of reference person — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Region of residence — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
  • Size of consumer unit — (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)

Previous Years »

CURRENT AGGREGATE EXPENDITURE SHARES TABLES

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

Previous Years »

Additional CE Data Tables »

CE Products

  • NEW Public Use Microdata
  • NEW Public Use Microdata Documentation
    • 2008 Public Use Interview Survey Microdata Documentation (PDF 1,389K)
    • 2008 Public Use Interview Survey Data Dictionary (PDF 1,482K)
    • 2008 Public Use Interview Survey 2008 Tax Rebate Data Set Documentation (PDF 46K)
    • 2008 Public Use Diary Survey Microdata Documentation (PDF 620K)
    • 2008 Public Use Diary Survey Data Dictionary (PDF 296K)
    • Archives

CE Survey Forms

Current Survey Forms

All CE Survey Forms »

CE Publications

CE Frequently Asked Questions

People Are Asking...

  1. Does BLS have information about household spending on cell phone services?
  2. What is the most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey Annual Report?
  3. Does the CE have a glossary with definitions of survey terms, as well as descriptions of the types of items in the components of expenditures and income?
  4. How do I contact the CE group?
  5. Are CE standard error tables available?
  6. How do you use the standard errors in the CE?
  7. How does income imputation affect CE publications?

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the Consumer Expenditure Survey?
  2. How is the Consumer Expenditure Survey used?
  3. What is a consumer unit?
  4. Who is the reference person?
  5. What types of data are available and in what form?
  6. What geographic areas are covered?
  7. Is income information available from other sources?
  8. Does the Consumer Expenditure Survey include information on assets and liabilities?
  9. Are historical data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey available?
  10. How are the Consumer Expenditure Survey data collected?

All CE FAQs »

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

Contact Us

Methods of Contact

The economists and administrative personnel of the Consumer Expenditure Survey staff are available Monday through Friday to respond to inquires. Please use any of the methods below to contact the CE National Office. Inquires should include your name, and phone number, fax number, mailing address, or e-mail address, along with a brief message.

Due to unanticipated budget constraints, the CE mailing list is no longer being maintained, and printed copies of future publications will not be available until further notice. Individual copies of existing printed materials can still be mailed upon request.

Telephone
    (202) 691-6900

Due to the high volume of information requests received each day, incoming calls may be connected to the office's voice mail or transferred to an economist's voice mail.  

FAX
    (202) 691-7006
 

Mail
    Bureau of Labor Statistics
   Consumer Expenditure Surveys — Branch of Information and Analysis
    Postal Square Building, Room 3985
    2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E.
    Washington, DC 20212-0001
 

E Mail
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