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 2009, and were made available on October 5, 2010. 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 2009, and were made available for sale on October 5, 2010.

Announcements

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CE News Releases

Consumer Expenditures

October 05, 2010
Average annual expenditures per consumer unit fell 2.8 percent in 2009 following an increase of 1.7 percent in 2008. Spending on housing and transportation fell 1.3 percent and 11.0 percent, respectively, contributing to the overall drop in spending in 2009.

Reports

CE Databases

CE Database

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  • Series Report--Already know the series identifier for the statistic you want? Use this shortcut to retrieve your data.
  • 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 2009)

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) (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) (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

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.
  • Price and Index Number Research experimental poverty measures -- CE data are used to estimate National Academy of Sciences (NAS) based poverty measures and a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM)

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 inquiries. Please use any of the methods below to contact the CE National Office. Inquiries should include your name, and phone number, fax number, mailing address, or e-mail address, along with a brief message.

Telephone
    (202) 691-6900

Incoming calls are connected to the office's voice mail and answered promptly.  

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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