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 CE is important because it is the only Federal survey to provide information on the complete range of consumers' expenditures and incomes, as well as the characteristics of those consumers. It is used by economic policymakers examining the impact of policy changes on economic groups, by businesses and academic researchers studying consumers' spending habits and trends, by other Federal agencies, and, perhaps most importantly, to regularly revise the Consumer Price Index market basket of goods and services and their relative importance.
The most recent data tables are for 2010, and were made available on September 27, 2011.
See Featured CE Tables and Economic News Releases sections on the CE home page
for current data tables and news release.
The 2010 public-use microdata is the most recent and was released on September 27, 2011.
Next Release: September 25, 2012
2011 CE tabular data and free downloadable public-use microdata (PUMD) are scheduled to be released on September 25, 2012, at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time.
September 27, 2011
Average annual expenditures per consumer unit fell 2.0 percent in 2010
following a decrease of 2.8 percent in 2009. Spending on food and
housing fell 3.8 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively, contributing
to the overall drop in spending in 2010.
Reports
CE Database
More Tools
- 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.
Tables
2010
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: 1984 to 2010 »
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: 1989 to 2010
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: 1989 to 2010 »
CURRENT STANDARD ERROR 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)
- Size of consumer unit (TXT) (PDF) (XLS)
Previous Years: 2000 to 2010 »
2006 to 2010
MOST RECENT MULTIYEAR TABLE
- 2006-2010 Multiyear table (TXT)
(PDF) (XLS)
Previous Years: 1984 to 2010 »
Additional CE Data Tables »
Current Survey Forms
All CE Survey Forms »
CE is Coming to Your Town!
As part of ongoing outreach efforts, CE staff attend conferences outside the Washington, DC area when circumstances permit. You may be interested in attending their presentations, or in arranging for a CE staff member to visit your organization. To see a list of upcoming or past events, click on the links below.
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
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
Contact us