News Release Information
12-249-BOS
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Contacts
Further information:
- (617) 565-2327
- BLSInfoBoston@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro1
Media contact:
- (617) 565-2326
- Consedine.tim@bls.gov
Consumer Expenditures for the Boston Area: 2009-2010
Consumer units 1 (households) in the Boston-Brockton-Nashua metropolitan area spent an average of $63,063 per year in 2009-2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Denis M. McSweeney noted that this figure was nearly 30 percent above the $48,588 average expenditure level for a typical household in the United States. Although households in the Boston area spent more than the U.S. average, they tended to allocate their dollars similarly among some of the largest expenditure categories including housing, transportation, and food. (See chart 1.) However, expenditures for personal insurance and pensions and education accounted for significantly larger portions of the total budget in the Boston area than the U.S. average, while spending on apparel and services and cash contributions represented significantly smaller shares. (See table 1.)
Housing in the Boston metropolitan area averaged $20,959 annually and was the largest expenditure category, accounting for 33.2 percent of a Boston area household’s total spending. This share was not significantly different from the 34.4-percent national average. (See tables 1 and 2.) Overall, 10 of the 18 published metropolitan areas had expenditure shares for housing measurably above the U.S. average; only Detroit had a significantly lower-than-average share.(See chart 2.) Among the 18 areas, housing shares ranged from 43.6 percent in Miami to 32.6 percent in Detroit.(See table 3.)
The majority of total housing expenditures in Boston went toward shelter, 61.4 percent, which includes mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, and rent, among other items; this was above the 59.4-percent share allocated toward shelter nationwide. (See table A.) In contrast, utilities, fuels, and public services expenses accounted for 19.9 percent of the housing budget locally, below the national average of 21.8 percent. The rate of homeownership in Boston, at 66 percent, matched the U.S. average.
Category | United States | Boston |
---|---|---|
Total Housing |
100.0 | 100.0 |
Shelter |
59.4 | 61.4 |
Utilities, fuels and public services |
21.8 | 19.9 |
Household operation |
6.0 | 7.3 |
Housekeeping supplies |
3.8 | 3.0 |
Household furnishings and equipment |
8.9 | 8.3 |
Note: Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding. |
At 14.4 percent of the total budget, transportation was the second-largest expenditure category in the Boston area, but was not statistically different from the national average of 15.8 percent. Among the 18 metropolitan areas nationwide, only Detroit had a transportation share that was significantly above average. (See chart 3.)
Six areas had significantly lower shares than the U.S. average, the lowest being Baltimore at 12.4 percent, followed by San Francisco at 12.6 percent.
Of the $9,104 in annual expenditures for transportation in Boston, 92.7 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 93.7 percent. Along with the lower local area private transportation share, the average number of vehicles per household in Boston (1.7) was below the national average (1.9). The remaining 7.3 percent of a Boston household’s transportation budget was spent on public transit–which includes fares for taxis, buses, trains, and planes–and was above the 6.3-percent average for the nation. (See table B.) Among the 18 areas, public transportation budgets accounted for more than 10 percent of local transportation expenditures in 4 areas, led by New York (13.5 percent) and San Francisco (12.5 percent).
Category | United States | Boston |
---|---|---|
Total Transportation |
100.0 | 100.0 |
Vehicle purchases (net outlay) |
34.2 | 36.5 |
Gasoline and motor oil |
26.9 | 22.6 |
Other vehicle expenses |
32.6 | 33.6 |
Public transportation |
6.3 | 7.3 |
Note: Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding. |
The portion of the average Boston consumer unit’s budget spent on food, 12.8 percent, was not significantly different than the 12.9-percent U.S. average. Among the 18 metropolitan areas, 7 had food expenditure shares that were significantly below the national average. None of the 18 areas had food expenditure shares significantly above that for the nation.
Households in Boston spent $4,870 or 60.4 percent, of their food dollars on food at home and the remaining 39.6 percent on food away from home, such as restaurant meals, carry-out, board at school, and catered affairs. In comparison, the typical U.S. household spent 59.0 percent of its food budget on food at home and 41.0 percent on food away from home.
As noted, Boston is 1 of 18 metropolitan areas nationwide for which Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data are available. We encourage users interested in learning more about the CE to contact the New England Information Office at (617) 565-2327. Metropolitan area CE data and that for the four geographic regions and the United States are available at www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm.
Additional information
Data contained in this report are from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which is conducted on an ongoing basis by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CE data were averaged over a two-year period, 2009 and 2010 and are available for the nation, the 4 geographic regions of the country, and 18 metropolitan areas. The metropolitan area discussed in this release is Boston-Brockton-Nashua, Mass.-N.H.-Maine-Conn. which is comprised of select cities and towns in Windham, Conn.; Bristol, Essex, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester, Mass.; York, ME; Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford, N.H. counties.
The survey consists of two components, a diary or recordkeeping survey, and an interview survey. 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.
A consumer unit is defined as 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 or consumer unit are used
interchangeably for convenience.
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 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 demographic characteristics
such as consumer unit size, age, preferences, income levels, 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. Users should also keep in mind that prices for many goods and services have risen
since the survey was conducted.
The CE significance tests in this release compare expenditure shares for selected expenditure categories
in the United States to expenditure shares in selected metropolitan areas. (See table 3.) Expenditure
shares for housing and transportation that are above or below that for the nation after testing for
significance at the 95-percent confidence interval are also identified in chart 2 and chart 3 for the 18
metropolitan areas surveyed. Sample sizes for the metropolitan areas are much smaller than for the
nation, so the U.S. estimates and year-to-year changes are more reliable than those for the metropolitan
areas.
Footnote
1 See the Additional Information section for the definition of a consumer unit. The terms consumer unit and household are used interchangeably throughout the text for convenience.
Category | United States | Boston |
---|---|---|
Average annual expenditures |
$48,588 |
$63,063 |
Percent distribution: |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Food |
12.9 |
12.8 |
Alcoholic beverages |
.9 |
1.0 |
Housing |
34.4 |
33.2 |
Apparel and services |
3.5 |
2.9* |
Transportation |
15.8 |
14.4 |
Healthcare |
6.5 |
6.4 |
Entertainment |
5.3 |
5.9 |
Personal care products and services |
1.2 |
1.1 |
Reading |
.2 |
.3* |
Education |
2.2 |
4.0* |
Tobacco products and smoking supplies |
.8 |
.8 |
Miscellaneous |
1.7 |
1.7 |
Cash contributions |
3.5 |
2.7* |
Personal insurance and pensions |
11.2 |
12.6* |
*Statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level. |
Category | United States | Boston |
---|---|---|
Consumer unit characteristics: | ||
Income before taxes |
$62,669 | $83,851 |
Age of reference person |
49.4 | 50.1 |
Average number in consumer unit: | ||
Persons |
2.5 | 2.4 |
Children under 18 |
.6 | .6 |
Persons 65 and over |
.3 | .3 |
Earners |
1.3 | 1.4 |
Vehicles |
1.9 | 1.7 |
Percent homeowner |
66 | 66 |
Average annual expenditures: | ||
Average annual expenditures |
$48,588 | $63,063 |
Food |
6,250 | 8,066 |
Food at home |
3,689 | 4,870 |
Cereals and bakery products |
504 | 712 |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs |
813 | 1,017 |
Dairy products |
393 | 502 |
Fruits and vegetables |
668 | 932 |
Other food at home |
1,311 | 1,708 |
Food away from home |
2,562 | 3,195 |
Alcoholic beverages |
423 | 644 |
Housing |
16,726 | 20,959 |
Shelter |
9,943 | 12,866 |
Owned dwellings |
6,410 | 8,233 |
Rented dwellings |
2,880 | 3,639 |
Other lodging |
653 | 994 |
Utilities, fuels, and public services |
3,652 | 4,177 |
Household operations |
1,009 | 1,540 |
Housekeeping supplies |
635 | 631 |
Household furnishings and equipment |
1,486 | 1,745 |
Apparel and services |
1,712 | 1,854 |
Transportation |
7,668 | 9,104 |
Vehicle purchases (net outlay) |
2,623 | 3,324 |
Gasoline and motor oil |
2,059 | 2,056 |
Other vehicle expenses |
2,500 | 3,061 |
Public transportation |
486 | 663 |
Healthcare |
3,141 | 4,004 |
Entertainment |
2,599 | 3,738 |
Personal care products and services |
589 | 707 |
Reading |
105 | 193 |
Education |
1,071 | 2,550 |
Tobacco products and smoking supplies |
371 | 534 |
Miscellaneous |
833 | 1,063 |
Cash contributions |
1,678 | 1,723 |
Personal insurance and pensions |
5,422 | 7,925 |
Life and other personal insurance |
314 | 410 |
Pensions and Social Security |
5,108 | 7,515 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Area |       Housing       | Transportation |       Food       |
---|---|---|---|
United States |
34.4 |
15.8 |
12.9 |
Atlanta |
37.7* | 15.1 |
11.4* |
Baltimore |
39.1* | 12.4* | 11.7 |
Boston |
33.2 |
14.4 |
12.8 |
Chicago |
36.0* | 15.2 |
12.6 |
Cleveland |
33.0 |
15.6 |
12.4 |
Dallas |
34.3 |
15.1 |
12.6 |
Detroit |
32.6* | 18.7* | 12.0 |
Houston |
34.0 |
16.6 |
11.6* |
Los Angeles |
37.7* | 15.6 |
13.2 |
Miami |
43.6* | 15.5 |
12.7 |
Minneapolis |
33.6 |
13.7* | 12.7 |
New York |
39.4* | 13.5* | 12.6 |
Philadelphia |
37.8* | 13.4* | 11.9* |
Phoenix |
33.6 |
16.3 |
13.4 |
San Diego |
41.7* | 13.4* | 11.2* |
San Francisco |
39.0* | 12.6* | 11.8* |
Seattle |
33.1 |
15.4 |
11.0* |
Washington |
36.3* | 14.4 |
11.0* |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
![Chart3. Expenditure shares spent on transportation in 18 metropolitan statistical areas compared to the U.S. average, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2009-2010](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121009224906im_/http://www.bls.gov/ro6/fax/cex_chart3.gif)
Last Modified Date: February 7, 2012