December 15, 1998 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Homeowner expenditures take more
out of budgets in Northeast and West
Consumers in the Northeast and West allocate
larger shares of expenditures to owned dwelling (or homeowner) expenses--mortgage
interest and charges; property taxes; and maintenance, repairs, and insurance--than do consumers in the South and Midwest.
In 1995, consumers in the West spent 13.3 percent of total expenditures on
owned-dwelling expenses, and those in the Northeast spent 13.1 percent. This compared with
11.0 percent in the Midwest, and 10.0 percent in the South.
[Chart data—TXT]
Between 1989 and 1995, the share of total expenditures going to owned
dwelling expenses rose the most in the Northeast, and the least in the South.
In 1995, the share of total expenditures allocated to mortgage interest and charges was
highest in the West, and increased the most between 1989 and 1995 in the Northeast. The
South reported a decline in the share of total expenses going to mortgage interest and
charges.
The largest increase between 1989 and 1995 in the share of total expenditures going to
property taxes was reported in the Northeast; that region also reported the highest share
of expenses allocated to property taxes.
These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. Additional information is
available from "Owned Dwelling Expenditures by Region", Report 924, October
1998.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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