Annual spending data carry a collection gap
Consumer units averaged $81,905 in 2025.
- Event / announcement date
- 2026-10-29
BLS’s October 29 release put 2025 average annual spending at $81,905 per consumer unit, up 4.3% before inflation adjustment. Housing accounted for 33.9%. These are mean annual purchases, not median household budgets or October 2026 spending. [1]
The methods handbook defines a consumer unit through family relationships or shared financial decisions. People sharing an address can form separate units. Expenditures record financial obligations when goods or services are acquired, even if payment comes later. Gifts and home production can be consumed without a recorded purchase. The measure describes purchases, rather than everything a household uses. [2]
Collection paused in October and November 2025; BLS adjusted weights. It also changed variance estimation to Fay’s method and withheld 2024–25 two-year tables because of the change. [1]
The source
- BLS: 2025 expenditure estimates ↗
Source date 2026-10-29 · reviewed October 29, 2026 · 2025 data; October 29 release. - BLS: Consumer-unit concepts ↗
Undated reference · reviewed October 29, 2026 · Undated reference; last modified September 12, 2022.
About this item: News report. No first-hand reporting or independent testing is claimed. Corrections policy.
