Consumer units¹ in the Baltimore, Md. metropolitan area spent an average of $55,363 per year in 2010-2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that this figure was over 13 percent higher than the $48,926 average expenditure level for a typical household in the United States. Not only did households in the Baltimore area spend more than the U.S. average, they allocated their dollars differently among the major categories, differing significantly in four of the eight. For example, the share of expenditures for healthcare, which accounted for 5.9 percent of a typical household’s budget in the Baltimore area, was significantly less than the nationwide average of 6.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) 

Housing in the Baltimore area averaged $20,695 annually and was the largest expenditure category, accounting for 37.4 percent of a Baltimore-area household’s total budget. (See table 1 and table 2.) This share was significantly above the 34.1-percent national average. Overall, 9 of the 18 published metropolitan areas had expenditure shares for housing significantly above the U.S. average; 4 had a significantly lower-than-average share. (See chart 2.) Housing expenditures among the 18 areas ranged from 32.0 percent in Cleveland to 41.5 percent in Miami. (See table 3.)

The majority of housing expenditures in Baltimore went toward shelter, 62.6 percent, which includes mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, and rent, among other items; nationwide, 58.8 percent of the housing budget was allocated for shelter. (See table A.) Utilities, fuels, and public services expenses accounted for 21.4 percent of the housing budget locally; nationally, they made up 22.1 percent. The rate of homeownership in Baltimore, at 73 percent, was above the U.S. average of 65 percent.

Table A. Percent distribution of housing expenditures, United States and Baltimore, 2010-2011

Category	United States	Baltimore
Housing	100.0	100.0
Shelter	58.8	62.6
Utilities, fuels and public services	22.1	21.4
Household operation	6.4	4.9
Housekeeping supplies	3.7	3.3
Household furnishings and equipment	8.9	7.8
Note: Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Baltimore households spent 13.7 percent of their annual budget on personal insurance and pensions, significantly above the national average of 11.0 percent, making this the second-largest expenditure category for the area’s consumer units.

The portion of a Baltimore consumer unit’s budget spent on food, 12.5 percent, was close to the 12.9-percent U.S. average. Among the 18 metropolitan areas, 12 had food expenditure shares that were not measurably different from the nationwide average. The remaining six had below-average shares spent on food. (See table 3.)

Households in Baltimore spent $4,061, or 58.7 percent, of their food dollars on food prepared at home and the remaining 41.3 percent on food prepared away from home, such as restaurant meals, carry-out, board at school, and catered affairs. In comparison, the typical U.S. household spent 59.3 percent of its food budget on food prepared at home and 40.7 percent on food prepared away from home.

At 11.9 percent of the total budget, transportation was the fourth-largest expenditure category in the Baltimore area and was significantly lower than the national average of 16.3 percent. Among the 18 metropolitan areas nationwide, 6 had below-average transportation shares; none had a significantly above-average transportation share. (See chart 3.)

Of the $6,606 in annual expenditures for transportation in Baltimore, 94.5 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 93.7 percent. The remaining 5.5 percent of a Baltimore household’s transportation budget was spent on public transit, which includes fares for taxis, buses, trains, and planes—this allocation was below the 6.3-percent average for the nation. (See table B.) The average number of vehicles per household in Baltimore (1.9) was identical to the national average.

Table B. Percent distribution of transportation expenditures, United States and Baltimore, 2010-2011

Category	United States	Baltimore
Transportation	100.0	100.0
Vehicle purchases (net outlays)	32.9	29.7
Gasoline and motor oil	30.0	36.3
Other vehicle expenses	30.8	28.4
Public transportation	6.3	5.5
Note: Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding.

As noted, Baltimore is 1 of 18 metropolitan areas nationwide for which Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data are available.
Metropolitan area CE data and that for the four geographic regions of the United States are available on our Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm. Metropolitan area CE news releases are available at http://www.bls.gov/regions/consumerspending.htm.

Additional Information

Data contained in this report are from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which is collected 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, 2010 and 2011 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 Baltimore-Towson, Md., which is comprised of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s Counties and Baltimore City in Maryland.

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.

CE metropolitan area estimates are not comparative cost of living surveys, 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. 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. Users should also keep in mind that prices for many goods and services have changed since the survey was conducted.

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 charts 2 and 3 for the 18 metropolitan areas surveyed.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with our ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

For additional technical documentation and related information, see www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch16.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Percent distribution of average annual expenditures, United States and Baltimore, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2010-11

Item	United States	Baltimore
Average annual expenditures	$48,926	$55,363
Percent distribution:	100.0	100.0
Food	12.9	12.5
Alcoholic beverages	0.9	0.7
Housing	34.1	37.4*
Apparel and services	3.5	3.1
Transportation	16.3	11.9*
Healthcare	6.6	5.9*
Entertainment	5.2	5.2
Personal care products and services	1.2	1.2
Reading	0.2	0.2
Education	2.2	3.9*
Tobacco products and smoking supplies	0.7	0.5*
Miscellaneous	1.7	0.8*
Cash contributions	3.4	3.0
Personal insurance and pensions	11.0	13.7*
* Statistically significant difference from U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level. Note: Columns may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Table 2. Consumer unit characteristics and average annual expenditures, United States and Baltimore, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2010-2011

Category	United States	Baltimore
Consumer unit characteristics:
Income before taxes	$63,086	$92,055
Age of reference person	49.6	52.1
Average number in consumer unit:
Persons	2.5	2.6
Children under 18	0.6	0.7
Persons 65 and over	0.3	0.3
Earners	1.3	1.4
Vehicles	1.9	1.9
Percent homeowner	65	73
Average annual expenditures	$48,926	$55,363
Food	6,294	6,920
Food at home	3,731	4,061
Cereals and bakery products	516	614
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	808	927
Dairy products	394	375
Fruits and vegetables	697	727
Other food at home	1,316	1,419
Food away from home	2,562	2,859
Alcoholic beverages	434	372
Housing	16,687	20,695
Shelter	9,819	12,946
Owned dwellings	6,212	8,829
Rented dwellings	2,965	2,921
Other lodging	642	1,196
Utilities, fuels, and public services	3,693	4,424
Household operations	1,074	1,024
Housekeeping supplies	613	687
Household furnishings and equipment	1,487	1,615
Apparel and services	1,720	1,719
Transportation	7,987	6,606
Vehicle purchases (net outlay)	2,629	1,962(1)
Gasoline and motor oil	2,395	2,401
Other vehicle expenses	2,459	1,877
Public transportation	504	366
Healthcare	3,235	3,283
Entertainment	2,547	2,876
Personal care products and services	608	646
Reading	108	110
Education	1,063	2,173
Tobacco products and smoking supplies	356	260
Miscellaneous	812	456
Cash contributions	1,677	1,679
Personal insurance and pensions	5,398	7,567
Life and other personal insurance	318	380
Pensions and Social Security	5,081	7,187
Footnotes: (1) Data are likely to have large sampling errors.

Table 3. Percent share of average annual expenditures for housing, transportation, and food, United States and 18 metropolitan areas, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2010–11

Area	Housing	Transportation	Food
United States	34.1	16.3	12.9
Atlanta	37.1*	16.1	11.7*
Baltimore	37.4*	11.9*	12.5
Boston	32.5*	14.1*	12.5
Chicago	35.6*	14.5*	12.4
Cleveland	32.0*	17.1	12.4
Dallas	33.4	17.1	12.8
Detroit	32.2*	17.4	12.5
Houston	33.5	16.7	12.5
Los Angeles	37.6*	16.2	13.1
Miami	41.5*	15.7	12.9
Minneapolis	32.3*	16.2	12.4
New York	39.8*	13.5*	12.7
Philadelphia	38.9*	14.4*	11.8*
Phoenix	33.5	16.9	13.0
San Diego	40.8*	14.9	11.1*
San Francisco	37.7*	13.1*	11.5*
Seattle	34.9	15.4	11.3*
Washington	35.3	15.0	11.5*
*Statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level.