Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

22-2115-KAN
Monday, October 31, 2022

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Consumer Expenditures for the Denver Metropolitan Area — 2020-21

Households in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, metropolitan area spent an average of $75,132 per year in 2020-21, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that this figure was significantly different from the $64,187 average expenditure level for households in the United States. Denver-area households allocated their dollars similarly to the nation in 7 of the 8 largest major components. The only component in the local area which differed significantly from the respective U.S. average was healthcare. The share of expenditures for healthcare, which accounted for 7.5 percent of the average household’s budget in the Denver area, was lower than the national average of 8.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)


Highlights of the Denver area’s 2020-21 spending patterns:
  • Housing: This was the largest expenditure component for Denver-area households and averaged $27,199. Housing accounted for 36.2 percent of the area’s household budget, not significantly different than the 34.3-percent U.S. average. Housing expenditure shares among the 22 published metropolitan areas ranged from 41.9 percent in San Francisco to 30.7 percent in St. Louis. (See table 2.)
  • Transportation: Denver-area households spent 16.3 percent of their budget on transportation, not significantly different than the national average of 16.2 percent. Of the $12,239 in annual transportation expenditures in Denver, 95.1 percent was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 96.6 percent.
  • Food: The portion of a Denver household’s budget spent on food, 11.2 percent, was not significantly different from the 12.2-percent U.S. average. Denver-area households spent $5,095, or 60.8 percent, of their food dollars on food at home and $3,282 (39.2 percent) on food away from home. In comparison, the average U.S. household spent 65.3 percent of its food budget on food at home and 34.7 percent on food away from home.
  • Healthcare: Households in Denver spent an average of $5,626, or 7.5 percent, of their budget on healthcare, significantly lower than the national average of 8.3 percent. Average healthcare expenditures in the West region ranged from $5,798 in San Francisco to $4,009 in Honolulu.
Additional Information

Data in this release are from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE), which the U.S. Census Bureau conducts for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data in this release were averaged over a 2-year period, 2020 and 2021.

A household in the CE survey is defined as a consumer unit which includes families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but who are financially independent, or two or more persons living together who share expenses. The terms household or consumer unit are used interchangeably for convenience.

Differences in spending among metropolitan areas may reflect differences in the cost of living, but they also may reflect other causes. Spending differences may result from different consumer preferences or variations in demographic characteristics, such as household size, age, or income levels. However, expenditure shares, or the percentage of a household’s budget spent on a particular component, 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.

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. A large difference between two values may not be statistically significant, while a small difference could be significant; both the sample size and the variation among the values in the sample affect the relative error of the estimates.

For additional technical and related information, see www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cex/home.htm. Data for the nation, the four geographic regions of the United States, and 22 metropolitan areas nationwide are available at www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm. Metropolitan definitions used in the survey are available at www.bls.gov/cex/ce_msa_201516.htm. The metropolitan area discussed in this release is the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, Metropolitan Statistical Area which comprises Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park Counties in Colorado. Metropolitan area news releases for the Consumer Expenditure Survey are available at www.bls.gov/regions/subjects/consumer-spending.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average annual expenditures, characteristics, and percent distributions, United States and Denver metropolitan area, 2020–21
Category United
States
Denver

Consumer unit characteristics:

Income before taxes

$85,906 $103,708

Age of reference person

52 49

Average number in consumer unit:

People

2.5 2.5

Children under 18

0.6 0.6

Adults 65 and over

0.4 0.3

Earners

1.3 1.4

Vehicles

1.9 1.9

Percent homeowner

65 66

Average annual expenditures

$64,187 $75,132*

Percent distribution

Total

100.0 100.0

Food

12.2 11.2

Alcoholic beverages

0.8 1.1*

Housing

34.3 36.2

Apparel and services

2.5 1.8*

Transportation

16.2 16.3

Healthcare

8.3 7.5*

Entertainment

5.1 5.5

Personal care products and services

1.1 1.2

Reading

0.2 0.2

Education

1.9 1.9

Tobacco products and smoking supplies

0.5 0.3*

Miscellaneous

1.5 1.2

Cash contributions

3.7 3.6

Personal insurance and pensions

11.8 12.0

Note: An asterisk (*) represents a statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level.

Table 2. Percent share of average annual expenditures for housing, transportation, and food, United States and 22 metropolitan areas, 2020–21
Area Housing Transportation Food

United States

34.3 16.2 12.2

Anchorage

34.4 12.1* 14.6*

Atlanta

35.9 15.4 13.9*

Baltimore

33.2 17.9 11.3

Boston

34.2 10.6* 12.3

Chicago

37.3* 13.8 13.0

Dallas-Fort Worth

36.5 17.5 9.6*

Denver

36.2 16.3 11.2

Detroit

33.0 16.4 12.3

Honolulu

41.2* 12.4* 15.2*

Houston

37.2* 17.7 9.3*

Los Angeles

38.0* 16.3 12.7

Miami

39.9* 16.8 12.1

Minneapolis-St. Paul

33.6 13.1* 10.4*

New York

39.6* 11.7* 12.2

Philadelphia

34.3 11.6* 11.6

Phoenix

34.2 18.9 11.4

San Diego

37.0* 12.2* 11.9

San Francisco

41.9* 12.1* 11.9

Seattle

36.9* 14.3 11.9

St. Louis

30.7* 14.9 13.0

Tampa

36.3 18.2 11.6

Washington, DC

37.4* 10.5* 12.0

Note: An asterisk (*) represents a statistically significant difference from the U.S. average at the 95-percent confidence level.

 

Last Modified Date: Monday, October 31, 2022