How your spending stacks up against the average American household

Five spending categories rose by at least 10 percent between 2024 and 2025

Ever wonder what your friends spend on groceries, or how much your style-conscious neighbor puts toward clothing each year?

A report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows how much the average American consumer spent in the most common budget categories over the past year.

Those categories include groceries, housing, clothing, healthcare, transportation and entertainment.

Overall, consumers spent an average of $81,905 in 2025, or about $6,825 a month, according to the bureau. Expenses increased 4.3 percent from 2024 to 2025.

Five categories recorded price increases of at least 10 percent: entertainment (13.2 percent), miscellaneous vehicle expenses excluding gas (13.3 percent), meat, poultry, fish and eggs (11.7 percent), rent (10.8 percent) and miscellaneous costs (10.3 percent).

Supermarket sweep

Consumers spent an average of $6,491 on groceries in 2025, which works out to $541 a month. That figure is per person, so a two-person household would typically spend twice as much.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics breaks groceries into five subcategories. Here is the average monthly spending in each:

• Cereals and bakery products: $61.75
• Meats, poultry, fish and eggs: $131.58
• Milk, cheese and other dairy products: $53.67
• Fruits and vegetables: $82.33
• Other groceries: $211.58

Alcohol is not included in the grocery category because the bureau counts it separately when it is purchased for home use or at a restaurant, bar or similar venue. Average monthly spending on alcohol was $52.50 in 2025.

Home, sweet home

Housing was the largest expense for many consumers, averaging $27,790 in 2025, or $2,315.83 a month. The housing category includes five subcategories, listed below with average monthly spending for each:

• Rent or mortgage: $1,468.83
• Utilities and public services such as garbage collection: $410.92
• House cleaners, childcare, home maintenance, etc.: $169.50
• Housekeeping supplies: $70.33
• Furniture, dishes, decor, linens, curtains, etc.: $296.25

Car costs

Vehicle expenses and public transit fall under one Bureau of Labor Statistics category: transportation. On average, consumers spent $8,469 a year, or $705.75 a month, on transportation. The category is divided into three subcategories:

• Gasoline and other fuel: $208.58
• Engine fluids, parking fees, tolls, driver’s license, registration, etc.: $397.08
• Public and other transportation: $99.92

Healthcare habits

Americans spent an average of $6,470.00 a year, or $539.17 a month, on healthcare. That category includes doctor visits, prescriptions, supplies and equipment:

• Health insurance: $359.17
• Doctor visits: $105.00
• Medication: $56.00
• Medical supplies and equipment: $19

Fashion passion

The typical consumer spent an average of $2,010 a year and $167.50 a month on clothing and shoes, watches, jewelry and related services such as dry cleaning, laundry and jewelry repair.

All the rest

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also tracks eight standalone expenses that do not fit into the other categories. Together, they averaged $20,879 a year and $1,739.92 a month. Average monthly spending in these categories was as follows:

• Tickets, TVs, speakers, pets and pet supplies, sports equipment, etc.: $340.33
• Personal care products and services: $82.17
• Books and magazines: $9.50
• Tuition, preschool, lessons, etc.: $131.92
• Tobacco products and supplies: $30.42
• Miscellaneous: $111.25
• Cash gifts, child support, alimony, political donations, etc.: $186.47
• Personal insurance and retirement contributions: $847.92