The average American household spent $81,905 in 2025, up 4.3% in a year, and 46.9% of it went on just two things: housing ($27,790) and food ($10,633). That is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' annual Consumer Expenditures report, released on October 29, 2026. In monthly terms the typical household paid about $2,316 for housing and $886 for food. Below you can line your own budget up against the official average, see where the bottom two income groups are spending more than they earn, and find the one category quietly growing fastest.
Where the average $81,905 went
The BLS survey covers 137,994,000 “consumer units” (households, roughly). Pre-tax income averaged $110,847 (+6.4%), and spending averaged $81,905 (+4.3%). Prices measured by CPI-U rose 2.6% in 2025, so housing (+5.8%) and food (+4.6%) both grew faster than general inflation.1
Share of average household spending, 2025
Source: BLS Consumer Expenditures 2025, released Oct 29, 2026. Monthly figures = annual ÷ 12, rounded.
Your budget vs the average: the line-by-line check
Fill in the right-hand column with your own last month. You are not trying to match the average – your rent, region and family size are different. You are looking for the one or two lines that are far above it, because that is where a plan pays off fastest.
| Category | US average per month (2025) | Change vs 2024 | Yours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing (rent/mortgage, utilities, furnishings) | $2,316 | +5.8% | $______ |
| Transportation | $1,124 | +1.3% | $______ |
| Food at home | $541 | +4.3% | $______ |
| Food away from home | $345 | +5.0% | $______ |
| Healthcare | $539 | +4.4% | $______ |
| Entertainment | $340 | +13.2% | $______ |
| Apparel and services | $168 | +0.4% | $______ |
Monthly averages calculated from BLS annual figures (food at home $6,491; away $4,142; apparel $2,010). The entertainment rise was not marked statistically significant by BLS.
The number that should worry nobody – and the one that should
On average, households earned about $28,942 more before taxes than they spent. But averages hide the households that feel this the most. Split by income, the picture changes completely:
| Income group (2025) | Avg pre-tax income | Avg spending | Spending per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest 20% | $18,125 | $37,935 | $3,161 |
| Second 20% | $46,080 | $51,405 | $4,284 |
| Middle 20% | $78,584 | $68,983 | $5,749 |
| Fourth 20% | $126,349 | $92,250 | $7,688 |
| Highest 20% | $286,188 | $159,512 | $13,293 |
The lowest-income households spent $19,810 more than their pre-tax income, and the second group $5,325 more. That gap is filled by savings, family help, benefits not counted as income, or debt – and it is exactly the pressure Fortune highlighted when it reported that food and housing now take their biggest share of budgets in 15 years.2
The fastest-growing line is not the one you think
Housing grabbed the headline, but look again at the change column. Entertainment spending rose 13.2% – the biggest jump of any major category, although BLS did not mark it statistically significant. Food away from home rose 5.0%, faster than groceries at 4.3%. Meanwhile cash contributions (gifts and donations to people outside the household) fell 2.4%. Read together, the picture is of households squeezed on the essentials and still spending on small comforts – takeout, streaming, a night out – that are easy to justify one at a time and hard to see in total. That is not a moral failing. It is what happens when nobody has a monthly view of the categories side by side.
Rent and groceries are not a willpower problem. But the lines around them – the $340 of entertainment, the $345 of eating out – are where a plan can win back room.
Do the comparison in minutes
Most women never see their own version of this table – so the 5.8% housing jump just feels like “money disappearing”.
The Matriarch Money Dashboard helps you:
- see your spending by category each month, side by side, so a creeping line stands out;
- track fixed bills against flexible spending, the same split the BLS figures reveal;
- set a monthly target for one “leak” category and watch the trend over the year.
A 100% digital spreadsheet for Google Sheets and Excel – nothing is shipped and there are no shipping fees. Download right after purchase and use it on your computer, tablet or phone. One-time purchase.
Why 2026 may look heavier still
This report describes 2025. It does not include 2026's price moves. Gasoline is the clearest example: the average gas price in 2025 was $3.10, while the EIA forecast an average of $3.91 for 2026, as Fortune noted.2 Consumer mood reflects it: the University of Michigan sentiment index was 48.0 in October 2026, the second-lowest reading in the survey's history.2 We broke down the latest monthly price data in PCE Inflation 3.6%: What September's Prices Cost Your Household.
A 3-step plan using the BLS benchmark
- Fill in the table above from one month of bank and card statements. Twenty minutes, no judgment.
- Circle the two lines furthest above the average (in proportion to your income). For many households it is food away from home or subscriptions inside entertainment.
- Move one line, not all of them. A $100 monthly cut in one category is $1,200 a year – more than two months of the average household's groceries at home ($541 a month).
Two illustrative examples
Illustrative examples, not real people. Maria, 34, rents in a mid-size city and fills in the table: housing $1,950, food away from home $520. Her housing is below the national average, but eating out runs about $175 above it. She sets a $400 cap for one month and moves the difference to a holiday fund – about $120 a month.
Diane, 58, owns her home outright but her healthcare line is $780, well above the $539 average. Her move is different: she uses open enrollment to compare plans rather than cutting elsewhere. Same table, two completely different decisions – which is the point of comparing at all.
For the season ahead, see what a holiday meal really costs in Christmas Dinner Cost 2026, and if health costs are your biggest line, Health Insurance Premiums 2026 shows the per-paycheck view. If bills are already behind, the CFPB has free guides on talking to lenders and collectors.
FAQ
What is the average household spending per month in the US?
In 2025 it was about $6,825 a month ($81,905 a year), according to the BLS Consumer Expenditures report released October 29, 2026.
What percentage of income should go to housing?
There is no official rule. In 2025 the average household put 33.9% of its spending into housing. A common guideline is to keep it near 30% of gross income, but local rents make that impossible for many.
Why did housing costs rise so much in 2025?
BLS data show shelter spending up 8%, with rented dwellings up 10.8% and owned dwellings up 7.3%, well above the 2.6% CPI rise.2
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Consumer Expenditures 2025 (USDL-26-1619), Oct 29, 2026
- Fortune – Americans now spend nearly half of their budgets on food and housing, Nov 2, 2026 (BLS shelter detail, EIA gas, University of Michigan sentiment)
- BLS – Consumer Expenditure Surveys program page
- BLS – Consumer Expenditures annual news release (current)
If money stress is louder than the numbers right now, begin with the free 7-Day Money Anxiety Reset journal.
Educational content only. Not personalised financial advice.