Tools/Benchmarks/Household Spending vs Peers✓ CHECKED AGAINST WORKED EXAMPLES · SEP 29, 2026

Is my spending normal for my income?

See what U.S. households at your income spent in 2024 on housing, transportation, food and the rest, and how your own spending compares.

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Household income before tax$Prefilled from your Money Map. It picks the income class you are compared with.What you spend on living costs, a year$Prefilled from your Money Map. Count what you spend on living; leave out income tax and what goes into Social Security, retirement accounts and life insurance.Housing, a year$Optional: leave at 0 to skip. Rent or mortgage interest, property tax, utilities, upkeep, furnishings and household help. Mortgage principal is not counted as spending.Food, a year$Optional: leave at 0 to skip. Groceries and eating out.Transportation, a year$Optional: leave at 0 to skip. Car payments, fuel, insurance, repairs, fares.Health care, a year$Optional: leave at 0 to skip. Insurance premiums you pay, and out-of-pocket costs.Entertainment, a year$Optional: leave at 0 to skip. Fees, admissions, hobbies, pets, streaming, toys, electronics.

SPENDING VS PEERSBELOW YOUR PEERS

$17,721

Households with $100,000 to $149,999 of income before tax spent an average of $77,721 on living costs in 2024, with 2.9 people per household on average. At $60,000 you spend $17,721 less (23%).

Peers spend

$77,721

You spend

$60,000

Peers, of income

64%

You, of income

41%

UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULT

LIBRARY CHAPTERThe 50/30/20 MethodWhat counts as a need, a want and saving, what the split looks like in real numbers, where the saving share usually goes first, and how to adapt the rule when your numbers do not fit.LIBRARY CHAPTERChoosing a Budgeting Method That FitsThree practical questions that point to the right method, the main methods compared side by side, a thirty-day trial for testing one, and how to keep a budget working as income rises.

Terms:50/30/20 rule Budget variance Variable expense Values-based spending

Where households at $100,000 to $149,999 spend their money

Housing38% of living costs

$29k

Transportation21% of living costs

$16k

Food15% of living costs

$12k

Health care9% of living costs

$7k

Entertainment5% of living costs

$4k

Gifts and donations3% of living costs

$2k

Clothing3% of living costs

$2k

Personal care1% of living costs

$1k

Education2% of living costs

$1k

Other3% of living costs

$3k

Housing is the biggest line at $29,453 a year, 38% of $77,721 of living costs, then transportation at $16,020 and food at $11,902. These are averages for 22,111 thousand households with a mean income of $121,852. Households at this income also put $12,006 a year into Social Security, pensions and life insurance, which is not counted in living costs.

Living costs at each income

Income before tax	Living costs	Housing	Transport	Food
Less than $15,000	$31,699	$13,368	$4,331	$5,315
$15,000 to $29,999	$35,463	$15,186	$5,618	$5,448
$30,000 to $39,999	$44,252	$17,828	$7,541	$6,956
$40,000 to $49,999	$47,532	$19,776	$8,651	$6,933
$50,000 to $69,999	$54,864	$21,878	$10,324	$8,447
$70,000 to $99,999	$64,155	$25,199	$12,310	$9,531
$100,000 to $149,999 (yours)	$77,721	$29,453	$16,020	$11,902
$150,000 to $199,999	$98,803	$34,891	$20,611	$14,546
$200,000 and more	$138,080	$49,733	$28,335	$18,453
All households	$68,738	$26,266	$13,318	$10,169

Spending rises with income but more slowly: from $31,699 of living costs at the lowest income to $138,080 at the highest, while households average 1.6 people at the low end and 3.3 at the top. All households together spend $68,738.

How it's computed

FORMULA

Peer living costs = the class’s average annual expenditures − personal insurance and pensions (Social Security, pensions, life insurance)

Difference = your living costs − peer living costs; as a share of peers = difference ÷ peer living costs

Income class = the BLS class your household income before tax falls in (nine classes, $15,000 to $200,000 and more)

Categories are BLS’s: housing = shelter + utilities + household operations + supplies + furnishings

The comparison group is $100,000 to $149,999 of income before tax, 22,111 thousand consumer units in 2024 (BLS, read 2026-09-29). A consumer unit is a family or a person financially independent of others in the home; the group averages 2.9 people.
These are averages (means), which the biggest spenders pull up; the median household spends less. They describe what households spent, not what any household should spend.
Income tax is not part of BLS spending, and neither is mortgage principal or saving. What households put into Social Security, pensions and life insurance is a separate line and is left out of living costs here.
Housing, transportation and the other groups use BLS’s definitions. If yours are counted differently, such as a mortgage payment that includes principal, the comparison is rough.
Household size, region and stage of life are not adjusted for. Income classes are wide: households at the edge of a class spend differently from those at its middle.

WORKED EXAMPLE · SAMPLE NUMBERS

Income $145,000 falls in the $100,000 to $149,999 class. Its households spent $89,727 on average in 2024; less $12,006 into Social Security, pensions and life insurance, living costs were $77,721. You spend $60,000, $17,721 less, 41% of your income against 64% for peers.

SOURCES

[1]Consumer Expenditure Surveys, calendar-year tables, 2024: Table 1203, income before taxesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [2]Consumer Expenditure Surveys: tablesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [3]Handbook of Methods, Consumer Expenditures and Income: concepts (consumer unit)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

HSBuilt by Hussain Sehorewala · checked against worked examples · Sep 29, 2026

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Questions about this result

On the example on this page, a household with $145,000 of income before tax is in the $100,000 to $149,999 class. Households there spent $77,721 on living costs in 2024 on average: $29,453 on housing, $16,020 on transportation and $11,902 on food, and they put another $12,006 into Social Security, pensions and life insurance.

No. It is what households at that income spent on average, and a few large spenders raise an average above what a typical household spends. Households differ in size, city and stage of life, and saving more is a choice this data does not judge. Use the comparison to notice where you differ, not to set a target.

BLS’s housing group is shelter (rent, or for owners mortgage interest, property tax and upkeep), utilities, household operations, supplies and furnishings. Mortgage principal is not counted as spending. Transportation is vehicle purchases, fuel, insurance and repairs, and fares. If your figures are defined differently the comparison is rough.

Income tax is not in the spending data. What households put into Social Security, pensions and life insurance is shown as a separate line, and this page leaves it out of living costs so it compares with the living costs you enter.

BLS’s unit of measurement: all members of a housing unit who are related by blood, marriage, adoption or another legal arrangement; a person living alone or sharing a home who makes independent financial decisions; or unrelated people who pool income to make joint spending decisions. It is close to a household but not identical, and the class averages here are per consumer unit.

It is the 2024 survey, published by BLS in 2025 and read on September 29, 2026. Prices have risen since, so today’s spending is a little higher on average. BLS publishes the next year each September.

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Where households at $100,000 to $149,999 spend their money

Living costs at each income

How it's computed

Questions about this result

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