Average Monthly Expenses by Category

Without a budget — or come to think of it, even with one — you may wonder how your average expenses compare with "what's normal."

The average annual expenses reported here are from the 2023 Consumer Expenditures Survey^[0]

Below, we took these average annual expenditure figures and divided them by 12 to estimate average monthly expenses in a variety of categories.

The average annual expenditures represent survey results from more than 134,000 consumer unit participants. Note that consumer units consist of "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 major expenses."

Average monthly expenses by category

The average expenditures among all consumer units totaled $77,280 annually. That's up 5.9% from 2022.

Average monthly expenses for housing:

Average expenses for housing totaled $25,436 annually. That works out to $2,120 per month.

Average monthly expenses for transportation:

$13,174 annually. That works out to $1,098 per month.

Average monthly expenses for food:

$9,985 annually. That works out to $832 per month.

Average monthly expenses for personal insurance and pensions:

$9,556 annually. That works out to $796 per month.

Average monthly expenses for entertainment:

$3,635 annually. That works out to $302 per month.

» MORE: How to budget money

Average annual expenses that increased year over year

Among the 14 major elements of household spending in 2023 these had the largest jumps by percentage, according to the BLS report:

• Education, 24%.

• Miscellaneous expenditures, 17.3%.

• Personal care products and services, 9.7%.

» MORE: How to save money

Average annual expenses that declined

The only major spending components to decline in 2023 were cash contributions by 13.7% and tobacco products and smoking supplies by 0.3%, the BLS says.

How much should I spend each month?

With all of the variables, stacking your family's spending up against other similarly sized households in the U.S. will be a rough comparison at best.

Spending can be impacted by income, the cost of living in your area, your family's health care needs, transportation, debt and taxes.

NerdWallet advocates the 50/30/20 budget. With this formula, you aim to devote 50% of your take-home pay to needs like rent and insurance, 30% to wants like vacations and entertainment, and 20% to debt repayment and savings.

Your starting amount is your take-home income, after tax and with payroll deductions added back in. That figure determines how much you can afford to spend each month.

Start with the 20% for savings and debt. Pay yourself first by setting aside money for an emergency fund and retirement. Then turn to debt. If you have outstanding credit card debt, for instance, work on knocking that down.

Next, subtract your regular bills. If your monthly take-home pay is $5,000, shoot to spend no more than half of that, or $2,500, on essentials such as your rent and electric bill.

Finally, give yourself room to breathe. Just like a restrictive diet, trying to hold to a budget that doesn’t allow for fun isn’t realistic. That's where the 30% spending on “wants” comes in.