Households in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area spent an average of $91,520 per year during 2023–24, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Michael G. Phinney, Acting Regional Commissioner, stated that “food, housing, and transportation expenditures together accounted for 64.6 percent of the area’s household budget.” Nationally, these three categories made up 63.2 percent of household spending.
The report shows that among the 22 metropolitan areas analyzed across the country, annual average household expenditures ranged from a high of $117,578 in San Francisco to a low of $64,027 in Miami. The national average stood at $77,907.
The figures are based on results from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data were averaged over a two-year period and are available for regions and metropolitan areas through published tables.
The New York-Newark-Jersey City Metropolitan Statistical Area includes counties in New York (such as Bronx and Kings), New Jersey (including Bergen and Essex), and Pike County in Pennsylvania.
According to the release, differences in spending between metropolitan areas may be influenced not only by cost-of-living variations but also by factors like consumer preferences and demographic characteristics such as household size or income levels. However, expenditure shares can help compare spending patterns across different locations.
The Bureau cautions that sample sizes for metropolitan areas are smaller than those for national estimates; therefore, national figures and trends are more reliable than local ones. Additionally, prices may have changed since survey data were collected.
Further information about other metropolitan areas’ consumer expenditures is available online from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
