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Q: Find out how much the average person spends per day on food ( Answered,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Find out how much the average person spends per day on food
Category: Reference, Education and News > Consumer Information
Asked by: broker-ga
List Price: $50.00
Posted: 30 Nov 2006 11:20 PST
Expires: 30 Dec 2006 11:20 PST
Question ID: 787129
I am looking to find credible research that has analyzed how much the
average person in the U.S. spends per day on food in total as well as
broken down into categories such as entrees, snacks, beverages, etc.

The ideal research would also break it down by eating out at
restaurants vs. at home w/prepared meals.

Also, it would be great to see the numbers around the average -- e.g.
10% spend $40-50, 20% spend $20-30 or whatever, to get a sense for
what the curve looks like

Nevertheless, even basic data that just gave one figure on what the
average person spends would be nice.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Find out how much the average person spends per day on food
Answered By: bobbie7-ga on 30 Nov 2006 12:42 PST
 
Hello again Broker,

The U.S.  Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a great deal of data in
the report ?Consumer Expenditures in 2004? published in April 2006


Definition of a Consumer unit

Members of a household consisting of (a) occupants related by blood,
marriage, adoption, or some other legal arrangement; (b) a single
person living alone or sharing a household with others, but who is
financially independent; or (c) two or more persons living together
who share responsibility for at least 2 out of 3 major types of
expenses?food, housing, and other expenses. Students living in
university-sponsored housing also are included in the sample as
separate consumer units.


Table A. Average annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent
changes, Consumer Expenditure Survey

2004

Total Number of consumer units (in thousands) 116,282
Average Number of persons in consumer unit:       2.5

Average annual expenditures
All food:              $5,781
Food at home:          $3,347
Food away from home:   $2,434

Using the above figures we can calculate that the average American
spends $6.33 on food. This is $3.67 on food at home and $2.67 on food
out of home.

I calculated these figures like this.

5781/365 = 15.83 /2.5 = $6.33
3347/365 =  9.17 /2.5 = $3.67
3347/365 =  6.67 /2.5 = $2.67

-----------------------


Table 2.
Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics,
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2004
Page 9

Income: Less than $5,000
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 1.6
Average annual expenditures in food: $3173
Food at home: 2,030
Food out of home: 1,143

Income: $5,000 to $9,999
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 1.6
Average annual expenditures in food: $ 2,409 
Food at home: 1,695 
Food out of home: 714 

Income: $10,000 to $14,999
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 1.8
Average annual expenditures in food: $2,981 
Food at home: 2,105 
Food out of home: 876 

Income: $15,000 to $19,999
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 2
Average annual expenditures in food: $3,567 
Food at home: 2,435 
Food out of home: 1,132

Income: $20,000 to $29,999
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 2.2
Average annual expenditures in food: $4,076 
Food at home: 2,591 
Food out of home: 1,485  

Income: $30,000 to $39,999
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 2.4
Average annual expenditures in food: $4,986 
Food at home: 3,056 
Food out of home: 1,930

Income: $40,000 to $49,999
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 2.6
Average annual expenditures in food: $5,452 
Food at home: 3,263 
Food out of home: 2,189

Income: $50,000 to $69,999
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 2.8
Average annual expenditures in food: $6,312 
Food at home: 3,640 
Food out of home: 2,672

Income: $70,000 and more
Average number of persons in consumer unit: 3.1
Average annual expenditures in food: $9,042
Food at home: 4,734
Food out of home: 4,308



Source: 
Consumer Expenditures in 2004
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
April 2006
Report 992

Download here:
http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxann04.pdf


Previous Consumer Surveysare also available
http://www.bls.gov/cex/home.htm


Or you can use this handy tool to get individual item expenditures by
different characteristics and for different years.
http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=cx


Search terms:
Food expenditures in the United States
Spends on food per day OR year +American


I hope the information provided is helpful!

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Best regards,
Bobbie7

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 30 Nov 2006 12:44 PST
The following figures are per day expenditures per person.

>Using the above figures we can calculate that the average American
spends $6.33 on food. This is $3.67 on food at home and $2.67 on food
out of home.<T
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