Greater Seattle households spend significantly more than the national average

Households in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington, metropolitan area spent an average of $93,905 per year in 2021-22, significantly higher than the $70,052 national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The cost of housing in the Seattle area averaged $33,090 annually. It was the largest expenditure category, accounting for 35.2% percent of a Seattle area household’s total spending. Seattle was one of nine areas to have a housing expenditure share similar to the national average.

Seattle households spent 5.7% of their funds on healthcare. That was lower than the national average of 8.1%.

It may come as a surprise to many, but the portion of a Seattle household’s budget spent on food, 11.2%, was significantly less than the 12.6% U.S. average. Seattle-area households spent $6,562, or 62.5%, of their food dollars on food at home and $3,934 (37.5%) on food away from home.

Consumer prices up 3.7 percent from September 2022 to September 2023 https://t.co/pNgtNpME0O #BLSdata pic.twitter.com/BrFYkihFJE

— BLS-Labor Statistics (@BLS_gov) October 19, 2023

Seattle-area households spent 15.4% of their budget on transportation, not significantly different from the national average of 16.6%. Of the $14,481 in annual transportation expenditures in Seattle, 89.1% was spent buying and maintaining private vehicles; this compared to the national average of 94.3%.

Related news: Retail sales up a solid 0.7% in September as American consumers defy rising prices, interest rates

A household in the Consumer Expenditure survey is defined as a consumer unit that includes 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 expenses. The terms household or consumer unit are used interchangeably for convenience.