How Much Does the Average Person Spend per Year? (2023) - Shopify (2024)

blog|Entrepreneurship

Oct 8, 2023

One of the first things you want to understand before starting any business is your target audience—more specifically, their spending capacity.

With more than $3.6 trillion in retail sales in the first half of 2023 alone, the United States market definitely shows potential. So how much does the average American spend per year?

Average American spending per year

According to the latest statistics, the average yearly expenses of a US consumer in 2022 hit $72,967—an average of around $6,080.58 per month. For more context, the average income (before taxes) was $94,003 ($7,833.58 per month).

This represented a 9% increase from 2020, during which average consumer spending in the US was $66,928. In comparison, the year before saw spending rise by a slightly quicker rate of 9.1%, from $61,332 in 2020.

From 2020 to 2022, US consumers increased their average annual expenditure by a total of 19%, with an average annual growth rate of 9.1%.

It’s worth noting that the rate of increase in average consumer spending in the US over the past two years has been faster than the rate of increase in income (before taxes). From 2020 to 2022, the average American income rose from $84,352 to $94,003—an 11.4% overall increase and an average annual growth rate of 5.6%.

Average consumer spending: top expenses

Further analysis of US consumers’ average yearly expenses shows that their biggest expenditure is on housing. In 2022, the typical US consumer spent $24,298 on housing, which covered expenses on both owned and rented dwellings and accommodation spent on out-of-town trips. This represented one-third (33.3%) of their average yearly expenses and a 7.4% annual increase.

US consumers’ second-highest expense was transportation. Of the average yearly expenses in 2022, $12,295, (totaling 16.9%), was spent on transportation. This included vehicle purchases, gasoline, public transportation, and other related expenses.

The third-biggest expenditure was food. The average US consumer spent $9,343 on food in 2022, 12.7% more than they did in 2021. This is followed by personal insurance and pensions and healthcare, on which consumers spent $8,742 and $5,850, respectively.

In total, the top three expenditures of US consumers in 2022, housing, transportation, and food, added up to $45,936—or nearly two-thirds 63% of their average yearly expenses.

Want to Learn More?

• What Does It Really Cost to Start a Business? (Research) (2022)
• Percentage of Businesses That Fail
• 6 Creative Ways to Start a Business With No Money
• 14 Types of Product Pricing Strategies for Retail (2022)

Share article

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Oct 8, 2023