# Average annual household spending on food away from home

Average annual spending on food away from home per consumer unit in the United States, in current US dollars, from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (series CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M, all consumer units, mean). Meals, snacks and nonalcoholic drinks at full-service restaurants, fast food, take-out, delivery, cafeterias, vending machines and mobile vendors, including tips, plus school lunches, board at school, catered affairs and meals on trips. A consumer unit is a family, a financially independent person living alone or sharing a home, or two or more people living together who share major expenses; it is close to a household. Spending includes sales taxes and gifts and excludes purchases for business; a purchase counts in full when it is made, even if it is paid in installments.

## Key facts

- Average annual household spending on food away from home in the United States was $3,945 in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Published for 1 places, with figures from 1984 to 2024.
- Figures last updated on 2026-10-12.

- Indicator id: `avg_household_spending_food_away_usd`
- Unit: USD
- Note: An average per consumer unit, not per person: consumer units had 2.4 people on average in 2024. Current dollars, not adjusted for inflation. United States only. It measures what households pay themselves, so it is lower than personal consumption expenditures in the national accounts, which also count spending on behalf of households, such as employer-paid health insurance.
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-eating-out
- API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/indicators/avg_household_spending_food_away_usd

## Latest figures

| Place | Period | USD | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|
| United States | 2024 | 3,945 | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData. Retrieved 2026-10-12. |