Average annual household spending on food away from home in United States
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. That is up 0.3% from 2023.
Average annual household spending on food away from home in United States, 1984 to 2024
All 41 values
| Period | USD |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3,945 |
| 2023 | 3,933 |
| 2022 | 3,639 |
| 2021 | 3,030 |
| 2020 | 2,375 |
| 2019 | 3,526 |
| 2018 | 3,459 |
| 2017 | 3,365 |
| 2016 | 3,154 |
| 2015 | 3,008 |
| 2014 | 2,787 |
| 2013 | 2,625 |
| 2012 | 2,678 |
| 2011 | 2,620 |
| 2010 | 2,505 |
| 2009 | 2,619 |
| 2008 | 2,698 |
| 2007 | 2,668 |
| 2006 | 2,694 |
| 2005 | 2,634 |
| 2004 | 2,434 |
| 2003 | 2,211 |
| 2002 | 2,276 |
| 2001 | 2,235 |
| 2000 | 2,137 |
| 1999 | 2,116 |
| 1998 | 2,030 |
| 1997 | 1,921 |
| 1996 | 1,823 |
| 1995 | 1,702 |
| 1994 | 1,698 |
| 1993 | 1,664 |
| 1992 | 1,631 |
| 1991 | 1,620 |
| 1990 | 1,811 |
| 1989 | 1,762 |
| 1988 | 1,612 |
| 1987 | 1,565 |
| 1986 | 1,455 |
| 1985 | 1,441 |
| 1984 | 1,320 |
Definition
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.
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.
How to cite
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.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M) (Average annual household spending on food away from home, United States, 1984 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData
MLA 9
Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M), Average annual household spending on food away from home, United States, 1984 to 2024. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 19 Dec. 2025, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-eating-out/united-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2025. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M). Average annual household spending on food away from home, United States, 1984 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-eating-out/united-states.
Harvard
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025) Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M), Average annual household spending on food away from home, United States, 1984 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-eating-out/united-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{bureau_average_annual_household_spending_2024,
author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
title = {{Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M): Average annual household spending on food away from home, United States, 1984 to 2024}},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-eating-out/united-states. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI - Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M): Average annual household spending on food away from home, United States, 1984 to 2024
PY - 2025
DA - 2025/12/19
PB - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB - Invokely
UR - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData
L2 - https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-eating-out/united-states
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-eating-out/united-states.
N1 - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER -
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What is the latest average annual household spending on food away from home in United States? Cite the source.
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What is the average annual household spending on food away from home in United States?
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. That is up 0.3% from 2023.
Where does this figure come from?
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on food away from home, all consumer units (CXUFOODAWAYLB0101M). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.
What was the highest average annual household spending on food away from home in United States?
$3,945 in 2024, the highest value since 1984 in this series.