Data / Average annual household spending on education / United States

Average annual household spending on education in United States

Average annual household spending on education in the United States was $1,569 in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 5.3% from 2023.

2024, USD1,569
Change on 2023-5.3%
Series high1,6562023
Series low3031984

Next release: Thursday, 29 October 2026, 10:00 ET, announced by BLS. Release calendar

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Average annual household spending on education in United States, 1984 to 2024

05001,0001,5002,00019841990199620022008201420241984: 303 USD1985: 321 USD1986: 314 USD1987: 337 USD1988: 342 USD1989: 367 USD1990: 406 USD1991: 447 USD1992: 426 USD1993: 455 USD1994: 460 USD1995: 471 USD1996: 524 USD1997: 571 USD1998: 580 USD1999: 635 USD2000: 632 USD2001: 648 USD2002: 752 USD2003: 783 USD2004: 905 USD2005: 940 USD2006: 888 USD2007: 945 USD2008: 1,046 USD2009: 1,068 USD2010: 1,074 USD2011: 1,051 USD2012: 1,207 USD2013: 1,138 USD2014: 1,236 USD2015: 1,315 USD2016: 1,329 USD2017: 1,491 USD2018: 1,407 USD2019: 1,443 USD2020: 1,271 USD2021: 1,226 USD2022: 1,335 USD2023: 1,656 USD2024: 1,569 USD05001,0001,5002,00019841998201220241984: 303 USD1985: 321 USD1986: 314 USD1987: 337 USD1988: 342 USD1989: 367 USD1990: 406 USD1991: 447 USD1992: 426 USD1993: 455 USD1994: 460 USD1995: 471 USD1996: 524 USD1997: 571 USD1998: 580 USD1999: 635 USD2000: 632 USD2001: 648 USD2002: 752 USD2003: 783 USD2004: 905 USD2005: 940 USD2006: 888 USD2007: 945 USD2008: 1,046 USD2009: 1,068 USD2010: 1,074 USD2011: 1,051 USD2012: 1,207 USD2013: 1,138 USD2014: 1,236 USD2015: 1,315 USD2016: 1,329 USD2017: 1,491 USD2018: 1,407 USD2019: 1,443 USD2020: 1,271 USD2021: 1,226 USD2022: 1,335 USD2023: 1,656 USD2024: 1,569 USD
USD. Source: BLS, Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M). Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2025-12-19.
All 41 values
PeriodUSD
20241,569
20231,656
20221,335
20211,226
20201,271
20191,443
20181,407
20171,491
20161,329
20151,315
20141,236
20131,138
20121,207
20111,051
20101,074
20091,068
20081,046
2007945
2006888
2005940
2004905
2003783
2002752
2001648
2000632
1999635
1998580
1997571
1996524
1995471
1994460
1993455
1992426
1991447
1990406
1989367
1988342
1987337
1986314
1985321
1984303

Definition

Average annual spending on education 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 CXUEDUCATNLB0101M, all consumer units, mean).

More on how it is measured
  • Tuition, fees, textbooks, supplies and equipment for nursery schools, elementary and high schools, colleges and universities and other schools, and prepaid tuition.
  • 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.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M) (Average annual household spending on education, 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 education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M), Average annual household spending on education, 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-education/united-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2025. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M). Average annual household spending on education, 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-education/united-states.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025) Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M), Average annual household spending on education, 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-education/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 education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M): Average annual household spending on education, 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-education/united-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M). 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 education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M): Average annual household spending on education, 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-education/united-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/household-spending-education/united-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/cx/cx.data.1.AllData. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the average annual household spending on education in United States?

Average annual household spending on education in the United States was $1,569 in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 5.3% from 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: average annual expenditures on education, all consumer units (CXUEDUCATNLB0101M). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest average annual household spending on education in United States?

$1,656 in 2023, the highest value since 1984 in this series.

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