US states by consumer spending on communication services
California had the highest consumer spending on communication services of 51 states in 2018, at $33.86 billion. Vermont had the lowest, at $319 million. The median was $2.56 billion and the figure for the United States was $261.93 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Map of states, 2018
- Under 700
- 700 to 1,400
- 1,400 to 2,600
- 2,600 to 4,900
- 4,900 to 8,100
- 8,100 and over
All states, 2018
Full ranking
| Rank | States | 2018 | Change on 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 33,860.7 | +3.7% |
| 2 | Texas | 30,390.7 | +3.4% |
| 3 | New York | 19,872 | +0.9% |
| 4 | Florida | 15,659.2 | +1.2% |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 11,527.9 | +8% |
| 6 | Illinois | 10,610.9 | +0.7% |
| 7 | Washington | 10,092.7 | +6.4% |
| 8 | New Jersey | 8,595.5 | +0.9% |
| 9 | Virginia | 8,197.8 | +2.9% |
| 10 | Georgia | 7,919.2 | +0.7% |
| 11 | North Carolina | 7,860.2 | +4.4% |
| 12 | Ohio | 7,307.3 | +0.8% |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 7,064.6 | +2.8% |
| 14 | Michigan | 5,490.5 | -0.6% |
| 15 | Missouri | 5,181.9 | +0.7% |
| 16 | Maryland | 5,156.2 | +1.4% |
| 17 | Colorado | 4,994.3 | +4.3% |
| 18 | Arizona | 4,882.4 | +8.6% |
| 19 | Kansas | 4,186.9 | +0.7% |
| 20 | Minnesota | 4,030.1 | +0.8% |
| 21 | Tennessee | 3,771.5 | +1.8% |
| 22 | South Carolina | 3,303.1 | +1.2% |
| 23 | Connecticut | 3,279.7 | +1.9% |
| 24 | Indiana | 3,206 | +1.8% |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 3,016.1 | +0.7% |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 2,558.3 | +1.2% |
| 27 | Alabama | 2,507.6 | +0.5% |
| 28 | Louisiana | 2,481.4 | +1.4% |
| 29 | Kentucky | 2,325.5 | -4.5% |
| 30 | Utah | 2,033.8 | +2.3% |
| 31 | Oregon | 1,732 | +1.2% |
| 32 | Iowa | 1,653.1 | +3.1% |
| 33 | Arkansas | 1,564.7 | -1.3% |
| 34 | Nevada | 1,436.5 | +2.4% |
| 35 | Mississippi | 1,419.5 | -0.3% |
| 36 | New Hampshire | 1,343 | +2.4% |
| 37 | Hawaii | 1,283.6 | +3.3% |
| 38 | New Mexico | 1,243.2 | +1.4% |
| 39 | Nebraska | 1,103.8 | +1.3% |
| 40 | District of Columbia | 971.1 | +0.9% |
| 41 | West Virginia | 876.5 | +0.9% |
| 42 | Idaho | 743.1 | +1.9% |
| 43 | Rhode Island | 693.8 | -0.2% |
| 44 | Alaska | 685.5 | -0.1% |
| 45 | South Dakota | 662.4 | +3.1% |
| 46 | Maine | 656.8 | +3.6% |
| 47 | Montana | 654.7 | +3.2% |
| 48 | Delaware | 570.7 | +0.9% |
| 49 | North Dakota | 525.3 | +1.5% |
| 50 | Wyoming | 429.1 | +2% |
| 51 | Vermont | 319 | -1.2% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Personal consumption expenditures on telecommunication services, internet access, and postal and delivery services, by the households and nonprofit institutions serving households resident in the place, in millions of current US dollars. Bureau of Economic Analysis, PCE by state by type of product (table SAPCE3, line 96, Communication); the national figure equals the national accounts (NIPA table 2.4.5).
Millions of current US dollars: not adjusted for inflation or for price differences between states (see regional_price_parity). Spending is assigned to the state where the buyer lives, wherever the purchase is made. It includes purchases paid on behalf of households by employers, insurers and government programs, and the spending of nonprofit institutions serving households. Not the same as retail sales, which count store sales where the store is, and not the PCE price index. BEA revises the latest years every September.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2026). SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states (US states by consumer spending on communication services, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip
MLA 9
SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states, US states by consumer spending on communication services, 2018. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 30 Sept. 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2026. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states. US states by consumer spending on communication services, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2018.
Harvard
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2026) SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states, US states by consumer spending on communication services, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_consumer_2018,
author = {{U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis}},
title = {{SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states: US states by consumer spending on communication services, 2018}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2018. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
TI - SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states: US states by consumer spending on communication services, 2018
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
PB - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
DB - Invokely
UR - https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2018
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2018.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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Which state has the highest consumer spending on communication services?
California, with $33.86 billion in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Which state has the lowest consumer spending on communication services?
Vermont, with $319 million in 2018.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
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