US states by consumer spending on communication services

California had the highest consumer spending on communication services of 51 states in 2020, at $37.12 billion. Vermont had the lowest, at $314.9 million. The median was $2.66 billion and the figure for the United States was $269.15 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Highest37,124.8California

Lowest314.9Vermont

Median2,661.751 states

United States269,153.1History

Map of states, 2020

Under 700
700 to 1,400
1,400 to 2,700
2,700 to 4,900
4,900 to 8,500
8,500 and over

USD million, 2020. Source: BEA, SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, communication (line 96), millions of current dollars, United States and states. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2020

USD million. Source: BEA, 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.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2020 USD million	Change on 2019
1	California	37,124.8	+4.9%
2	Texas	31,384.7	+2.5%
3	New York	19,996.4	+0.7%
4	Florida	15,500.6	-2.8%
5	Pennsylvania	12,873.9	-0.5%
6	Washington	11,318.3	+4.8%
7	Illinois	10,053.8	-3.5%
8	New Jersey	8,617.9	-1.8%
9	North Carolina	8,580.1	+8.3%
10	Virginia	8,467.4	+2.4%
11	Georgia	7,850.5	+1.9%
12	Ohio	7,171.9	-0.1%
13	Massachusetts	6,789.4	-1.8%
14	Missouri	5,360.9	+2.6%
15	Colorado	5,272.5	+5.2%
16	Michigan	5,263.7	-2%
17	Maryland	4,949.2	-3.4%
18	Arizona	4,912.2	+0.3%
19	Kansas	4,235.1	+0.9%
20	Minnesota	3,898.7	-2%
21	Tennessee	3,821.4	+1.1%
22	Connecticut	3,330.6	+1.7%
23	Indiana	3,289.2	+1.9%
24	South Carolina	3,118.5	-0.8%
25	Wisconsin	3,042.4	-0%
26	Oklahoma	2,661.7	+1.5%
27	Louisiana	2,508.2	+0.6%
28	Alabama	2,495.3	+0.8%
29	Kentucky	2,342.1	+0.9%
30	Utah	2,241	+5.9%
31	Oregon	1,766	+3.8%
32	Arkansas	1,600.5	+1.9%
33	Iowa	1,591.7	-0.9%
34	Nevada	1,435.4	+0.1%
35	Mississippi	1,410.6	+1.1%
36	New Hampshire	1,334.9	+0.6%
37	New Mexico	1,250.7	+0.9%
38	Hawaii	1,174.6	-5.9%
39	Nebraska	1,068.7	-0.4%
40	District of Columbia	1,062.2	+2.3%
41	West Virginia	888.3	+1.3%
42	Idaho	756.4	+1.3%
43	South Dakota	703	+2.4%
44	Rhode Island	701.5	+2.1%
45	Alaska	698.2	+3.1%
46	Montana	675.2	+5.6%
47	Maine	666.6	+1.2%
48	Delaware	602	+5.5%
49	North Dakota	545.4	+2.2%
50	Wyoming	433.9	+0.7%
51	Vermont	314.9	-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

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 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_us_states_by_consumer_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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

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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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-communication/us-states?period=2020.
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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Questions

Which state has the highest consumer spending on communication services?

California, with $37.12 billion in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which state has the lowest consumer spending on communication services?

Vermont, with $314.9 million in 2020.

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.