Table 6. Number of earners in consumer unit: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1998 Single consumers Consumer units of two or more persons All Item consumer units No earner One No earner One Two Three or earner earner earners more ___________________________________________________________________ Number of consumer units (in thousands)...... 107,182 11,744 18,940 10,092 21,644 34,457 10,305 Income before taxes a/ ...................... $41,622 $13,495 $28,325 $22,162 $37,299 $58,926 $68,477 Income after taxes a/ ....................... 38,358 12,873 25,481 21,601 34,331 54,108 63,460 Age of the reference person.................. 47.6 68.2 39.1 65.3 45.9 41.9 45.7 Average number in consumer unit: Persons..................................... 2.5 1.0 1.0 2.3 3.0 3.1 4.3 Children under 18........................... .7 n.a. n.a. .4 1.1 .9 1.2 Persons 65 and over......................... .3 .7 .1 1.3 .3 .1 .1 Earners..................................... 1.3 n.a. 1.0 n.a. 1.0 2.0 3.3 Vehicles.................................... 2.0 .8 1.1 1.8 1.9 2.5 3.3 Percent distribution: Male........................................ 58 29 51 66 55 68 66 Female...................................... 42 71 49 34 45 32 34 Homeowner................................... 64 58 37 77 64 73 80 With mortgage.............................. 39 8 26 15 38 56 64 Without mortgage........................... 26 50 12 62 26 17 16 Renter...................................... 36 42 63 23 36 27 20 Black....................................... 12 12 11 12 17 10 10 White and other............................. 88 88 89 88 83 90 90 Elementary (1-8)............................ 7 18 2 14 7 3 5 High school (9-12).......................... 39 46 28 48 46 35 38 College..................................... 54 35 70 37 47 61 56 Never attended and other.................... b/ b/ b/ 1 b/ b/ b/ At least one vehicle owned or leased........ 87 63 78 84 89 96 97 Average annual expenditures.................. $35,535 $15,772 $24,997 $25,433 $35,042 $45,646 $54,445 Food........................................ 4,810 2,106 2,960 4,110 4,967 5,925 7,904 Food at home............................. 2,780 1,448 1,384 2,808 3,070 3,346 4,367 Cereals and bakery products............ 425 239 199 426 475 510 669 Cereals and cereal products.......... 146 74 69 133 166 177 240 Bakery products...................... 278 165 130 292 308 332 429 Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs......... 723 339 328 753 803 868 1,231 Beef................................. 218 87 89 198 245 270 403 Pork................................. 146 76 55 179 165 171 243 Other meats.......................... 92 51 40 93 96 116 147 Poultry.............................. 137 61 64 128 157 166 229 Fish and seafood..................... 98 42 64 117 105 109 158 Eggs................................. 32 22 16 39 36 36 51 Dairy products............................ 301 172 140 314 332 368 447 Fresh milk and cream................. 120 67 53 132 137 143 186 Other dairy products................. 181 105 87 181 196 226 261 Fruits and vegetables.................. 472 272 251 508 536 549 689 Fresh fruits......................... 149 92 82 153 175 169 214 Fresh vegetables..................... 145 82 75 166 161 167 223 Processed fruits..................... 101 57 61 110 108 120 144 Processed vegetables................. 76 40 32 78 93 93 108 Other food at home..................... 858 426 467 809 924 1,051 1,331 Sugar and other sweets............... 109 61 63 110 120 128 162 Fats and oils........................ 77 45 35 85 86 91 119 Miscellaneous foods.................. 388 187 211 338 418 490 580 Nonalcoholic beverages............... 231 112 121 223 245 281 380 Food prepared by consumer unit on out-of-town trips....................... 53 21 37 54 55 61 89 Food away from home...................... 2,030 658 1,576 1,302 1,897 2,580 3,536 Alcoholic beverages......................... 309 132 398 249 245 352 387 Housing..................................... 11,713 6,403 8,732 8,469 11,995 14,796 15,471 Shelter.................................. 6,680 3,555 5,599 4,134 6,619 8,491 8,797 Owned dwellings........................ 4,245 1,581 2,378 2,593 4,116 6,042 6,592 Mortgage interest and charges........ 2,455 312 1,427 651 2,343 3,854 4,108 Property taxes....................... 1,015 648 507 1,015 1,044 1,233 1,579 Maintenance, repairs, insurance,other expenses............................ 775 622 444 926 729 954 905 Rented dwellings....................... 1,978 1,735 2,928 1,165 2,052 1,869 1,511 Other lodging.......................... 458 238 293 376 451 580 694 Utilities, fuels, and public services...... 2,405 1,568 1,516 2,286 2,643 2,764 3,408 Natural gas............................ 284 204 166 283 325 315 401 Electricity............................ 921 628 534 939 1,020 1,060 1,278 Fuel oil and other fuels............... 85 78 39 98 91 89 139 Telephone services..................... 830 473 649 644 892 968 1,157 Water and other public services........ 285 184 128 323 314 332 433 Household operations..................... 546 376 206 363 583 836 492 Personal services...................... 260 132 c/ 12 94 286 496 176 Other household expenses............... 286 244 194 269 296 340 317 Housekeeping supplies...................... 482 264 270 423 479 640 624 Laundry and cleaning supplies.......... 118 60 52 131 127 146 176 Other household products............... 232 117 122 174 210 342 272 Postage and stationery................. 132 87 95 118 142 152 176 Household furnishings and equipment...... 1,601 640 1,141 1,262 1,672 2,064 2,150 Household textiles..................... 105 75 61 108 102 126 156 Furniture.............................. 377 165 227 253 401 532 451 Floor coverings........................ 144 56 119 206 168 164 105 Major appliances....................... 164 66 130 166 185 186 221 Small appliances, miscellaneous housewares............................ 80 34 51 66 86 99 122 Miscellaneous household equipment...... 729 243 552 463 729 957 1,095 Apparel and services........................ 1,674 570 1,197 968 1,799 2,082 2,863 Men and boys............................. 399 83 274 223 407 520 725 Men, 16 and over....................... 314 75 256 178 288 397 601 Boys, 2 to 15.......................... 85 9 18 45 120 123 124 Women and girls.......................... 651 273 469 406 699 770 1,174 Women, 16 and over..................... 548 267 448 361 546 620 1,015 Girls, 2 to 15......................... 103 6 20 45 153 150 159 Children under 2......................... 73 c/ 3 17 47 120 105 64 Footwear................................. 281 104 191 165 316 341 483 Other apparel products and services...... 270 107 245 126 257 346 417 Transportation.............................. 6,616 1,838 4,256 4,286 6,375 8,720 12,158 Vehicle purchases (net outlay)........... 2,964 637 1,812 1,634 2,850 3,984 5,868 Cars and trucks, new................... 1,383 336 748 887 1,384 1,918 2,440 Cars and trucks, used.................. 1,532 277 996 743 1,445 1,994 3,361 Other vehicles......................... 49 c/ 24 c/ 69 c/ 4 c/ 22 72 c/ 67 Gasoline and motor oil................... 1,017 332 651 760 1,001 1,320 1,742 Other vehicle expenses................... 2,206 645 1,452 1,464 2,081 2,925 3,952 Vehicle finance charges................ 319 30 168 105 284 494 627 Maintenance and repairs................ 641 232 491 546 644 769 1,039 Vehicle insurance...................... 739 276 466 590 670 928 1,424 Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, other charges.................................. 507 108 327 223 483 734 862 Public transportation.................... 429 225 341 428 443 491 596 Health care................................. 1,903 1,807 856 3,072 1,981 2,005 2,290 Health insurance......................... 913 852 382 1,552 943 955 1,132 Medical services......................... 542 480 270 577 565 638 711 Drugs.................................... 346 404 145 772 386 299 306 Medical supplies......................... 102 71 59 171 86 113 142 Entertainment............................... 1,746 609 1,239 1,070 1,740 2,355 2,573 Fees and admissions...................... 449 137 347 349 422 581 695 Television, radios, sound equipment...... 535 250 406 341 530 681 806 Pets, toys, and playground equipment..... 329 114 184 216 413 440 400 Other entertainment supplies, equipment,and services.................. 433 109 302 165 375 653 672 Personal care products and services......... 401 233 260 392 382 475 659 Reading..................................... 161 100 133 156 157 193 190 Education................................... 580 188 530 149 520 667 1,377 Tobacco products and smoking supplies....... 273 132 202 176 309 326 406 Miscellaneous............................... 860 491 790 569 871 1,026 1,119 Cash contributions.......................... 1,109 1,004 873 1,276 1,050 1,263 1,110 Personal insurance and pensions............. 3,381 159 2,572 492 2,651 5,463 5,939 Life and other personal insurance........ 398 149 155 471 400 527 626 Pensions and Social Security............. 2,982 c/ 11 2,417 c/ 21 2,251 4,936 5,313 Sources of income and personal taxes: a/ Money income before taxes................ 41,622 13,495 28,325 22,162 37,299 58,926 68,477 Wages and salaries....................... 32,889 d/ 24,693 d/ 27,895 52,496 61,682 Self-employment income................... 2,239 d/ 1,677 c/ 39 2,310 3,471 3,685 Social Security, private and government retirement................... 4,618 10,765 989 18,511 5,012 1,466 1,207 Interest, dividends, rental income, other property income................... 871 1,640 354 1,943 772 703 756 Unemployment and workers'' compensation, veterans'' benefits..................... 193 183 92 198 232 204 282 Public assistance, supplemental security, income, food stamps..................... 330 499 30 1,080 539 160 156 Regular contributions for support........ 260 339 211 322 324 193 305 Other income............................. 221 69 278 69 213 233 405 Personal taxes.............................. 3,264 622 2,844 561 2,968 4,818 5,017 Federal income taxes..................... 2,472 433 2,184 299 2,238 3,676 3,835 State and local income taxes............. 630 69 587 58 556 959 933 Other taxes.............................. 162 121 73 204 174 183 249 Income after taxes.......................... 38,358 12,873 25,481 21,601 34,331 54,108 63,460 Net change in total assets and liabilities... -1,919 1,815 -297 3,586 -1,101 -5,685 -3,666 Net change in total assets............... 6,116 2,201 4,828 5,188 4,997 9,161 6,024 Net change in total liabilities.......... 8,035 386 5,125 1,602 6,097 14,846 9,690 Other financial information: Other money receipts....................... 463 229 415 392 559 604 210 Mortgage principal paid on owned property................................ -1,160 -215 -671 -424 -1,085 -1,669 -2,306 Estimated market value of owned home..... 80,523 58,840 38,215 85,333 84,803 96,670 115,302 Estimated monthly rental value of owned home.............................. 570 392 307 600 584 694 788 Gifts of goods and services................. 1,068 691 868 840 927 1,295 1,623 Food..................................... 84 32 56 58 65 123 135 Housing.................................. 314 204 241 204 299 389 458 Housekeeping supplies.................. 41 18 32 29 43 51 58 Household textiles..................... 16 10 11 23 10 15 46 Appliances and miscellaneous housewares............................... 30 9 23 28 27 39 40 Major appliances..................... 7 c/ 3 6 4 7 10 7 Small appliances and miscellaneous housewares........................... 22 7 17 24 20 28 34 Miscellaneous household equipment...... 71 38 72 55 40 93 106 Other housing.......................... 156 129 103 70 179 191 207 Apparel and services..................... 225 134 215 227 197 248 325 Males, 2 and over...................... 60 26 64 70 43 66 98 Females, 2 and over.................... 80 42 61 74 78 93 126 Children under 2....................... 32 c/ 3 17 40 42 42 33 Other apparel products and services.... 52 63 73 43 35 47 70 Jewelry and watches.................. 25 37 53 14 13 16 28 All other apparel products and services............................ 27 26 19 29 21 31 41 Transportation........................... 49 18 38 66 69 51 45 Health care.............................. 38 157 17 9 24 26 34 Entertainment............................ 85 39 68 65 79 110 117 Toys, games, hobbies, and tricycles.... 30 21 25 24 33 37 28 Other entertainment.................... 55 18 43 41 46 74 89 Education................................ 154 c/ 23 95 86 104 233 323 All other gifts.......................... 119 84 139 125 92 115 185 _______________________________________________________________ a/ Components of income and taxes are derived from "complete income reporters" only; see glossary. b/ Value less than 0.5. c/ Data are likely to have large sampling errors. d/ No data reported. n.a. Not applicable.