Find out what Americans of every age spend the most on. 

Answer: Housing 

Across all Americans, housing costs average 33% of total spending. That value ranges from 31% to 41% for different generations.

Questions:

• What costs might be included in the category of "housing"?
• What factors would make someone likely to pay MORE than the average amount for housing? 
• Based on this information, what might be a good rule of thumb for housing costs? Try to keep housing costs  _____________ of your total budget.

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day you can use in your classroom. 

Behind the numbers (Bureau of Labor Statistics): 

"Table A shows the average annual expenditures and associated percent changes by components of total expenditures. Among the major components of total expenditures, the only statistically significant increase was found in housing. Average annual expenditures on housing increased 3.3 percent in 2024, after a 4.7-percent increase in 2023. Within this category, expenditures on owned dwellings and rented dwellings both increased in 2024, by 7.0 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

-------------

Dive deeper on the same data with DATA CRUNCH: How Does Spending Differ Across Generations?

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.