US Households Allocate Nearly Half of Budgets to Housing and Food in 2025

American households are now spending nearly half of their budgets on housing and food, marking the largest share in 15 years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average household spent $81,905 in 2025, which is a 4.3% increase from the previous year. Of this amount, $27,790 was allocated to housing and $10,633 to food, totaling $38,423 or 46.9% of total expenditures.

This spending represents an increase of $1,988 compared to 2024. Notably, food and housing were the only major spending categories that saw statistically significant increases from 2024 to 2025. Housing costs rose by 5.8%, primarily due to an 8% increase in shelter costs, while spending on rented dwellings climbed 10.8%. Food expenditures also rose by 4.6%, largely driven by an 11.7% increase in spending on meats, poultry, fish, and eggs.

The BLS reports that on average, consumer units spent $27,790 on housing in 2025, representing 33.9% of total average annual expenditures. Other significant expenditure categories included transportation at 16.5%, food at 13%, and personal insurance and pensions at 12.4%. This increase in housing share is the highest since 2010, while the food share has not been this high since 2011.

Despite these rising costs, average pretax income increased by 6.4% to $110,847 in 2025, which outpaced the 2.6% rise in consumer prices during the same period. However, it is important to note that the BLS adjusted its data due to a lack of survey data collection in October and November 2025 caused by the federal government shutdown.