Household Budget Expenditures
(units are billions 2012 $ )

Household Budget Expenditures

Household Budget Expenditures

Trends 2012-2019

Household budget expenditures decreased by 10% from 2012 to 2019, but with year over year increases in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Calculation

A direct measure of Household Budget Expenditures for the State of Maryland is not available. The Bureau of Labor Services calculates this measure for Metropolitan regions in the US, including Washing D.C. and Baltimore over 2 year periods. The Baltimore regional data was determined to be the most representative of Maryland; it includes Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Baltimore city, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County, Queen Anne's County where around 50% of the population of Maryland resides. Household income for Maryland is estimated yearly through the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and was used to adjust the Baltimore Metropolitan regional data for the state as a whole by multiply the regional spending numbers by Maryland’s household income relative to the region. This factor varied from 95% in 2018 to 115% in 2017.

What are we measuring?

Household budget expenditures are the sum of everything we spend money on, including food, shelter, schooling, and entertainment. This is the starting point from which we measure well-being; the other indicators serve to either increase or decrease the base spending at the household level in Maryland.​​