Visualizing how Americans spend their money

The average American household spends over $3K annually on dining out

The exact number is $3,228, or $269 per month. WalletHub found the number by crunching the data reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2014 and 2023.

The average American household spends $6,545 per month

While the median household income is $84K, the typical bank account balance is $8K.

The salary needed to buy a home in the US

Anyone who has recently explored buying a home in the US knows it's not a cheap endeavor. The median salary for the typical American homebuyer has risen to roughly $104K, up from $88K two years ago. This data visualization breaks down the household income required to buy a median-priced home in 50 major US metro areas. Learn more here.

Visualizing how American men and women spend every hour of the day, by decade of life

Drawing on three years of Census time-use data, the tool tracks 12 activities—sleep, work, housework, caregiving, TV, and more—across age groups from the 20s through 70s. One persistent gap: women spend 45 more minutes per day on housework than men on average.

Here's how much money Americans spend on Halloween

In 2024, Americans are expected to spend more than $11B on Halloween, which averages out to roughly $104 per person, according to the National Retail Federation's Halloween Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. That $11B number includes an anticipated almost $4B spent on costumes. See the full breakdown here.

How much Americans spend on groceries by state

You've probably heard that the price of groceries has gone up across the US in the past few years—but do you know what the average American household is currently paying for their weekly grocery bill? That answer differs state-by-state: For instance, households in Alaska and Hawaii have the largest average weekly grocery bills at $329 and $334, respectively, partly due to shipping costs. See a map showing the averages in each state here.

Explore internet usage data, including how humans consume 1.2 billion years of content yearly

About half this time consists of content from social media platforms, where the average user spends about 18.5 hours weekly. An estimated $3.66T was spent on consumer goods by online shoppers in 2025, though nonconsumer goods, such as flights and hotel stays, greatly increase this estimate.

Who owns America's wealth?

This visualization breaks down the total net worth of all US households by wealth percentile, listing the number of households in each percentile. As you'll see in the graphic, the total net worth of all US households is close to $160T, and the richer half of the country owns roughly 98% of it. Check out the visual here.

See the growth of US consumer debt

Americans reached an all-time high debt burden in 2024. Data compiled from The Kaplan Group shows the evolution of auto loans, mortgages, credit card debt, and student loans from 2003 to 2023, and finds that after a brief decline after 2008, the total debt burden grew rapidly.

Visualize America’s retirement savings by age

The median retirement savings for Americans was $87K as of May 2024. Some financial experts might find that number concerning, since a recent Northwestern Mutual survey found that $1.46M is the ideal retirement savings target. A graphic shows the current averages and medians broken down by age group.

Explore an interactive chart that shows peoples' annual salaries by occupation

The median salary for full-time workers in the United States was roughly $49.5K in 2024. An interactive chart details how salaries differ by occupation.

Renting versus owning a home, charted by age

One-third of American households are rented. The other two-thirds are owned or in the process of becoming owned, according to 2022 data from the American Community Survey. While most people rent in their younger years, homeownership rates tend to fluctuate based on age. To see home ownership and renter rates charted by age, check out these charts.

The lifetime cost of the American dream exceeds $5M

A new analysis suggests it costs millions of dollars to maintain the American dream over a lifetime. The price tag includes retirement, healthcare, higher education, homeownership, and other core elements of a comfortable life for the average American.

See where Americans spend the most on gas

Drivers in Wyoming spend the most on gas per month at about $279, while New York drivers pay the least at $132. Longer driving distances have a significant impact on how much American drivers spend on gas.

Visualize government spending with USAFacts

This resource turns complex federal budget data into clear charts and summaries, letting users explore how much the government spends; where the money goes; and how revenue, deficits, and debt change over time.

How life looks different with a $75K household income versus $150K

"The cleanest way to describe the gap is that $75K is often about stability, while $150K can be about optionality, but only if fixed expenses do not expand to consume the raise," said one finance professor.

Housing prices have skyrocketed over the last 50 years

After adjusting for inflation, housing costs have more than doubled since 1965. And based on average incomes, buyers are spending more than five times their income for a home versus buyers in 1965, who typically spent less than three times their income.

Most common jobs in the US

Most US government organizations list roughly 500 primary occupations that most Americans fall into, such as teachers and cashiers. Using data from the 2018 through 2022 American Community Survey, these graphics break down the most common jobs in the US by age, gender, and more. See the graphics here.

Consumer spending accounts for 70% of US GDP, making Black Friday significant

Lizabeth Cohen, a history professor at Harvard and author of the book “A Consumer's Republic: The Politics Of Mass Consumption In Postwar America,” has argued that the US government has presented consumerism as a way out of economic crisis or decline since around World War II.

Calculate whether or not you're in the American middle class

In 2022, roughly 52% of US adults lived in middle-income households. This income calculator can help you determine whether or not you're one of them. Specifically, the calculator lets you enter your household income, location, and more to see where you line up in Pew's government data.

US public K-12 spending topped $857B in 2024

Public K-12 schools spent around $857B in 2024, averaging $17,277 per student. State and local sources shouldered nearly 90% of costs, and federal funds provided about $2,400 per pupil.

A third of Americans don't have the cash they need to cover a $500 emergency

That's according to a 2023 Federal Reserve survey. So what does the average American in this camp do when, say, their car breaks down? This video compares six of the most common ways Americans get money when they don't have it. As it turns out, some of them opt for payday loans, which this video argues are predatory.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Visualizing New York City's public transportation commutes

New York City is one of the largest cities in the world, and transports one of the largest numbers of commuters on a daily basis. This data visualization tells the stories of those commuters, showing the varying volume of travelers throughout the week and day, where they are going, and maps of high-traffic areas like stadiums and midtown. Dive into the data here.

How many Americans receive government assistance?

In 2022, nearly half of all American children—and roughly one in three Americans overall—were enrolled in at least one government assistance program. Those programs provide support for people who cannot afford healthcare, food, housing, or other needs. Find out more about the number of Americans receiving government assistance here.

American Express runs on a 'spend-centric' model, using perks and merchant fees to drive profit

American Express cardholders tend to spend more money per transaction than other credit card users, which makes the interchange fees merchants have to pay to accept American Express cards worth it while incentivizing other companies to pay the interchange fee as well.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.