For Release: Thursday, December 03, 2020
20-2203-SAN
WESTERN INFORMATION OFFICE: San Francisco, Calif.
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Consumer Expenditures for the Honolulu Metropolitan Area: 2018–19
Households in the Honolulu, HI, metropolitan area spent an average of $63,481 per year in 2018–19, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden
noted that this figure was not significantly different from the $62,395 average expenditure level for households
in the United States. Honolulu-area households allocated their dollars similarly to the nation in three major
components, with five differing significantly from their respective U.S. averages. For example, the share of
expenditures for food, which accounted for 18.9 percent of the average household’s budget in the Honolulu
area, was significantly higher than the national average of 12.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
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Highlights of the Honolulu area’s 2018–19 spending patterns:
Housing: This was the largest expenditure component for Honolulu-area households and averaged $23,089.
Housing accounted for 36.4 percent of the area’s household budget, significantly higher than the 32.7-percent
U.S. average. (See table 1.) Among the 22 metropolitan areas nationwide for which data were available,
Honolulu was 1 of 11 areas to have a housing expenditure share that was significantly higher than the national
average. Housing expenditures shares among the 22 published metropolitan areas nationwide ranged from
38.0 percent in New York to 30.3 percent in Detroit. (See table 2.)
Food: The portion of a Honolulu household’s budget spent on food, 18.9 percent, was significantly higher than
the 12.9-percent U.S. average. Honolulu-area households spent $6,624, or 55.3 percent, of their food dollars
on food at home and $5,345 (44.7 percent) on food away from home. In comparison, the average U.S.
household spent