Household possessions statistics are usually measured indirectly: spending on furnishings and equipment, ownership-related characteristics, and goods entering the municipal solid-waste stream. In 2023, the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey represented 134.556 million consumer units, while the EPA’s latest figures here describe 2018 durable-goods end-of-life flows rather than a current inventory of items in homes.
Key Household Possessions Statistics
The following figures summarize the most useful U.S. household possessions data in the supplied measurement periods:
- In 2023, 134.556 million U.S. consumer units were represented in the Consumer Expenditure Survey.
- In 2023, the average U.S. consumer unit contained 2.5 people.
- In 2023, the average U.S. consumer unit had 1.9 vehicles.
- In 2023, 65% of U.S. consumer units were homeowners.
- In 2023, average annual spending across all categories was $77,280 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2023, average furnishings-and-equipment spending was $2,508 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2023, average furniture spending was $619 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2023, average major-appliance spending was $384 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2023, average miscellaneous household-equipment spending was $1,216 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2023, furnishings-and-equipment spending ranged from $981 in the lowest income quintile to $4,957 in the highest among U.S. consumer units.
- In 2023, homeownership ranged from 44% in the lowest income quintile to 87% in the highest among U.S. consumer units.
- In 2023, homeowners spent $3,055 on furnishings and equipment, compared with $1,488 for renters.
- In 2023, homeowners averaged 2.3 vehicles, compared with 1.2 for renters.
- In 2023, consumer units with five or more people spent $3,486 on furnishings and equipment.
- In 2023, consumer units headed by someone aged 45–54 spent $2,923 on furnishings and equipment.
- In 2018, durable goods accounted for 57.1 million U.S. tons, or 19.5% of municipal solid-waste generation.
- In 2018, 10.57 million tons of durable goods were recycled in the United States, an 18.5% category recycling rate.
- In 2018, landfills received 37.41 million tons of durable goods in the United States.
Contents
- Household possessions: national scale and ownership baseline
- Household possessions spending by category
- Income differences in possessions spending and ownership
- Household possessions by housing tenure
- Household size and life-stage possession patterns
- Age patterns and the measured end of possession lifecycles
Household Possessions: National Scale and Ownership Baseline
The 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey uses the term “consumer unit,” which can differ from the everyday concept of a household. Its annual population means describe average spending and characteristics across U.S. consumer units, not a census of individual possessions.
The survey represented 134.556 million U.S. consumer units in 2023. The average consumer unit contained 2.5 people and had 1.9 vehicles, while 65% were homeowners.
| 2023 national baseline | Measure |
|---|---|
| Consumer Expenditure Survey population | 134.556 million consumer units |
| Average people per consumer unit | 2.5 |
| Average vehicles per consumer unit | 1.9 |
| Homeownership | 65% |
| Average pretax income | $101,805 |
| Average annual spending across all categories | $77,280 |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2023, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dollar values are annual population means, rounded to the nearest thousand dollars where applicable.
These baseline measures provide scale, but they do not reveal how many beds, appliances, electronics or other objects a consumer unit owns. For that reason, the most consistent possession-related measures in this dataset are annual expenditure categories and selected vehicle or tenure characteristics.
Household Possessions Spending by Category
U.S. consumer units spent an average of $2,508 on household furnishings and equipment in 2023. The category includes purchases associated with furnishing, equipping and operating a home, but it remains a spending measure rather than an item count.
| Category | Average 2023 spending per U.S. consumer unit |
|---|---|
| Household furnishings and equipment | $2,508 |
| Furniture | $619 |
| Household textiles | $128 |
| Floor coverings | $27 |
| Major appliances | $384 |
| Small appliances and miscellaneous housewares | $135 |
| Miscellaneous household equipment | $1,216 |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2023 and Military status within consumer unit: Annual expenditure means and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2023, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are annual population means for U.S. consumer units, not counts of possessions.
Housekeeping supplies were another significant operating cost at $818 per consumer unit in 2023. Within that amount, laundry and cleaning products averaged $193, while other household products averaged $515.
The category boundaries matter when comparing figures. Furniture, textiles, floor coverings and appliances describe selected purchase groups, whereas miscellaneous household equipment is broader and should not be treated as a count of equipment items.
Income Differences in Household Possessions Spending and Ownership
Income is associated with large differences in both furnishings-and-equipment spending and homeownership. In 2023, average furnishings-and-equipment spending increased across the five pretax-income quintiles from $981 to $4,957.
| Pretax-income quintile | Furnishings and equipment spending | Homeownership |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest | $981 | 44% |
| Second | $1,550 | 58% |
| Middle | $2,043 | 62% |
| Fourth | $3,005 | 75% |
| Highest | $4,957 | 87% |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2023, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The measures are annual population means and percentages for U.S. consumer units grouped by pretax income.
The lowest income quintile recorded 44% homeownership, compared with 87% in the highest quintile. The spending figures describe average annual outlays within each group; they do not establish that income alone caused a particular purchase or ownership outcome.
This distribution also shows why a single national average can obscure household experience. A national mean of $2,508 for furnishings and equipment sits between substantially different quintile-level averages, and the quintile figures should be read as group means rather than individual budgets.
Household Possessions by Housing Tenure
Housing tenure separates homeowners, homeowners with or without a mortgage, and renters. In 2023, homeowners spent $3,055 on furnishings and equipment, more than twice the renter average of $1,488.
| 2023 housing-tenure group | Furnishings and equipment spending | Vehicles per consumer unit |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowners | $3,055 | 2.3 |
| Homeowners with a mortgage | $3,255 | Not supplied |
| Homeowners without a mortgage | $2,785 | 2.1 |
| Renters | $1,488 | 1.2 |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2023, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Spending is annual per consumer unit; vehicle figures are averages for the named tenure groups.
Household-operations spending followed the same broad tenure pattern: homeowners averaged $2,420 annually, compared with $1,173 for renters. The dataset does not define this measure as a possession count, so it is best interpreted as an operating-spending comparison.
Mortgage status also matters within homeownership. Homeowners with a mortgage averaged $3,255 in furnishings-and-equipment spending, while homeowners without a mortgage averaged $2,785.
Household Size and Life-Stage Possession Patterns
Furnishings-and-equipment spending generally rose with consumer-unit size in the 2023 data, although the three-person average was below the two-person average. One-person consumer units spent $1,407, two-person units spent $2,858, and three-person units spent $2,727.
| Consumer-unit size | Furnishings and equipment spending | Vehicles per consumer unit |
|---|---|---|
| One person | $1,407 | 1.1 |
| Two people | $2,858 | 2.1 |
| Three people | $2,727 | Not supplied |
| Four people | $3,220 | Not supplied |
| Five or more people | $3,486 | 2.4 |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2023, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. All spending figures are annual means for U.S. consumer units in the specified size groups.
Consumer units with four people spent $3,220 on furnishings and equipment, and those with five or more people spent $3,486. The vehicle averages supplied for one-person, two-person and five-or-more-person units were 1.1, 2.1 and 2.4, respectively.
These figures capture differences between group averages, not a possession checklist for each household. They also do not separate children, adults, living arrangements or the size of the dwelling within each consumer-unit category.
Age Patterns and the Measured End of Possession Lifecycles
Age-related spending peaked in the supplied 2023 groups at $2,923 for consumer units headed by someone aged 45–54. The average was $1,471 for reference persons under 25, $2,468 for ages 25–34, $2,861 for ages 35–44, $2,886 for ages 55–64, and $1,982 for ages 65 or older.
| Reference-person age | Furnishings and equipment spending in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | $1,471 |
| 25–34 | $2,468 |
| 35–44 | $2,861 |
| 45–54 | $2,923 |
| 55–64 | $2,886 |
| 65 or older | $1,982 |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2023, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are annual population means for U.S. consumer units classified by reference-person age.
The EPA provides a different view of possession lifecycles: what durable goods enter the U.S. municipal solid-waste system after primary use and reuse by secondary owners. In 2018, durable-goods generation was 57.1 million tons, equal to 19.5% of total municipal solid-waste generation.
| Durable-goods end-of-life measure | United States, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Durable-goods generation | 57.1 million tons; 19.5% of MSW |
| Durable-goods recycling | 10.57 million tons; 18.5% category rate |
| Durable goods sent to landfills | 37.41 million tons |
| Major-appliance generation | 5.3 million tons |
| Furniture and furnishings generation | 12.1 million tons; 4.1% of MSW |
| Miscellaneous durable-goods generation | 24.8 million tons; 8.5% of MSW |
Source: Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA’s 2018 figures are national estimates of material flows, not current household inventories. Durable goods entering the waste stream can include goods after primary use and reuse by secondary owners; the miscellaneous category includes consumer electronics, personal computers, luggage and sporting equipment, making it broader than household-only possessions.
The 2018 data show 10.57 million tons of durable goods recycled, while landfills received 37.41 million tons. These outcomes should not be interpreted as the share of household possessions that were recycled or discarded, because the EPA measure covers municipal solid-waste pathways rather than individual households.