Consumer Expenditures (CEX)
Understand how and where consumers spend
The AGS Consumer Expenditure (CEX) dataset offers a detailed view of household spending across hundreds of categories, including everything from groceries and rent to healthcare, entertainment, and retirement savings.
Built using AGS’s proprietary Synthetic Household model, it reflects real differences by age, income, household type, and lifestyle.
Whether you’re conducting market analysis, evaluating retail potential, or assessing demand, CEX data brings spending patterns to life with granular, location-specific insight.
What’s Included
- Over 400 spending categories modeled by income, life stage, and household size
- Current-year estimates and five-year forecasts
- Aggregated totals at all U.S. standard geographies down to the block level
- Broad and detailed rollups by category: food, shelter, apparel, healthcare, and more
Built for These Industries
Retail & Franchise
Identify neighborhoods where consumer demand supports new stores or services. Ideal for expansion and category targeting.
Grocery & Restaurant
Evaluate neighborhood-level demand for food-at-home and food-away-from-home categories by store or restaurant type.
Economic Development
Utilize demand and sales gaps to attract targeted businesses and minimize retail leakage.
Real Estate
Pair with other AGS datasets to determine development potential based on local spending behavior.
Financial Services
Support lending, credit modeling, or insurance by mapping consumer financial priorities and expenditures.
Media & Advertising
Target campaigns more effectively by understanding what local audiences are most likely to spend money on.
Delivery Formats
- Flat files (CSV or proprietary format)
- Snapshot API access
- Bundled with Basic or Premier Packages
Methodology & Data Sources
The AGS Consumer Expenditure data is built from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey and refined using AGS’s Synthetic Household model, which applies demographic, income, and household characteristics to estimate spending at the local level.
CEX is powered by the AGS Synthetic Household model and based on the latest Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Spending patterns are estimated using demographic, income, and household composition data to generate location-specific insights.
All estimates are updated annually to reflect economic conditions, inflation, and shifting consumer behavior.
Documentation & Support
AGS provides complete support for integrating and applying CEX data. Every license includes:
Whether you’re building models, planning campaigns, or designing custom tools, AGS is available to help you make the most of your data.