16 
BULLETIN 1382, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Age 
Cost-consumption units— for 
Individual 
Food 
Cloth- 
ing 
Rent 
Furni- 
ture, 
opera- 
tion, in- 
surance, 
and un- 
classified 
goods 
Health 
Advance- 
ment 
Per- 
sonal 
34 
7 
2 
31 
9 
3 
1.0 
.4 
.3 
.9 
.3 
.2 
1.0 
.5 
.3 
1.0 
.5 
.3 
1.0 
!o 
1.0 
.1 
.0 
1.0 
.4 
.3 
1.0 
.2 
.1 
1.0 
.2 
.6 
1.0 
.2 
.6 
1.0 
.1 
.0 
1.0 
.1 
.0 
1.0 
Do 
.4 
Do 
. l 
.4 
Do 
.2 
Do .- 
.1 
Total household-size indei 
3.1 
3.6 
2.2 
3.0 
3.6 
2.2 
2.2 
Item of consumption 
Expen- 
ditures 
per 
family 
House- 
hold 
size 
index 
Expen- 
ditures 
per cost — 
con- 
sumption 
unit 
Food -~ 
Clothing. 
$620 
180 
120 
15 
39 
30 
70 
30 
3.1 
3.6 
2.2 
3.0 
3.0 
3.6 
2.2 
2.2 
3.0 
3.0 
$200.00 
50.00 
Rent. 1 
54.50 
5.00 
13.00 
Health 
8.30 
i 31. 80 
13.60 
Total 
1,104 
376. 2 
i Per cent of total, 8.50. 
The relative weights for food, clothing, rent, or other group of 
goods used are listed above from the scales as presented on pages 14 
and 15. The sum of the weights listed under each gives the household 
size indexes which, when divided into the respective costs of goods 
per family, result in the expenditures per cost-consumption unit. 
The sum of the expenditures per cost -consumption unit amounts to 
$376.20, in comparison with an expenditure of $1,104 per family. 
The percentage of the sum of expenditure per cost-consumption 
unit devoted to advancement for each family is obtained by dividing 
the expenditures for all purposes into the expenditures for advance- 
ment. For example, in the case of the family above the sum of ex- 
penditures per cost-consumption unit, $376.20, divided into the ex- 
penditure per cost-consumption unit for advancement, $31.80, gives 
8.5 per cent, the proportion of the sum of expenditures per cost-con- 
sumption unit devoted to advancement. 
As a rough test of accuracy of the household-size index scales, the 
families were grouped according to the number of children in family 
and the average of the sums of expenditures per cost consumption 
unit were obtained. These are given in Table 6 in comparison with 
the averages of expenditures per family. 
Accurate scales would correct variations due to composition or 
make-up of the individual family and would give uniform averages, 
provided efficiency in buying and using goods were equally distributed 
among families of different sizes and provided the standard of liv- 
ing is not lowered with an increase in the number of persons per 
family. The sum of expenditures per cost-consumption unit de- 
creases rather regularly as the size of the family increases. This 
decrease is distributed about equally among the separate averages for 
