10 
BULLETIN 1382, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
too intricate for this publication. Comparisons of the proportions 
of expenditures for the different groups of articles are of interest 
and may be made readily. Comparisons of this sort, from the most 
complete data available, are made in Table 4. 
Table 4. — Distribution of the average expenditures per family among the 
different groups of articles for one year as shown in this study in com- 
parison with other studies for which data are available 
Items of expenditure 
861 farm 
families of 
selected 
localities of 
Kentucky, 
Tennessee, 
and Texas, 
1919 
402 farm 
families of 
Livingston 
County, 
N. Y., for 
year ended 
Aug. 31, 
1921» 
12,096 white 
families In 
92 indus- 
trial centers 
of the 
United 
States, 
1918 J 
Average expenditure . . ... 
$1, 436. 00 
Per cent 
44.0 
17.7 
9.7 
3.7 
24.9 
8.3 
2.0 
4.7 
5.9 
1.2 
2.6 
.2 
$2,012.00 
Per cent ' 
39.5 
13.7 
11.6 
7.4 
27.8 
8.4 
2.1 
4.1 
6.2 
2.4 
4.0 
.6 
$1, 434. 40 
Food , including groceries 
Per cent 
38.2 
Clothing 
16.6 
Rent 
13. 4 
Fuel 
4 5.3 
All others ... 
26.4 
Operating, less fuel 
Furnishings . 
Maintenance of health 
Ad vancement 
Personal . 
Insurance and savings 
Unclassified 
1 Family Living in Farm Homes, U. S. Dept. Agr., Bui. 1214. 
1 Cost of Living in the United States, U. S. Dept. Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor 
Review, vol. 9, No. 2. 
3 Percentages in this column differ from those given on p. 10, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 1214, owing to 
reclassification of goods used in order to got more definite comparisons. 
* Not including 295 families in which rent was combined with fuel and light. 
Families of this study devoted larger percentages of all expendi- 
tures to food and clothing than did farm families of Livingston 
County, N. Y., and certain industrial families with which they are 
compared in Table 4. Their expenditures for use of the house, for 
fuel and for all other purposes, constitute lower percentages of the 
totals than for either the Livingston County farm families or the 
industrial families. Comparisons of the other groups of goods used 
by families of this study and the Livingston County study may be 
made from Table 4 as desired. 
DISTRIBUTION OF AVERAGE EXPENDITURES IN RELATION TO 
AMOUNT OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES 
The distribution of the average expenditures among the different 
groups of articles used in relation to the amount of total expendi- 
tures per family is shown in Table 5. 
The proportion of all expenditures for food decreases from 61 
per cent to 30.3 per cent as the average total expenditures rise by 
$300 groups from below $300 to $3,000 and over. The proportions 
for clothing, for operating expenses, and for the maintenance of 
health increase somewhat irregularly with increased expenditures 
for all purposes. The proportion for rent, for furniture and fur- 
nishings, and for insurance remain about the same or show only a 
slight, very irregular increase. The proportion spent for personal 
uses shows a slight, irregular decrease. The proportion for advance- 
ment increases markedly, although somewhat irregularly, with the 
rise in total expenditure. 
