Growth in Personal Consumption Decelerated in 2015

EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EDT,

Tuesday, October 4, 2016 BEA 16—55

Personal Consumption Expenditures by State, 2015

Growth in state personal consumption expenditures (PCE) – the measure of goods and services purchased by or on behalf of households – decelerated to 3.6 percent on average in 2015 from 4.4 percent in 2014 (Table 1), according to statistics released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2015, PCE growth ranged from 1.5 percent in Wyoming to 5.0 percent in Florida.
Growth in PCE accelerated in only three states in 2015 – Alaska, Kentucky, and Missouri – and was largely concentrated in the Far West and Rocky Mountain regions.
The states with the fastest growth in PCE were Florida (5.0%), Oregon (4.9%), and Colorado (4.9%). These states were also among the fastest growing states in 2014. After Wyoming, the states with the slowest PCE growth were Mississippi (1.9%), North Dakota (1.9%), and Maine (2.0%).
View entire press release and tables here
Category growth in PCE by state. In 2015, the fastest growing categories of expenditures across all states were food services and accommodations, health care, and other nondurable goods (Table 2).
These categories along with housing and utilities were also the largest contributors to growth in total PCE by state.
Each of these categories contributed 0.5 percentage point or more to growth in total PCE by state, and collectively accounted for more than three quarters of the growth (Table 3).
Food and beverages purchased for off-premises consumption, while a major component of total PCE by state, was the slowest growing category and contributed little to growth in total PCE by state.
Gasoline and other energy goods was the only category that subtracted from growth in total PCE by state.
Expenditures on housing and utilities grew 4.2 percent in 2015 and contributed on average 0.8 percentage point to growth in total PCE by state.
This growth was fastest in North Dakota (8.6%), Florida (5.9%), and Colorado (5.9%) and was slowest in Maine (1.3%), Illinois (2.0%), and Wisconsin (2.5%). This category was the second largest contributor to growth in total PCE by state and contributed 1.0 percentage point or more to growth in total PCE in nine states.
Expenditures on health care grew 6.0 percent in 2015 and contributed on average 1.0 percentage point to growth in total PCE by state. This growth was fastest in Oregon (9.2%), Colorado (8.9%), and North Dakota (8.2%) and was slowest in Connecticut (1.7%), New York (3.6%), and Mississippi (3.7%).
This category contributed 1.0 percentage point or more to growth in total PCE in more than half the states and was the leading contributor to growth in most states.
Expenditures on food and beverages for off-premises consumption grew 1.0 percent in 2015 and contributed on average 0.1 percentage point to growth in total PCE by state. This growth was fastest in North Dakota (2.2%), Vermont (1.8%), and Montana (1.6%) and was slowest in Missouri (0.2%), Mississippi (0.3%), and Kentucky (0.3%).
The contributions to growth in total PCE for this category were 0.1 percentage point or less in all states except Vermont (0.2 percentage point).
Expenditures on gasoline and other energy goods declined 23.9 percent in 2015 and subtracted on average 0.8 percentage point from growth in total PCE by state.
Expenditures declined in all states, ranging from 27.4 percent in Hawaii to 17.5 percent in New Mexico. After Hawaii, the states with the largest declines were Virginia (26.4%), Vermont (26.0%), and Louisiana (26.0%).

Per capita PCE by state in 2015. Per capita PCE by state measures average PCE spending per person in a state. Across all states and the District of Columbia, per capita total PCE was $38,196 (Table 4). Per capita PCE by state ranged from a high of $49,717 in Ma sachusetts to a low of $29,330 in Mississippi.
After Massachusetts, the states with the highest per capita PCE were Alaska ($48,666), North Dakota ($47,864), and New Hampshire ($47,441). After Mississippi, the states with the lowest per capita PCE were Arkansas ($29,791), Alabama ($30,459), and Kentucky ($31,925).
U.S. per capita expenditures on housing and utilities were $6,947 and ranged from a high of $9,482 in New Jersey to a low of $4,573 in West Virginia. Other states with high per capita spending included Maryland ($9,390), Connecticut ($9,348), and Massachusetts ($8,948). Other states with low per capita spending included Arkansas ($4,606), Mississippi ($4,735), and Alabama ($5,032).
U.S. per capita expenditures on health care were $6,436 and ranged from a high of $9,645 in Alaska to a low of $4,796 in Utah. Other states with high per capita spending included Massachusetts ($9,187), Delaware ($8,070), and New Hampshire ($7,866). Other states with low per capita spending included Nevada ($4,885), Georgia ($5,187), and Arizona ($5,216).
U.S. per capita expenditures on food and beverages purchased for off-premises consumption were $2,802 and ranged from a high of $4,196 in Vermont to a low of $2,282 in Oklahoma. Other states with high per capita spending included Alaska ($3,965), Maine ($3,814), and New Hampshire ($3,635). Other states with low per capita spending included Arkansas ($2,360), Utah ($2,468), and Alabama ($2,493).
U.S. per capita expenditures on gasoline and other energy goods were $945 and ranged from a high of $2,994 in North Dakota to a low of $509 in Hawaii. Other states with high per capita spending included Wyoming ($2,291), South Dakota ($1,672), and Maine ($1,654). Other states with low per capita spending included New York ($655), Florida ($723), and California ($739).