• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 22, 2003

Eating Out Approaches Grocery Costs For Some

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey, released in summary by NewStrategist, Americans spend 67 percent as much eating out as they do buying groceries.

• Householders under age 25 spend 92 percent as much eating out as on groceries.
• Among households with incomes of $70,000 or more, the figure is 90 percent.
• People who live alone spend 80 percent as much eating out as on groceries
• Married couples without children at home spend 75 percent. as much eating out as on groceries
• The dollars people spend eating out for lunch and dinner are almost evenly split (about 1/3 each)
• Snacks account for another 12 percent
• Breakfast/brunch for 8 percent
• Restaurant food on trips for the remaining 10 percent of the eating-out dollar.

Of the $2,063 the average household spends eating out, 41 percent goes to fast-food restaurants and 41 percent to full-service establishments.

Fast-food restaurants collect a far larger share of the eating-out dollars of younger than older householders. Among, fully 56 percent of the money the youngest householders spend eating out goes to fast-food restaurants. The fast-food share declines with age, falling below the full-service share in the 45-to-54 age group.

The households least likely to devote their dining-out dollars to full-service restaurants are those with children under age 18. In contrast, the households most likely to spend their dining-out dollars in full-service restaurants are married couples without children at home--many of them empty nesters.

For more, see the new, 8th edition of Household Spending from New Strategist Publications