US personal consumption expenditures, 1959 to 2026
US personal consumption expenditures stood at $22,060 in 2026, up 0.7% on the previous period.
The latest reading is $22.1 trillion, for May 2026, against $21.9 trillion in April 2026. The series is monthly (FRED series PCE) and runs from January 1959.
How it is measured
Personal consumption expenditures: everything US households spend on goods and services, from the BEA's national accounts, monthly at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, in billions of dollars. Consumption is roughly two-thirds of GDP, which makes this the biggest single line in the economy. The data reaches us through FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's data service, and originates with the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
What the curve shows
Household spending runs at $22.1 trillion annualized as of May 2026, from $306.1 billion at the window's start. Its steadiness is the American economy's ballast; the 2020 vertical drop and snap-back is the rare exception that proves how unusual forced non-spending is.
What counts as consumption?
Why do economists watch the consumer so closely?
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