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Life & fun · September 15, 2026

The bottom 50% of U.S. households are short after essentials (BLS data)

How much U.S. households have left after essentials, by income group, from BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey data 2000–2024 (projected to 2026), and what investing it would grow to.

The bottom 50% of U.S. households are short after essentials (BLS data) launched on September 15, 2026 with 39 votes, #701 of 8,094 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches.

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In plain words

This tool shows how much money U.S. households have remaining after paying for essentials, broken down by income group using 25 years of government survey data from 2000–2024. Users can adjust assumptions to see how investing surplus income would grow over time. Built on official Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey data, it displays real yearly figures for five household income groups, showing pre-tax income minus essential costs per person and the resulting portfolio balance from investing surpluses since 2000.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

How much do households have left after paying for the essentials, and what would it grow into if they invested it? Built on 25 years of U.S. government survey data (2000–2024). Change the assumptions and watch the answer move. Yearly pre-tax income excluding benefits, minus essential costs. Per person. Portfolio balance from investing part of each year’s surplus since 2000. Real data. Every year from 2000 to 2024 uses that year’s published BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey table, which ranks U.S. households into five income groups (quintiles). From it come income before and after taxes, the income cut-offs between groups, household size, spending on six categories (including education), and…from whats-left-over.pages.dev

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