Maine households spent 3.5 percent more in 2014 than the year before, a new report from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis shows.

The report said Mainers spent an aggregate of $54.7 billion in 2014, compared with $52.9 billion the year before. Nationally, spending grew by 4.2 percent, and in New England it increased by 4.1 percent. By state, North Dakota had the biggest increase in household spending last year, growing by 7.4 percent, and the slowest growth was recorded in West Virginia, where household spending increased by 2.1 percent.


Interactive
Compare Mainers’ spending with the national average in the following categories:
Total expenditures
Gasoline and oil
Health care
Groceries
Housing and utilities
Clothing and footwear
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Interactive: Christian MilNeil

On a per-person basis, Mainers spent $41,148 last year, report said.

The report, released Tuesday morning, represents the BEA’s first state-by-state review of personal consumption expenditures. That statistic covers goods and services purchased by individual households; spending on health care covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance; and the expenditures of non-profit institutions serving households. The report seeks to cover spending by residents of a state even when goods and services are bought outside of that state.

By broad categories, Mainers spent the most – $7,289 per person – on health care last year, followed by housing and utilities ($6,360), off-premises food and beverages ($3,736) and gasoline and other energy goods ($2,203). The rest of the spending was in a catch-all category, covering spending on items such as cars and car parts, furnishings, recreational goods and vehicles, clothing and transportation.

Nationally, the biggest category of spending was for housing and utilities, followed by health care, off-premises food and beverages, and then gasoline and other energy goods.

In New England, the order of spending by category was the same as nationally. Mainers spent the most per capita in the region for gasoline and other energy goods, were second to Vermont in off-premises food and beverages, fifth in health care spending and last in housing and utility spending.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.