U.S. household expenditure on books 2007-2019, by type

Figures for periods prior to 2019 come from previous reporting.
A consumer unit consists of any of the following: (1) All members of a particular household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; (2) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is financially independent; or (3) two or more persons living together who use their incomes to make joint expenditure decisions. Financial independence is determined by spending behavior with regard to the three major expense categories: Housing, food, and other living expenses. To be considered financially independent, the respondent must provide at least two of the three major expenditure categories, either entirely or in part.
Data are diary-based.
The shown figures are based on unpublished data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are available upon request.
Data for encyclopedias and other sets of reference books is not available for the years 2015 to 2017.