Average clothing cost per month
The average clothing cost per month for one person, a couple and a family, from the government's survey of household spending.
Checked October 27, 2026
Every year the BLS asks thousands of households what they spent. The results are the most trusted answer to “what is the average cost of clothes per month,” and 2024 is the latest year posted. We took the yearly averages and divided by 12.
Average cost of clothing per month, by household size
| Household | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| All households | $2,001 | $167 |
| 1 person | $1,113 | $93 |
| 2 people | $1,994 | $166 |
| 3 people | $2,404 | $200 |
| 4 people | $2,653 | $221 |
| 5 or more people | $3,358 | $280 |
Clothes are about 2.5 percent of what a typical household spends in a year. For one person that is 2.3 percent of the $48,794 they spend in total.
Average cost of clothing per month for 1 person
One person spends about $93 a month on apparel and services. Here is what that breaks into.
| Part of apparel | 1 person, per month | 2 people, per month |
|---|---|---|
| Men and boys | $21 | $38 |
| Women and girls | $34 | $63 |
| Footwear | $24 | $37 |
| Other apparel products and services | $13 | $26 |
| All apparel and services | $93 | $166 |
Note what the numbers are. A household of two people in this survey is any two people who share money, so it is not only couples. And it is an average, which a few big spenders pull up. If you spend $40 a month and your friend spends $250, neither of you is wrong.
Average clothing cost per month: men and women
The BLS splits apparel by who it is for. Households spend more on women than on men, and the gap holds for people living alone. These are household averages, and a household with no man in it counts as $0 for men's clothes, so read them as typical household spending on each, not what one man or woman spends.
| Clothing for | All households | 1 person | 2 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men, 16 and over | $31 | $21 | $36 |
| Women, 16 and over | $53 | $33 | $59 |
| Boys, 2 to 15 | $8 | $1 | $2 |
| Girls, 2 to 15 | $9 | $1 | $4 |
| Children under 2 | $6 | $1 | $2 |
| Footwear | $38 | $24 | $37 |
| Other apparel products and services | $21 | $13 | $26 |
| All apparel and services | $167 | $93 | $166 |
Average clothing cost per month by age
Spending on clothes rises with the years of raising children and working, and drops after retirement. The households with the most clothing spending are ages 35 to 44, which are also the largest households (3.3 people on average).
| Age of reference person | Per year | Per month | People in household |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | $1,541 | $128 | 1.9 |
| 25-34 | $2,220 | $185 | 2.6 |
| 35-44 | $2,649 | $221 | 3.3 |
| 45-54 | $2,547 | $212 | 3.0 |
| 55-64 | $2,032 | $169 | 2.2 |
| 65 and older | $1,198 | $100 | 1.8 |
An example: a clothing line for a couple
Say two people want a line that matches the two-person average of $166 a month. That is $1,992 a year, or $83 each. If one earns 60 percent of the household's pay and you split a shared line by income, that person covers $100 and the other $66. If you each pay for your own, the typical two-person household spends $36 a month on men's clothes and $59 on women's, with shoes and extras making up the rest. For one month's tracking, add a line to your budget categoriesand see where you land against the average monthly expenses.
How a couple might split clothing
Clothes are the line most couples keep personal. You each decide what a good coat is worth, so it rarely feels fair to put it on a shared list. Two ways that work:
- Each pays their own. Clothes come out of your own pay or your own guilt-free money, and the other person never sees a receipt.
- One shared line for what you both need. Work clothes, a winter coat, kids' clothes. Pay it 50/50, or by income. If one of you brings home 60 percent of the pay, that person covers 60 percent: $100 of a $166 line, and the other $66.
See what each rule does to your two pays with the fair split calculator, or read how to split bills by income.
Ways to bring clothing costs down
- Find your real number. Add up three months of clothing charges and divide by three. Most people are surprised in one direction or the other.
- Set a yearly number, not a monthly one. Clothes come in lumps: a coat in November, shoes in spring. A line of $93 a month is $1,113 for the year, spent whenever you need it.
- Buy the hard-wearing things new, the rest used. Shoes and coats earn their price. Jeans and shirts often do not.
- Wait a week on anything over $50 that is not replacing something worn out.
- Fix before you replace. A $15 tailor visit or a new sole costs less than most replacements.
- Keep returns in view. A refund that lands two weeks later is easy to miss when you check the line at the end of the month.
Looking at the whole picture? See the average monthly expenses for one person and a couple and what budget categories most households use.
Questions people ask
How much does the average person spend on clothes per month?
About $93 a month for a person who lives alone ($1,113 a year in 2024, BLS). Across all U.S. households it is about $167 a month, and that household has 2.4 people on average, so it is not the cost for one person.
How much does the average person spend on men's clothes?
Households spent $374 a year on clothes for men 16 and over in 2024, about $31 a month, and $467 a year ($39 a month) on men and boys together. For one-person households, $249 a year on men 16 and over is about $21 a month. These are averages for households, including ones with no man in them.
Do women spend more on clothes than men?
In the BLS data, yes. Households spent $632 a year on women 16 and over, about $53 a month, against $374, about $31 a month, on men 16 and over. For one-person households it is $397 against $249 a year, or $33 against $21 a month. It measures households, not individual shoppers.
How much do people spend on clothes by age?
Households led by someone 35 to 44 spent the most on apparel in 2024, $2,649 a year or $221 a month. Under 25 it was $128 a month, 55 to 64 $169 and 65 and older $100. The age is the household's reference person, and households differ in size.
What is the average clothing cost per month?
Across all U.S. households, $2,001 a year, or about $167 a month, in 2024. That is the Bureau of Labor Statistics figure for apparel and services, which includes shoes and a line it calls other apparel products and services.
What is the average cost of clothing per month for 1 person?
For a household of one person, the BLS reports $1,113 a year in 2024, about $93 a month. It is an average across all ages and incomes, so your own number can sit well above or below it.
What is the average cost of clothes per month for 2 people?
For households of two people, $1,994 a year, about $166 a month. That is about $83 each, which is less than the $93 for a household of one.
What is the average cost of clothing per month for a family of 4?
For households of four people, the BLS reports $2,653 a year in 2024, about $221 a month.
Is that what people should spend on clothes?
No. It is what households reported spending, not a target. Use it to see roughly where you sit, then set a number that fits your own plan.
How should a couple split the clothing budget?
Most couples keep clothes personal: each person spends from their own pay or their own fun money. If you do share a clothing line, splitting by income is fairer than 50/50 when your pay is far apart.
Sources
2 sources · read October 27, 2026
Every number on this page comes from bls.gov. If a source has changed since, the source is right.
Wonderful gives general information. It isn't a financial or tax advisor.