Share of U.S. Consumer Spending: Recreation

## What this measures

Recreation services (live events, gyms, streaming, gambling) and recreational goods (electronics, sporting goods, boats), as a share of all U.S. consumer spending.

## Why it matters

Leisure spending is where any gain in free time would show up.

## How to read it

It was 7.3% in the second quarter of 2026, against 3.9% in early 1959. Its high was 7.4% at the end of 2021.

## What it does not say

It covers all spending on behalf of households, including what employers and government pay for them (most health care is paid by insurers and Medicare), and spending by nonprofits that serve households. So it differs from what families pay out of pocket; for that, read the household.cex.share series. Shares are of nominal dollars, so a category whose prices rise faster gains share.

## Source

Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts Table 2.3.5, quarterly, via the FRED API, pulled nightly. Palanor divides recreation services (DRCARC1Q027SBEA) and recreational goods and vehicles (DREQRC1Q027SBEA) by total personal consumption expenditures (PCEC). BEA data are in the public domain.