Cost of Living in the United States File

The schedules were originally used to estimate the cost of living for a ''typical'' American family. Creation of the electronic file was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This series contains data from a from a sample of wage earners or salaried workers and their families in 99 cities in the United States. Records contain information about income sources and family expenditures including specific quantities and costs of food, housing, clothing, fuel, furniture, and miscellaneous household items for the calendar year. Demographic characteristics recorded for each household member include relationship to head, age, sex, occupation, weeks spent in the household and employed, wage rate, and total earnings.