[From Preface] The Consumer Expenditure Survey is among the oldest publications of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With information on the expenditures, incomes, and demographic characteristics of households, the survey documents the spending patterns and economic status of American families. This report offers a new approach to the use of Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Normally, the survey presents an indepth look at American households at a specific point in time, the reference period being a calendar year. Here, the authors use consumer expenditure data longitudinally and draw on information from decennial census reports to present a 100-year history of significant changes in consumer spending, economic status, and family demographics in the country as a whole, as well as in New York City and Boston.