Survey sheds light on Big Isle household expenses

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism on Monday released the first-ever report on Hawaii Island consumer spending.

Consumer spending in Hawaii was once tracked by the federal government through the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that survey only covered Oahu residents. The last time survey data was published was in 2005.

Oahu data collection is expected to resume in 2017, but there were no plans to begin tracking Neighbor Island consumer spending, making the DBEDT’s efforts a valuable resource.

“The data are helpful in estimating the income needs for an average household on the Big Island,” DBEDT spokeswoman Christine Hirasa said in an email. “New residents to the island could also use this data to estimate their … budgets by spending category.”

Hirasa said the spending data also could be used for tax policy analysis.

“For example, if a specific excise tax is levied or exempt, the fiscal impact can be estimated using the spending data,” she said.

If the Neighbor Island studies continue, the data can then be used to create a consumer inflation index, which currently only exists for Oahu.

The DBEDT received $200,000 in funding from the state Legislature in 2013 to conduct the surveys, which took place last year and analyzed 2014 spending habits. DBEDT said 554 surveys were completed by Hawaii Island residents.

Hawaii County consumers spent an average of $51,700 per household in 2014, with the bulk of those expenditures falling in three categories: housing, transportation and food.

The number is less than both Oahu’s average ($62,280) and the nationwide average ($53,495). Hawaii County spends more on housing and food, but less on transportation as compared to the U.S. average.

Housing made up about 40 percent of the average household’s total expenditures, slightly less than that of Oahu, where housing makes up 44 percent of the total. Housing includes residential and commercial properties, mortgage and rent payments, utility payments, property tax and household furnishings.

People with mortgages had total annual expenditures about $20,000 greater than renters.

One-person households spent a greater portion on household expenses than other groups. This category was divided into two groups: those age 19-64 living alone and those 65 and older living alone. The younger group spent more on insurance and retirement savings and had slightly higher total expenditures.

Total expenditures increased with household size (homes with four or more people spent an average of $70,884 per year) and with levels of educational attainment. Households with children under the age of 18 spent about $7,000 more per year than those without children.

Data for Kauai also was released Monday.

To view the reports, visit http://dbedt.hawaii.gov/blog/16-24/.

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe @hawaiitribune-herald.com.