Housing

Consumers spend $14.37 trillion on housing, water and energy in 2026, which is 20.3% of all their spending. The market grows 4.89% a year in current dollars and reaches $23.17 trillion by 2036. Between those two years it adds $8.79 trillion.

The fastest-growing subcategory is solid fuels at 5.41% a year and the slowest is sewerage collection at 4.02%. The category as a whole grows 4.89% a year. The two largest subcategories are imputed rentals for housing at $7.42 trillion and actual rentals paid by tenants at $2.88 trillion. Both grow more slowly than solid fuels.

New York City spends the most at $228bn a year, followed by Los Angeles at $193bn and Tokyo at $172bn. We estimate the category for all 9,400+ cities in every year to 2040. The top ten of the 254 cities on this page's map hold 28% of the spending it shows.

Among the largest city markets, Jakarta grows fastest at 7.8% a year and Moscow slowest at 2.5%. The cities adding the most spending by 2036 make a different list, led by Los Angeles at $112bn, New York City at $106bn and London at $74bn.

Yes, every market and city splits the category into five age bands and five spending tiers. Sizing the cohort you target means filtering those same figures, with nothing extra to commission. Genoa has the oldest profile, with 38% of its spending from the over-65s. San Francisco is the most affluent, with 96% from its richest spending tier.

We forecast every country, subcategory and cohort each year to 2050, and every city to 2040. Because one model produces all of them, a market and a city read on the same scale. The method is published and peer reviewed. Our page on how we measure spending sets it out. The average person spends $1,761 a year on housing, water and energy today.