Universal — Flat / Uniform
Spending is consistent across all income groups.
Product Examples
This purchasing behavior has not been seen, but remains a theoretical curve type.
STI: Spending Patterns - Income Classifications
Overview
This page previews the 12 Income Classifications from our white paper on Income Classification. Below is the executive summary of that white paper and away to access the full paper. Further down the page, you’ll see a listing of the 12 Income Classification Curves, with an image on the left and a description of the behavior on the right.
Executive Summary & Download
This white paper introduces a method for classifying product-level consumer spending behavior across income groups using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey (2013–2023). Our goal is to create an interpretable and scalable framework for understanding how income influences spending patterns across hundreds of product categories. Using z-score normalization, k-means clustering, and cosine similarity, we identified 12 recurring behavioral curve types. These curve types successfully classified over 94% of product categories, enabling repeatable and interpretable segmentation by income behavior.
While the taxonomy of curve types remains stable over time, we found that individual product classifications are transitory, reflecting evolving consumer behavior and market conditions. Notably, there is a growing trend toward spending concentration among higher-income groups and more targeted income-group affinity.
This framework enhances the interpretability of our STI: Spending Patterns product and offers actionable insights for researchers in retail, real estate, and geospatial applications seeking to understand income-based demand dynamics at the product level.
Download the STI: Spending Patterns Income Classification White Paper
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The 12 Classifications
Normal — Rising Linear
Spending steadily rises with income.
Product Examples
Household Furnishings, Pet Expenditures
Low Income Staple — linear increase with peak
Spending increases with income, but a peak in spending occurs in the 25-50k income range.
Product Examples
Televisions, Safe Deposit Box Rentals, Appliance Rentals
Lower Middle Class Staple — linear increase with peak
Spending increases with income, but a peak in spending occurs in the 50-75k income range.
Product Examples
Prescription Drugs, Games & Apps, Truck Rentals
Middle Class Staple — linear increase with peak
Spending increases with income, but a peak in spending occurs in the 75-100k income range.
Product Examples
Vitamins, Sewing
Upper Middle Class Staple — linear increase with peak
Spending increases with income, but a peak in spending occurs in the 100-150k income range.
Product Examples
Candy, Lawn and Garden Supplies, Kids Clothing
Normal Leaning Luxury — Convex Curve
Spending rises with income at an increasing rate.
Product Examples
Dining Out, Health Insurance, Personal Care Services
Luxury — Increasing then peaks higher
High-income households spend disproportionately more.
Product Examples
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Housing Related Expenses, Jewelry
Aspirational — U shaped
Peak spending in low and high-income groups.
Product Examples
Food Staples (Eggs, Poultry, and Beef), Taxi Fares
Essential — Rising Linear then plateau
Necessities that increase with income, but then plateau.
Product Examples
Gasoline, Phone Services, Vehicles
Broad Middle Class Use — n shaped
Spending occurring in middle incomes that doesn’t occur in lower or higher income groups.
Product Examples
Tobacco Products, Lawn and Garden Equipment
Substitutional — decreasing spend
Strongly used in low-income groups, then quickly abandoned.
Product Examples
Canned Fruit and Vegetables, Cola, Laundry and Cleaning Products