Average Expenditure for a New Car Declines in Relation to Family Earnings

Although the average expenditure for a new car has increased from 1967 to 2009, family earnings have also been on the rise. For this period, new car expenditures went from $3,216 to $23,186, while median family earnings went from $7,933 to $77,149. The expenditure for a new car as a percentage of annual median family earnings reached its peak in 1993 at more than 45%; in 2009 it declined to its lowest point at just 30%.