First Bundle survey looks at household spending

Bundle, the new social money comparison site, has released its first-ever annual consumer spending report, “How America Spends.” It includes a 50-state ranking of household budget behavior and a data analysis of trends by marital status/kids, income level and age.

The State of Mississippi’s residential household spending average is $27,740. That is 48^th among the states, 49^th when including the District of Columbia. The only states with a lower average are Montana ($27,032) and West Virginia ($24,517).

In the ranking of U.S. cities, Austin, Texas, residents are the biggest spenders, averaging $67,076 in overall household expenses over 2009 (excluding mortgage and rent, which are not included in Bundle’s breakdown). Austin’s annual spending is 77 percent higher than the national average of $37,782, according to Bundle’s new data.

The lowest-spending city in the U.S. is Detroit, where residents, hit hard by the recession, spent $16,446 on items including food and drink, shopping, gas, travel and entertainment.

For all 50 states, Connecticut residents lead the nation in spending ($57,331).