Python & Excel
- Statistical Analysis
- Hypothesis Testing
- Kruskal-Wallis Test
- Dunn’s Post Hoc Test
- Spearman Correlation
- Regression Analysis
Household and Expenditure Analysis
Understanding the Impact of Household Characteristics on Spending Behavior
Project Toolkit
Skills Applied
Tableau
- Data Visualization and Storytelling
- Research Reporting
Research Context
Project Overview
Background
Household expenditure is a key measure of financial wellbeing and living standards. Understanding how spending varies across different household groups helps governments, businesses, and researchers identify the factors that influence consumer behavior and economic stability.
The dataset used in this study comes from the UK Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF), which captures household spending patterns alongside demographic, employment, and housing characteristics.
Objective
Determine whether household expenditure differs according to occupational class, housing tenure type, number of adults, number of children, and household income.
Research Question
Is there a statistically significant relationship between household characteristics and total household expenditure?
Dataset Profile
Data Overview
Dataset & Descriptive Statistics
Dataset
2013 UK Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF)
Sample Size
5,144 households
Average household expenditure
£479.76/week
Average household income
£620.43/week
Median expenditure
£419.90/week
Variable Types
| Variable | Type |
|---|---|
| Total Expenditure | Numerical |
| Income | Numerical |
| Occupational Class | Categorical |
| Tenure Type | Categorical |
| Number of Adults | Categorical |
| Number of Children | Categorical |
Methodology
Analysis Approach
Kruskal-Wallis Test
Used to compare household expenditure across different household groups.
Spearman Correlation
Used to assess the relationship between household income and household expenditure.
Significance Level
Statistical significance was assessed using α = 0.05.
Occupational Class & Tenure Type
Socioeconomic Factors
Occupational Class
Households in higher managerial and professional occupations consistently spent more than other occupational groups.
Housing Tenure
Spending patterns differed significantly between owned households, private renters, and public renters.
Occupational Class vs Average Expenditure
Comparison of average total expenditure across household occupational classes.
Household Structure
Household Composition
Children
Expenditure increased as the number of children increased.
Adults
Households with more adults generally had higher expenditure.
Number of Adults vs Average Expenditure
Comparison of average expenditure according to the number of adults living in the household.
Key Insight
Household composition is one of the strongest drivers of spending behavior.
Income & Expenditure
Key Findings
Household Income and Expenditure Relationship
Each point represents one household. The regression line illustrates the overall relationship between weekly household income and weekly household expenditure.
Spearman’s ρ
0.75
Strong positive association
Most Important Result
Income and expenditure showed a strong positive association.
Spearman’s ρ = 0.75
Generally: Higher-income households spend more.
Statistical Testing
Hypothesis Test Results
The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to determine whether household expenditure differed significantly across the categories within each household characteristic.
Factors Most Associated with Household Expenditure
Household characteristics ranked by their Kruskal–Wallis H statistic. Higher values indicate greater differences in expenditure between groups.
Interpretation
Number of Adults showed the highest Kruskal–Wallis H statistic, indicating the largest differences in household expenditure across groups. This was followed by Occupational Class, Tenure Type, and Number of Children.