Where Americans Spend the Most on Dietary Supplements

The average U.S. household spends about $131 a year on nonprescription vitamins, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey ($130.96 per consumer unit, 2022). Across the country, supplements have grown into a $69.3 billion U.S. market (Nutrition Business Journal, 2024). The more useful story is in the variation: who buys, how much, and where differs sharply by age, sex, and region.

This article is informational and educational. It summarizes population-level patterns in public spending and health-survey data; it does not diagnose any condition or provide medical advice. Decisions about supplements should be made with a qualified clinician.

The headline number: about $131 per household

The clearest dollar figure comes from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, which tracks what American "consumer units" (essentially households) spend on everyday goods. In 2022, the most recent year for which the nonprescription-vitamins line item is published, the average household spent $130.96 on these products.

That figure has risen over the past decade-plus, reflecting both higher prices and broader use, though the exact size of the increase depends on the base year chosen. Either way, supplements now read as a routine line in many household budgets rather than an occasional purchase.

Spending on vitamins sits inside a larger healthcare category. In 2023, healthcare accounted for 8.0% of total household spending (unchanged from 2022); in 2024 it was 7.9%, and total average annual expenditures reached $78,535 (BLS).

Three in four Americans take supplements

Two independent surveys show how mainstream supplements have become, though they measure it differently.

• Council for Responsible Nutrition (2024): 75% of U.S. adults say they take dietary supplements, a rate that has held steady year over year. Among users, 91% agree supplements are essential to maintaining their health.
• CDC / NHANES (Aug 2021-Aug 2023): 60.2% of adults age 20 and older used any dietary supplement in the prior 30 days.

The gap between the two (75% vs. 60%) is expected. CRN counts any self-reported use, while the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey uses a recent-use (past 30 days) definition among adults 20 and older. Both point to the same conclusion: supplement use is the norm, not the exception.

Who uses the most: age and sex drive the numbers

Federal data show supplement use rises with age and skews female.

• By age (CDC): 46.3% of adults 20-39 used a supplement, climbing to 60.3% of those 40-59 and 75.9% of adults 60 and older. More than half of adults 60 and older (56.4%) used two or more.
• By sex (CDC): 66.1% of women versus 53.9% of men used any supplement.
• By generation (CRN): vitamins were bought by 48% of Gen Z, 56% of Millennials, 58% of Gen X, and 64% of Baby Boomers - though younger buyers are driving growth in specialty products. Magnesium use, for example, rose from 19% in 2023 to 23% in 2024.

Older, more often female households are therefore the demographic engine behind the per-household average.

Where you live: the data are limited, and older than they look

The BLS does not publish a state-by-state ranking for vitamins specifically, so this article cannot say which state spends the most. Geographic comparisons run only through the survey's four Census regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West - and even there, vitamins are not broken out separately from the broader healthcare category.

A frequently cited claim is that households in the Midwest and South devote a larger share of their budgets to healthcare than those in the Northeast and West. That finding comes from an archived BLS report whose underlying data are from the late 1990s (1987-1997), so it should not be read as a current snapshot. More recent per-capita figures point the other way: regions including New England and the Mid-Atlantic show some of the highest per-capita personal health-care spending, while parts of the Mountain West and Southwest show some of the lowest. In short, the regional evidence on health spending is mixed and partly out of date, and none of it isolates supplements.

For supplements specifically, the more reliable driver is who lives where rather than geography itself: areas with older populations and higher proportions of women would be expected to show heavier per-household supplement use, consistent with the national age and sex patterns above. That is an inference from demographics, not a measured state ranking.

What it means

The data tell a consistent story: supplement use is broad, durable, and concentrated among older and more often female consumers. The roughly $131 household average is best read as a blended figure - it averages heavy users (older adults taking multiple products) with non-users who spend nothing, so a typical 60-plus household's real outlay is often higher.

For consumers, the practical takeaway is that supplements are a meaningful recurring expense, and more spending does not equal better health. Federal health agencies note that supplements are not a substitute for a balanced diet and that benefits beyond correcting a documented deficiency are often unproven. Talking with a clinician before adding products - especially multiple products, the pattern common among older adults - remains the evidence-based step.

Limitations

These figures come from surveys and industry estimates, each with constraints. The BLS Diary Survey relies on households recording purchases, which can undercount irregular buys. CRN's self-reported usage runs higher than the CDC's recent-use definition. BLS publishes vitamins spending nationally and healthcare by region, but not a granular state-level vitamins line - so "where Americans spend most" is necessarily a regional and demographic answer, not a precise state ranking, and the most pointed regional claim relies on decades-old data. Market-size estimates from private analysts vary by methodology. None of these figures is medical advice.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey - nonprescription vitamins, $130.96 per consumer unit (2022), via Statista: www.statista.com/statistics/630728/us-household-expenditure-on-nonprescription-vitamins
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Consumer Expenditures - 2024" ($78,535 average; healthcare 7.9%): www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cesan.pdf
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Consumer expenditures in 2023" (healthcare 8.0% of spending): www.bls.gov/opub/reports/consumer-expenditures/2023
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "What the Nation Spends on Health Care: A Regional Comparison" (archived; 1987-1997 data): www.bls.gov/opub/btn/archive/what-the-nation-spends-on-health-care-a-regional-comparison.pdf
• Council for Responsible Nutrition, 2024 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements (75% usage; 91% essential; generational and magnesium data): www.crnusa.org/newsroom/crn-survey-shows-consistent-supplement-usage-increase-specialty-product-use-over-time
• CDC / NCHS, Data Brief No. 561, "Dietary Supplement Use: United States, August 2021-August 2023" (60.2%; age and sex breakdowns): www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db561.htm
• Nutrition Business Journal / Nutraceuticals World, U.S. supplement market $69.3 billion (2024): www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/exclusives/the-state-of-supplements-u-s-market-approaches-70-billion