The Fixed Basket
The Fixed Basket · Archetypes 10 published

Archetypes

Ten published household profiles, each with its own weight schedule drawn from BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2000 standard tables. Five demographic; five income-quintile. The National Average is the headline citation surface.

Demographic
5
Homeowner, Renter, Working Parent, Retiree, plus National Average
Income quintile
5
lowest, second, middle, fourth, highest
Headline
1
National Average
Weights source
CEX 2000
Tables 1, 3, 5, 7

Demographic archetypes

Derived from BLS CEX 2000 Tables 3 (housing tenure), 5 (consumer unit composition), and 7 (age of reference person). The National Average is the headline citation surface; no archetype is methodologically privileged. Each archetype's weights sum to 1.0.

ArchetypeWhat it representsAnnual rate$ / 2000 dollarAction
National Average Headline
national_average
The headline citation surface. Weighted from BLS CEX 2000 single-table consumer-unit average. 3.55% $0.41 View →
Homeowner
homeowner
Owner-occupied household profile from CEX 2000 Table 3. Owned-shelter operating cost replaces rent. 3.50% $0.41 View →
Renter
renter
Tenant-occupied household profile from CEX 2000 Table 5. Market-rent shelter dominates. 3.66% $0.39 View →
Working Parent
working_parent
Household with own children under 18 from CEX 2000 Table 7. Higher Household Goods share captures childcare implicitly. 3.49% $0.41 View →
Retiree
retiree
Age-65+ reference person profile from CEX 2000 Table 7. Healthcare premium augmentation set to zero (Medicare). 3.33% $0.43 View →

Income-quintile archetypes

Derived from BLS CEX 2000 Table 1 (income before taxes, quintiles of consumer units). Useful for inequality-aware analysis: the lowest income quintile carries a much higher healthcare-premium share than the highest.

ArchetypeWhat it representsAnnual rate$ / 2000 dollarAction
Income — Lowest Quintile
income_lowest_quintile
First income quintile from CEX 2000 Table 1. Higher healthcare premium share. 3.86% $0.37 View →
Income — Second Quintile
income_second_quintile
Second income quintile from CEX 2000 Table 1. 3.68% $0.39 View →
Income — Middle Quintile
income_middle_quintile
Third income quintile from CEX 2000 Table 1. 3.56% $0.40 View →
Income — Fourth Quintile
income_fourth_quintile
Fourth income quintile from CEX 2000 Table 1. 3.47% $0.41 View →
Income — Highest Quintile
income_highest_quintile
Fifth income quintile from CEX 2000 Table 1. Lower healthcare premium share. 3.35% $0.43 View →