The purpose of this study was to compare the housing expenditure patterns of elderly and non-elderly households. The raw data from the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure 1996were used for this study. The final sample was 12,007 households. Generally, elderly households tended to spend less on housing expenditure than non-elderly ones. Also the effects of the household characteristics on housing expenditure were significantly different between elderly and non-elderly house holds. the household characteristics significantly effected on housing expenditure of both two house holds were household income, household size, and location of the residence. Occupation, duction, and sex of the head were household characteristics which had more influences on housing expenditure of elderly households.