Household expenditure by income group
- rpwills
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
Data released by the Office for National Statistics shows expenditure for UK households on Rent, Mortgage and charges with Council tax/rates, these are part of the Charges total. All in £ per week for the year ending 2024. The lowest income decile is at the top with the highest at the bottom.
Rents are highest for those in the lowest income group, whereas mortgages are highest for those in the highest income group.
Income decile | Rent | Mortgage | Charges | Council tax, domestic rates |
1 | 76.30 | 8.30 | 24.30 | 14.80 |
2 | 62.80 | 6.60 | 29.00 | 19.00 |
3 | 66.40 | 15.40 | 33.40 | 24.20 |
4 | 64.10 | 23.80 | 39.40 | 28.70 |
5 | 68.90 | 34.20 | 40.80 | 30.60 |
6 | 54.40 | 52.50 | 42.60 | 31.90 |
7 | 50.20 | 67.70 | 46.60 | 34.40 |
8 | 53.80 | 97.30 | 48.30 | 36.60 |
9 | 69.90 | 120.50 | 49.50 | 38.30 |
10 | 37.80 | 196.10 | 59.90 | 44.50 |
All | 60.50 | 62.20 | 41.40 | 30.30 |
[ONS, Housing expenditure]
But we need to look at those payments in relation to income. Income figures for the tax year ending 2024 for each income decile are set out below.
Income decile | Equivalised disposable income | |
Weekly | Annual | |
1 | 206.25 | 10725 |
2 | 377.83 | 19647 |
3 | 480.94 | 25009 |
4 | 569.75 | 29627 |
5 | 658.54 | 34244 |
6 | 755.19 | 39270 |
7 | 863.21 | 44887 |
8 | 1003.8 | 52196 |
9 | 1212 | 63025 |
10 | 2080.9 | 108205 |
All | 820.85 | 42684 |
[ONS, Annual income].
Looking at these two data sets together gives up the housing expenditure as a % of income. As expected the figures indicate that those on higher incomes pay a higher share on rent and on charges particularly Council tax. Oddly the share paid on mortgages rises with income, presumably because higher earners have more expensive properties.
Spend as a % of income | ||||
Income decile | Rent | Mortgage | Charges | Council tax, domestic rates |
1 | 37 | 4 | 12 | 7 |
2 | 17 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
3 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 5 |
4 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 5 |
5 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 |
7 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
8 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 4 |
9 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
10 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
All | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
Sources
Office for National Statistics, (September 2025), Housing expenditure by gross income decile group, 2023-24, Table 2.3.
Office for National Statistics, (September 2025), The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income, UK, 2023/24 - Reference Tables, Table 14.
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