Household Budget Survey 2022-2023

The CSO released the findings of their latest Household Budget Survey in early August. The HBS is a household survey and its data is used to measure the cost of living in Ireland.

The main reason this survey is conducted is to ensure the Consumer Price Index, the official measure of inflation, continues to be based on up-to-date and accurate household expenditure.

The data revealed that the estimated average weekly expenditure in 2022-2023 for all households in the State was €1,007.47. This is 20.3% higher than the estimated figure for 2015-2016.

Households owned with a mortgage had the highest weekly expenditure in 2022-2023 at €1448.08, apx. double the expenditure of households that rented at €720.74.

However, as a proportion of overall expenditure, rented households spent the highest proportion on Housing at 24.2%, compared with 22.2% for households owned with a mortgage.

Expenditure on Housing includes rent, mortgage, home insurance, local property tax, refuse, maintenance products and services, and capital improvements.

Urban household spent 6.5% more than rural households in 2022-2023 at €1030.26 compared with €967.52 for rural.

Spending on Housing and Fuel & Light account for almost 25% of total household expenditure. The figures showed that the average weekly spend on Fuel & Light was €63.11, this was calculated after the application of electricity account credits. As a proportion of total expenditure, Fuel & Light had the largest increase, going from 4.6% in 2015-2016 to 6.3% in 2022-2023. This was mainly due to the increases in the costs of electricity during this time period.

In summary the proportion of total expenditure on Housing had shown a steady increase from 1980 to 2015-2016. Over this period, the percentage of total expenditure on Housing increased from 7.2% to 19.6% with most of the proportional increase occurring during the period 1999-2000 and 2015-2016. In 2022-2023 the proportion of total expenditure on Housing fell to 18.3%.

See below chart which is an overview of percentage distribution of average weekly expenditure, 2015-2016 and 2022-2023.

Note : The CSO advise exercising caution when interpreting changes in expenditure over time due to some survey changes in the definition of a household.

Source: CSO Ireland