Median monthly household income rises to S$10,869 in 2023, a real increase of 2.8%

SINGAPORE: Median monthly household income from work in Singapore grew to S$10,869 (US$8,092) last year, from S$10,099 in 2022, rising 2.8 per cent in real terms, after adjusting for inflation.

Accounting for household size, the median monthly income per household member rose from S$3,287 in 2022 to S$3,500 in 2023, a real increase of 1.7 per cent.

These figures were released on Wednesday (Feb 7) in the Key Household Income Trends 2023, a paper by the Singapore Department of Statistics (Singstat).

Over the last five years, from 2018 to 2023, median monthly household income of resident employed households rose 3.1 per cent cumulatively, or 0.6 per cent per year in real terms, said SingStat. By household member, the real increase was 2 per cent per annum.

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While households in most deciles saw increases in their average income per household member in real terms, those in the first, ninth and 10th deciles recorded declines in 2023.

Households in the first decile, or those earning the least, had their incomes drop by 1.7 per cent. On the other end of the spectrum, in the ninth decile, the decline was 0.2 per cent and for the 10th decile, it was 1.9 per cent.

Over time, the average household income from work per household member of resident employed households in the first nine deciles rose 0.7 to 2.5 per cent per annum in real terms between 2018 and 2023. But for households in the top decile, it declined 1.2 per cent per annum.

SingStat noted that some resident employed households in the lowest 10 per cent owned a car, hired a domestic helper, lived in private property or were with a household reference person aged 65 and over.

According to SingStat, the household reference person may refer to the oldest member, the main income earner, the owner-occupier of the house, the person who manages the affairs of the household, or the person who supplied the information pertaining to other members.

The Gini coefficient, which is widely used to measure income inequality, fell in 2023. A Gini coefficient of 1 indicates perfect inequality, and a lower figure indicates less income inequality.

The coefficient fell to 0.433 last year, from 0.437 in 2022, before government transfers and taxes. After adjusting for government transfers and taxes, the Gini coefficient was 0.371.