Every 5 years, the Singapore Government conducts a comprehensive Household Expenditure Survey (HES). The most recent report issued in January 2025 – and was compiled based on household demographic, socio-economic characteristics and ownership statistics in 2023.
The results are used for studies on household expenditure and income, as well as to update the weighting pattern and basket of goods and services for Singapore’s Consumer price Index (CPI).
We read through the Household Expenditure Survey 2023 report to sieve out 6 interesting things we learned.
Read Also: What’s The Median Salary In Singapore (At Every Age, Gender, Education and Race)
#1 The Average Monthly Household Income Was $15,473
Between 2017/18 and 2023, the average monthly household income from all sources grew 4.1% per annum from $12,661 to $15,473.
Source: All charts taken from the Household Expenditure Survey 2023 report
The average monthly household income figures are skewed by the highest income earners in the 81st to 100th percentile – who earned $34,341 per month.
Nevertheless, middle-income earners, in the 41st to 60th percentile, registered the highest real income growth from 2017/18 to 2023 – earning $13,058 per month.
#2 Average Monthly Household Expenditure Rose 2.8% p.a. To $5,931
The average monthly household expenditure rose 2.8% p.a. from $5,163 in 2017/18 to $5,931 in 2023. This was a faster pace the rise in average household expenditure in the previous 5-year period.
The bulk of this expenditure, or 63.2% of it, goes towards Housing and Related Expenditure, Food and Transport.
The report also broke down the average monthly household expenditure into more granular types of spending. We can see that the highest expenses were on Private Road Transport, Insurance and Financial Services, and Housing and Utilities.
#3 Lower-Income Households Saw Expenses Increasing Faster
Interestingly, those in the lower-income households, from the 1st to 60th percentile saw their average monthly household expenses rising faster than higher-income households in the 61st to 100th percentile.
#4 Individuals Received An Annual Average Government Transfer Of $6,317 In 2023
The average annual government transfer received per household member was $6,317 in 2023.
As expected, lower-income earners received more government transfers compared to higher income earners. For the lowest income earners, in the 1st to 20th percentile, nearly half of their household income per member was derived from Government Transfers.
This logically decreased as household income went up. Even the highest income earners, with average annual household income per household member coming in at $154,395, received $2,969 in Government Transfers.
#5 An Average Of 11.9% Of Monthly Household Expenditure Was Spent On Online Purchases
With the popularity of e-commerce, 82% of households made online purchases in 2023, up from just 60% in 2017/19.
Online purchases also accounted for 11.9% of monthly household expenditure compared to just 4.7% in 2017/18.
The average household spent the bulk of their online expenses on transport – of which taxis and private hire cars made up 67.4% of this.
#6 Home Ownership Dropped To 87.9%, While Car Ownership Rose To 36.3%
While home ownership rates in Singapore remained high, at 87.9% in 2023, this was a slight dip from 2017/18 – when home ownership was at 89.1%. In 2012/13, home ownership rate was similarly high at 89.3%.
In contrast, the car ownership rate in Singapore has increased to 36.3% in 2023, from 35.3% in 2017/18. The trend also shows a decline in Motorcycle ownership, to 6.8% in 2023, which has continued to drop since 2012/13.
Looking at the trend of ownership of consumer durables and services, we can also see that Television ownership has been steadily declining with 94.6% of households owning a TV in 2023 compared to 98% in 2012/13. Similarly, Pay TV Subscription rates has also gone down to 40.5% in 2023, from 61.1% in 2012/13.
Alongside the declining trend in Pay TV Subscription, Online Video Streaming Subscription, such as Netflix and Disney+, surged to 41.1% in 2023 compared to 6.9% in 2017/18. This shows a stark shift in consumer preferences.
We’ve obviously only zoomed in on 6 things from the Household Expenditure Survey 2023 report, which is over 160 pages. To get more in-dept information and learn other things that we’ve potentially missed, you should consider reading the report.
The post Lower Home Ownership; Higher Car Ownership, Income Growth Outpaced Expense Growth: 6 Things We Learned From The Household Expenditure Survey 2023 appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
