Income and employment: household income

Incomes, wealth and financial concerns are inequitably distributed in Scotland

• Weekly incomes in Scotland in 2021-24 (after housing costs) varied from £248 in the poorest percentile of households to £1139 in the richest percentile (Chart 1).
• Wealth is unevenly distributed in Scotland: the wealthiest 2% of households hold 18% of the wealth in Scotland (Wealth in Scotland 2006-2020).  
• In 2023, single parent, single adult and large family households were most likely to report they did not manage well financially (Chart 2). 

Rising living costs make it difficult for households to meet the Minimum Income Standard

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standard (MIS) defines the socially acceptable minimum level of income that different household types would need to participate in society.

The 2024 MIS report notes that “In recent years, household incomes have not kept pace with the increasing cost of living. We have seen people in employment making up an increasing share of the population who lack the income needed to meet their needs.”.

• For out-of-work households, social security payments cover less than a third (28%) of the MIS for a single working-age adult without children, 39% for a couple with two school-aged children and 44% for a lone parent with two school-aged children.
• For pensioner households, the safety net income will meet 94% of single pensioner needs and 87-91% of couple pensioner needs.
• For other groups, couples without children can reach the MIS if both are working full-time on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) . Single adults, couples with children and lone parents fall substantially below the MIS even working full-time on the NMW.

Detailed MIS budgets for different household types and briefing notes on the MIS are also available.

The Scottish Government has published a range of analyses on income and wealth in Scotland, which are available via its Income and Poverty Statistics web pages.