- Household money
- Data
UK household spending: what the latest ONS figures do and don't tell you
UK households spent an average of £676.60 a week in the year to March 2025. Where the money went, what changed after inflation, and why the average is not your budget.
At a glance
UK households spent an average of £676.60 a week between April 2024 and March 2025, the ONS's latest figures show. That was 5% more than a year earlier after inflation, but still 10% less than in the year to March 2020. Housing, fuel and power took the largest share, 18%, and transport the next, 14%.
The average hides a wide spread: the richest fifth of households spent £1,083.60 a week and the poorest fifth £407.30. It describes all households together, so it is not a guide to what yours should spend.
Key figures
- £676.60Average weekly household spending. Mean of all UK householdsApril 2024 to March 2025 · Estimate · Source [1]
- 5%Change on the year before, after inflationApril 2024 to March 2025 · Estimate · Source [1]
- £118.40Housing (net), fuel and power. The largest category, net rent and energy among it; mortgage interest and Council Tax are counted elsewhereApril 2024 to March 2025 · Estimate · Source [1]
- £96.40TransportApril 2024 to March 2025 · Estimate · Source [1]
- £1,083.60Richest fifth of households, weekly spending. Households ranked by equivalised disposable incomeApril 2024 to March 2025 · Estimate · Source [1]
- £407.30Poorest fifth of households, weekly spendingApril 2024 to March 2025 · Estimate · Source [1]
What the average household spent
The ONS's average for April 2024 to March 2025 is £676.60 a week. In cash terms that was £53.30 (9%) more than the year before; after inflation, it was £35.10 (5%) more. CPI inflation was 2.6% in the 12 months to March 2025. Even so, spending after inflation was still £75.60 a week (10%) lower than in the year to March 2020.
Expressed as a month, £676.60 a week is about £2,932. That is our conversion (× 52 ÷ 12): the ONS publishes weekly figures.
Where the money went
Housing (net), fuel and power was the biggest category, at £118.40 a week (18% of the total), followed by transport at £96.40 (14%). After inflation, the largest rises on the year were in:
- transport, up £8.10 (9%);
- recreation and culture, up £6.70 (9%);
- housing (net), fuel and power, up £5.60 (5%);
- restaurants and hotels, up £2.80 (6%).
Food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by £3.20 (5%) in cash terms but by only £1.60 (2%) after inflation: most of that rise reflected higher prices, the ONS says.
Two costs are not where you might look for them. Mortgage interest and Council Tax are counted under "other expenditure items", not housing, and mortgage capital repayments are not counted as spending at all.
Cash terms and after inflation
A change in cash terms mixes two things: prices, and what households bought. The ONS gives each change after inflation too, and for some items the two point different ways.
| Item | In cash terms | After inflation |
|---|---|---|
| Net rent | +£7.00 (14%) | +£3.30 (6%) |
| Energy | −£4.60 (−11%) | +£2.20 (7%) |
| Food and non-alcoholic drinks | +£3.20 (5%) | +£1.60 (2%) |
| Mortgage interest | +£3.80 (14%) | Not published |
Energy spending fell in cash terms but rose after inflation, which the ONS links to the lower Ofgem price cap. It calls the rise in mortgage interest consistent with households moving off lower fixed-rate deals. In the ONS's method, a change after inflation reflects what households bought rather than what it cost.
The average hides a wide gap
Ranked by income adjusted for household size, the richest fifth of households spent £1,083.60 a week and the poorest fifth £407.30: 2.7 times as much, up from 2.5 times a year earlier. Poorer households spent a larger share of their budget on housing, fuel and power.
Since the year to March 2023, the ONS says, the poorest fifth's rises after inflation came in net rent, food and energy, largely because prices went up. The richest fifth spent more on things such as second-hand cars and package holidays abroad.
What the figures can't tell you about your budget
- It is an average of everyone. The figure is a mean of all UK households, from single people to large families and from low incomes to high. Yours can sit far from it.
- It is a past year. It covers April 2024 to March 2025. Prices have moved since: the ONS notes the figures miss later rises in fuel prices.
- It counts some costs differently. Mortgage capital repayments are left out, and mortgage interest and Council Tax sit in a separate category.
- It is a survey. About 5,000 households kept two-week spending diaries. Detailed categories are uncertain, and the ONS does not test the changes for significance.
- It is not a recommended budget. What the average household spends would be too much for some households and too little for others.
What this means for you
- Start from your own numbers: what you take home each month and what your fixed bills are. Our take-home pay calculator works out the first.
- If you compare your spending with these figures, a share of the total travels better than a pound figure, though your household's size and income still matter.
- For a full budget, MoneyHelper's free budget planner ↗ goes through the costs most households have. If money is tight, our guide to getting out of debt lists free, confidential help.
See what you take home each month, then set your spending against it.
Sources and method
All figures come from the ONS release Family spending in the UK: April 2024 to March 2025, published on 11 June 2026. It draws on the Living Costs and Food Survey: about 5,000 private households in the UK, each interviewed and keeping a two-week spending diary, spread across the year. The ONS rounds each figure to the nearest 10p, so parts do not always add up to totals.
The averages are means: the total spending of all households divided by the number of households. They describe households of every size and income together, not a typical or recommended household. The ONS does not test changes for statistical significance, and warns that detailed categories rest on small samples.
Cash-terms changes are what households paid at the time. Changes after inflation are the ONS's real-terms figures: each category is adjusted with its own consumer price index, averaged over the year, and 'other expenditure items' (category 13, which holds mortgage interest) with the Retail Prices Index and the all-items CPI. They are expressed in April 2024 to March 2025 prices. We quote the ONS's own interpretation of what real-terms changes suggest, and do no price-and-volume split of our own.
Housing (net), fuel and power includes net rent and energy. Mortgage interest and Council Tax are in 'other expenditure items', and mortgage capital repayments are left out of spending altogether, because the ONS counts them as adding to wealth. Households are ranked into fifths by disposable income adjusted for household size (the modified OECD scale).
The monthly figure is PayCalc's conversion of the ONS weekly average: £676.60 × 52 ÷ 12, rounded to the pound. The ONS publishes weekly figures only.
What the figures don't show: spending since March 2025 (the ONS notes they miss later rises in fuel prices), any one household's needs, or how much a household should spend.
- Office for National Statistics, Family spending in the UK: April 2024 to March 2025 ↗, Sections 1, 2 and 5 (main points, spending by category and income, data sources and quality). Published 11 June 2026. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- MoneyHelper, Budget planner ↗. Accessed 11 October 2026.
This article is general information, not financial advice. Check your own position before you act.