Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2015-18

Household income trends

Chart 19. Median weekly household income growing more slowly

In 2015-18, median household income before housing costs was £499 per week, almost the same as £498 in 2014-17. Median income has increased slowly but steadily since the last recession and has reached its highest level since reporting began.

Median income after housing costs has followed the same trend to median income before household costs. Median income after housing costs was £448 per week in 2015-18, at its highest level since reporting began.

Median incomes have not risen for all age groups: pensioners’ median household income declined, and children’s median household income stalled. This data can be found in the associated tables.

All incomes are quoted in 2017/18 prices.

Chart 20. Higher incomes increasing more than lower incomes

This chart shows how weekly equivalised incomes before housing costs have changed from 2010-13 to 2015-18 across the different income decile points. The two bottom decile points saw small decreases, whereas the 7^th to 9^th decile points saw small increases.

Over the full period shown in the chart, absolute and relative increases were generally larger for those with higher incomes than for those with lower incomes.

After housing costs data is available in the associated tables.

Deciles (or decile points) are the income values which divide the Scottish population, when ranked by income, into ten equal-sized groups. Therefore, nine decile points are needed in order to form the ten groups. Decile is also often used as a shorthand term for decile group; for example ‘the bottom decile’ is used to describe the bottom ten percent of the income distribution.