Luxembourg had the highest average monthly salary of employees in the world in 2024 in terms of purchasing power parities (PPP), which takes the average cost of living in a country into account. Belgium followed in second, with the Netherlands in third.

About This Dataset

This dataset is the original 70-city version used in my first published research paper: “A Data-Driven Survey on Cost of Living and Salary Affordability in Indian Cities” (IJRASET, 2025) Link: https://www.ijraset.com/best-journal/a-datadriven-survey-on-cost-of-livingsalary-affordability-in-indian-cities

It was created using web-scraping techniques from LivingCost.org and converted to INR using a consistent USD→INR exchange rate. This dataset forms the foundational base for affordability analysis, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and benchmarking cost-of-living patterns across India.

The dataset includes 70+ Indian cities, with fields covering living cost, rent, salary, affordability ratio (“months covered”), and derived financial indicators. It is clean, structured, and suitable for beginner to intermediate analytics projects.

Why This Dataset?

This dataset is ideal for:

EDA practice for college & school projects

Correlation and regression analysis

Basic ML tasks (predicting salary, affordability, rent, etc.)

Urban economics mini-projects

Dashboard creation (PowerBI, Tableau)

Data cleaning and preprocessing assignments

It is designed to be simple enough for students but structured enough for real-world analysis.

Features Included

Each row represents a city/state-level affordability profile with:

Cost of living (USD & INR)

Rent for a single person (USD & INR)

Monthly after-tax salary (USD & INR)

Income after rent

“Months Covered” affordability ratio

Source URLs for verification

Exchange rate used

This makes the dataset both transparent and reliable for academic usage.

Data Quality

Web-scraped directly from LivingCost.org

Cleaned and standardized

Currency converted uniformly

Non-city entries flagged

Fully reproducible from the source

This dataset served as the master input for my peer-reviewed paper and has been validated through statistical analysis.

Intended Audience

Students (school, undergraduate, postgraduate)

Data science beginners

Educators needing real datasets for teaching

Analysts looking for quick EDA practice

Researchers exploring affordability or urban economics

Note

A more comprehensive 200+ city enhanced dataset (used in my second paper) will be uploaded soon, including ICT metrics, GDP, and extended affordability indicators.

Table showing the country rankings based in the different metrics analysed

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

The US Family Budget Dataset provides insights into the cost of living in different US counties based on the Family Budget Calculator by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

This dataset offers community-specific estimates for ten family types, including one or two adults with zero to four children, in all 1877 counties and metro areas across the United States.

Interesting Task Ideas:

1. See how family budgets compare to the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure in different counties.
2. Look into the money challenges faced by different types of families using the budgets provided.
3. Find out which counties have the most affordable places to live, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and other things people need.
4. Explore how the average income of families relates to the overall cost of living in different counties.
5. Investigate how family size affects the estimated budget and find counties where bigger families have higher costs.
6. Create visuals showing how the cost of living varies across different states and big cities.
7. Check whether specific counties are affordable for families of different sizes and types.
8. Use the dataset to compare living standards and economic security in different US counties.

If you find this dataset valuable, don't forget to hit the upvote button! 😊💝

Checkout my other datasets

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Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash

In 2024, the median household income in the United States was 83,730 U.S. dollars. This reflected an increase from the previous year. Household income The median household income depicts the income of households, including the income of the householder and all other individuals aged 15 years or over living in the household. Income includes wages and salaries, unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support payments received, regular rental receipts, as well as any personal business, investment, or other kinds of income received routinely. The median household income in the United States varied from state to state. In 2024, Massachusetts recorded the highest median household income in the country, at 113,900 U.S. dollars. On the other hand, Mississippi, recorded the lowest, at 55,980 U.S. dollars.Household income is also used to determine the poverty rate in the United States. In 2024, 10.6 percent of the U.S. population was living below the national poverty line. This was the lowest level since 2019. Similarly, the child poverty rate, which represents people under the age of 18 living in poverty, reached a three-decade low of 14.3 percent of the children. The state with the widest gap between the rich and the poor was New York, with a Gini coefficient score of 0.52 in 2024. The Gini coefficient is calculated by looking at average income rates. A score of zero would reflect perfect income equality, while a score of one indicates complete inequality.

Key information about Hong Kong SAR (China) Monthly Earnings

• Hong Kong SAR (China) Monthly Earnings stood at 2,485 USD in Jun 2025, compared with the previous figure of 2,457 USD in Mar 2025
• Hong Kong SAR (China) Monthly Earnings data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1999 to Jun 2025, with an average number of 1,676 USD
• The data reached the an all-time high of 2,485 USD in Jun 2025 and a record low of 1,331 USD in Mar 2005

CEIC converts Monthly Earnings into USD. Census and Statistics Department provides Monthly Average Wage Rate in local currency. Federal Reserve Board average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Monthly Earnings cover the basic wages/salaries (including paid holidays and leave), commission and tips (tips received directly from customers are excluded), shift allowance, cost-of-living allowance, meal allowance and meal benefits, good attendance bonus, guaranteed year-end bonus, and other regular and guaranteed bonuses and allowances. Monthly Earnings prior to March 2009 are calculated from comparable discontinued series.


Further information about Hong Kong SAR (China) Monthly Earnings

• In the latest reports, Hong Kong SAR (China) Population reached 8 million people in Dec 2024
• Unemployment Rate of Hong Kong SAR (China) dropped to 4 % in Oct 2025
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate dropped to 57 % in Oct 2025

Average hourly and weekly wage rate, and median hourly and weekly wage rate by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), type of work, gender, and age group.

The house price to income index in Europe declined in 13 of the 28 European countries in 2024, indicating that income grew faster than house prices. Portugal had the highest house price to income index ranking, with values exceeding ***** index points. Romania and Finland were on the other side of the spectrum, with less than 100 index points. The house price to income ratio is an indicator for the development of housing affordability across OECD countries and is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 chosen as a base year. A ratio higher than 100 means that the nominal house price growth since 2015 has outpaced the nominal disposable income growth, and housing is therefore comparatively less affordable. In 2024, the OECD average stood at ***** index points.

As of September 2025, Mumbai had the highest cost of living among other cities in the country, with an index value of ****. Gurgaon, a satellite city of Delhi and part of the National Capital Region (NCR) followed it with an index value of ****.  What is cost of living? The cost of living varies depending on geographical regions and factors that affect the cost of living in an area include housing, food, utilities, clothing, childcare, and fuel among others. The cost of living is calculated based on different measures such as the consumer price index (CPI), living cost indexes, and wage price index. CPI refers to the change in the value of consumer goods and services. The wage price index, on the other hand, measures the change in labor services prices due to market pressures. Lastly, the living cost indexes calculate the impact of changing costs on different households. The relationship between wages and costs determines affordability and shifts in the cost of living. Mumbai tops the list Mumbai usually tops the list of most expensive cities in India. As the financial and entertainment hub of the country, Mumbai offers wide opportunities and attracts talent from all over the country. It is the second-largest city in India and has one of the most expensive real estates in the world.

Electricians working in Scotland had the best pay relative to the local cost of living among regions of Great Britain in 2020, with London and the South East having the worst pay to cost of living ratios.

Abstract

The Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (CSES) asks questions to a country wide sample of households and household members about housing conditions, education, economic activities, household production and income, household level and structure of consumption, health, victimization, etc. There are also questions related to people in the labour force, e.g. labour force participation.

Poverty reduction is a major commitment by the Royal Government of Cambodia. Accurate statistical information about the living standards of the population and the extent of poverty is an essential instrument to assist the Government in diagnosing the problems, in designing effective policies for reducing poverty and in monitoring and evaluating the progress of poverty reduction. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) has been adopted by the Royal Government of Cambodia and a National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) has been developed. The MDGs are also incorporated into the “Rectangular Strategy of Cambodia”.

Cambodia is still a predominantly rural and agricultural society. The vast majority of the population get their subsistence in households as self-employed in agriculture. The level of living is determined by the household's command over labour and resources for own-production in terms of land and livestock for agricultural activities, equipments and tools for fishing, forestry and construction activities and income-earning activities in the informal and formal sector. The CSES aims to estimate household income and consumption/expenditure as well as a number of other household and individual characteristics.

The main objective of the survey is to collect statistical information about living conditions of the Cambodian population and the extent of poverty. The survey can be used for identifying problems and making decisions based on statistical data.

The main user is the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) as the survey supports monitoring the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) by different socio-economic indicators. Other users are university researchers, analysts, international organizations e.g. the World Bank and NGO’s. The World Bank has published a report on poverty profile and social indicators using CSES 2007 data . In this regard, the CSES continues to serve all stakeholders involved as essential instruments in order to assist in diagnosing the problems and designing their most effective policies. The CSES micro data at NIS is available for research and analysis by external researchers after approval by Senior Minister of Planning. The interesting research questions that could be put to the data are many; NIS welcomes new research based on CSES data.

General Objectives: CSES 2012 will continue the work started through CSES 2004 and the annual CSES 2007 and 2008 and would primarily aim at producing information needed for planning and policy making for reduction of poverty in Cambodia. Reduction of poverty has been given high priority in Cambodia's National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP 2009-2013). In addition to this, the survey data help in various other ways in developmental planning and policy making in the country. They would also prove useful for the production of National Accounts in Cambodia.

A long-term objective of the entire project is to build national capability in NIS for conducting socio-economic surveys and for utilizing survey data for planning for national development and social welfare.

Specific Objectives:

Among specific objectives, the following deserve special mention: 1) Obtain data on infrastructural facilities in villages, especially facilities for schooling and health care and associated problems. 2) Obtain data on retail prices of selected food, non-food and medicine items prevailing in the villages. 3) Collect data on utilization of education, housing and land ownership 4) Collect data on household assets and outstanding loans. 5) Collect data on household's construction activities. 6) Collect information on maternal health, child health/care. 7) Collect information on health care seeking and expenditure of the household members related to illness, injury and disability. 8) Collect information on economic activities including the economic activities for children aged between 5 and 17 years. 9) Collect information on victimization by the household 10) Collect information on the presence of the household members.

Geographic coverage

National Phnom Penh / Other Urban / Other Rural

Analysis unit

• Households
• Individuals

Universe

All resident households in Cambodia

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sampling design in the CSES 2012 survey is a three-stage design. In stage one a sample of villages is selected, in stage two an Enumeration Area (EA) is selected from each village selected in stage one, and in stage three a sample of households is selected from each EA selected in stage two.

Stage 1: A random sample of PSUs was selected from each stratum. The sampling method was systematic PPS (PPS=sampling with probability proportional to size). The size measure used was the number of households in the PSU according to the sampling frame.

Stage 2: One EA was selected by Simple Random Sampling (SRS), in each village selected in stage 1.

Stage 3: In each selected EA a sample of 10 households was selected. The selection of households was done in the field by the supervisors/interviewers. All households in selected EAs were listed by the enumerator. The sample of households was then selected from the list by systematic sampling with a random start (the start value controlled by NIS).

For the details of sample selection please refer to the document "Process Description: Design and Select the Sample for CSES 2012"

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Three different questionnaires or forms were used in the survey:

Form 1: Household listing sheets to be used in the sampling procedure in the enumeration areas.

Form 2: Village questionnaire answered by the village leader about economy and infrastructure, crop production, health, education, retail prices and sales prices of agriculture, employment and wages, and recruitment of children for work outside the village.

Form 3: Household questionnaire with questions for each household member, including modules on migration, education and literacy, housing conditions, crop production, household liabilities, durable goods, construction activities, nutrition, fertility and child care, child feeding and vaccination, health of children, mortality, current economic activity, health and illness, smoking, HIV/AIDS awareness, and victimization.

The interviewer is responsible for filling up Form 1 and Form 3 to respondents. For Form 2, the supervisors will be asked to canvass this form. In case that the supervisors are absent for any reason, the interviewers may be also asked to help fill up this form (Form 2).

Cleaning operations

The NIS team commenced their work of checking and coding and coding in begining of February after the first month of fieldwork was completed. Supervisors from the field delivered questionaires to NIS. Sida project expert and NIS Survey Manager helped in solving relevant matters that become apparent when reviewing questionires on delivery.

Response rate

The CSES 2012 enjoyed almost a 100 percent response rate. The high response rate together with close and systematic fieldwork supervision by the core group members were a major contribution for achieving high quality survey results.

Sampling error estimates

In order to provide a basis for assessing the reliability or precision of CSES estimates, the estimation of the magnitude of sampling error in the survey data were computed. Since most of the estimates from the survey are in the form of weighted ratios, thus variances for ratio estimates are computed.

The Coefficients of Variation (CV) on national level estimates are generally below 4 percent. The exception is the CV for total value of assets where there are rather high CVs especially in the urban areas, which should be expected.

The CVs are somewhat higher in the urban and rural domains but still generally below 7 percent. For the five zones, the average CVs are in the range 5 to 13 percent with a few exceptions where the CVs are above 20 percent. For provinces the CVs for food consumption are 9 percent on average.

The sample take within Primary Sampling Units (PSU) was set to 10 households per PSU in the CSES 1999. When data on variances became available, it was possible to make crude calculations of the optimal sample take within PSU. Calculations on some of the central estimates in the CSES 1999 show that the design effects in most cases are in the range 1 to 5.

Intra-cluster correlation coefficients have been calculated based on the design effects. These correlation coefficients are somewhat high. The reason is that the characteristics that are measured tend to be concentrated (clustered) within the PSUs. The optimal sample size within PSUs under different assumptions on cost ratios and intra-cluster correlation coefficients was then calculated. The cost ratio is the average cost for adding a village to the sample divided by the average cost of including an extra household in the sample. In the CSES, it was chosen to adopt a fairly low cost ratio due to the fact that the interview time per household is long. Under this assumption the optimal sample size is probably around 10 households per village for many of the CSES indicators.

In April 2026, the UK minimum wage for adults over the age of 21 will be 12.71 pounds per hour. For the 2026/27 financial year, there are four minimum wage categories, three of which are based on age and one for apprentice workers. Apprentices, and workers under the age of 18 will have a minimum wage of eight pounds an hour, increasing to 10.85 pounds for those aged 18 to 20. When the minimum wage was first introduced in 1999, there were just two age categories; 18 to 21, and 22 and over. This increased to three categories in 2004, four in 2010, and five between 2016 and 2023, before being reduced down to four in the most recent year. The living wage The living wage is an alternative minimum wage amount that employers in the UK can voluntarily pay their employees. It is calculated independently of the legal minimum wage and results in a higher value figure. In 2023/24, for example, the living wage was twelve pounds an hour for the UK as a whole and 13.15 for workers in London, where the cost of living is typically higher. This living wage is different from what the UK government has named the national living wage, which was 10.42 in the same financial year. Between 2011/12 and 2023/24, the living wage has increased by 4.80 pounds, while the London living wage has grown by 4.85 pounds. Wage growth cancelled-out by high inflation 2021-2023 For a long period between the middle of 2021 and late 2023, average wage growth in the UK was unable to keep up with record inflation levels, resulting in the biggest fall in disposable income since 1956. Although the UK government attempted to mitigate the impact of falling living standards through a series of cost of living payments, the situation has still been very difficult for households. After peaking at 11.1 percent in October 2022, the UK's inflation rate remained in double figures until March 2023, and did not fall to the preferred rate of two percent until May 2024. As of November 2024, regular weekly pay in the UK was growing by 5.6 percent in nominal terms, and 2.5 percent when adjusted for inflation.

In March 2025, inflation amounted to 2.4 percent, while wages grew by 4.3 percent. The inflation rate has not exceeded the rate of wage growth since January 2023. Inflation in 2022 The high rates of inflation in 2022 meant that the real terms value of American wages took a hit. Many Americans report feelings of concern over the economy and a worsening of their financial situation. The inflation situation in the United States is one that was experienced globally in 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related supply chain constraints and disruption due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The monthly inflation rate for the U.S. reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1 percent, and annual inflation for 2022 reached eight percent. Without appropriate wage increases, Americans will continue to see a decline in their purchasing power. Wages in the U.S. Despite the level of wage growth reaching 6.7 percent in the summer of 2022, it has not been enough to curb the impact of even higher inflation rates. The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States has not increased since 2009, meaning that individuals working minimum wage jobs have taken a real terms pay cut for the last twelve years. There are discrepancies between states - the minimum wage in California can be as high as 15.50 U.S. dollars per hour, while a business in Oklahoma may be as low as two U.S. dollars per hour. However, even the higher wage rates in states like California and Washington may be lacking - one analysis found that if minimum wage had kept up with productivity, the minimum hourly wage in the U.S. should have been 22.88 dollars per hour in 2021. Additionally, the impact of decreased purchasing power due to inflation will impact different parts of society in different ways with stark contrast in average wages due to both gender and race.

As of 2022, Seychelles was the African country with the highest estimated minimum gross monthly wage, standing at ****** U.S. dollars. It was followed by Morocco at ****** U.S. dollars and South Africa ****** U.S. dollars. Among the selected nations, only **** countries had a minimum wage above *** U.S. dollars on the continent. Minimum wage adjustments Legislations regarding minimum wages vary significantly across countries. The minimum remuneration of employees is usually proportionate to a specific area's cost of living. Determining a minimum wage aims to increase employees' living conditions while reducing poverty and inequality. Due to rising prices and inflation, governments occasionally adjust the minimum salary. In Africa, Sierra Leone experienced the highest increase in the minimum wage in recent years, with a growth of almost ** percent between 2010 and 2019. However, governments can also lower minimum wages. Liberia and Burundi reduced the lowest possible remuneration by around ** percent and ***** percent, respectively, between 2010 and 2019. Widespread informal employment Despite legislation in force, minimum wages are not always guaranteed. In fact, several forms of employment allow employers to avoid paying minimum wages. In addition, undeclared work remains a common practice in many countries worldwide. The situation is particularly critical in some African countries. According to estimates, over ** percent of the working population in Niger, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, and Madagascar engaged in informal employment between 2019 and 2023. In Egypt and South Africa, the share stood at ** percent and ** percent, respectively. Seychelles had the lowest rate on the continent at around ** percent.

Senior housing communities classed as active adult had the lowest expense ratio in the United States in the first half of 2025. During this period, the expense ratio of this asset class was ** percent, meaning that the operational expenses amounted to ** percent of the income brought in by the property. For facilities with majority nursing care, this percentage was the highest at ** percent.

In 2023, Malaysian employees between the ages of 40 and 44 years old earned the highest average monthly salary, at ***** Malaysian ringgit. With a retirement age of just 60 years old, Malaysian workers could look forward to earning more monthly average wage starting from around 40 years old. Economic outlook Malaysia is one of the biggest and strongest economies of South-East Asia, with a relatively low unemployment rate. The average monthly salary steadily increased from ***** Malaysian ringgit in 2014 to ***** Malaysian ringgit in 2023. Employees with a university degree could expect to earn almost twice as much. Can wages keep up with the cost of living? However, when seen in the context of rising living costs, wages in Malaysia have not been able to keep up. Despite having a relatively low inflation rate, prices have still gone up. Malaysians spent more than ** percent of their income on housing and food. In May 2022, the Malaysian government increased the minimum wage to 1,500 Malaysian ringgit monthly, or 7.21 Malaysian ringgit hourly, in the hopes of easing the financial burdens of its citizens.

In 2025, the average annual full-time earnings for the top ten percent of earners in the United Kingdom was more than 76,900 British pounds, compared with 23,990 for the bottom ten percent of earners. As of this year, the average annual earnings for all full-time employees was over 39,000 pounds, up from 37,400 pounds in the previous year. Strong wage growth continues in 2025 As of February 2025, wages in the UK were growing by approximately 5.9 percent compared with the previous year, with this falling to 5.6 percent if bonus pay is included. When adjusted for inflation, regular pay without bonuses grew by 2.1 percent, with overall pay including bonus pay rising by 1.9 percent. While UK wages have now outpaced inflation for almost two years, there was a long period between 2021 and 2023 when high inflation in the UK was rising faster than wages, one of the leading reasons behind a severe cost of living crisis at the time. UK's gender pay gap falls in 2024 For several years, the difference between average hourly earnings for men and women has been falling, with the UK's gender pay gap dropping to 13.1 percent in 2024, down from 27.5 percent in 1997. When examined by specific industry sectors, however, the discrepancy between male and female earnings can be much starker. In the financial services sector, for example, the gender pay gap was almost 30 percent, with professional, scientific and technical professions also having a relatively high gender pay gap rate of 20 percent.

New Zealand has one of the highest house price-to-income ratios in the world; nonetheless, since the first quarter of 2022, the country's house price-to-income ratio started to trend downward. In the first quarter of 2025, the ratio was *****, a decrease from the same quarter of the previous year. This ratio was calculated by dividing nominal house prices by nominal disposable income per head, and is considered a measure of affordability. Homeownership dream New Zealand has been in what is widely considered a housing bubble. The disproportionately large increases in residential house prices have placed the dream of owning their own home out of reach for many in the country. In 2025, around ** percent of residential properties were sold for over a million New Zealand dollars. The majority of mortgage lending in the country went to owner-occupiers where the property was not their first home, with first-home buyers often struggling to secure a loan. In general, only New Zealand residents and citizens can buy homes in the country to live in, with new regulations tightening investment activity in that market. Rent affordability Due to New Zealand's high property prices, many individuals and families are stuck renting for prolonged periods. However, with rent prices increasing across the country and the share of monthly income spent on rent trending upwards in tandem with a highly competitive rental market, renting is becoming a less appealing prospect for many. The Auckland and Bay of Plenty regions had the highest weekly rent prices across the country as of December 2024, with the Southland region recording the lowest rent prices per week.

From April 2026 onwards, the UK's main national minimum wage category, the national living wage, will rise to ***** pounds per hour, up from ***** pounds per hour in the previous financial year. This amount will apply to workers aged 21 and over, compared with 2022 and 2023 when it was only for workers aged 23 and over, and for those aged 25 and over between 2016 and 2021. The main minimum wage from 2010 to 2015 was the 21+ rate, and 22+ rate between 1999 and 2009. Evolution of the minimum wage Since its introduction in 1999, the minimum wage has had various rate categories, usually based on age. For the first five years, there were two categories, one for workers 18 to 21, and another for workers aged 22 and over. In 2004, a minimum wage for under 18s was introduced, and between 2010 and 2015 there were three rates based on age, and one for apprenticeships. Another age based-rate was added in 2016, but from 2024 onwards, the model will revert to four rate categories overall. In addition to the legal minimum wage, there is also a voluntary real living wage, which for 2024/25 is **** pounds per hour, rising to ***** pounds per hour for workers in London. Wages continue to outpace inflation in 2024 Since July 2023, wages have grown faster than inflation in the UK with December 2024 seeing regular weekly earnings grow by *** percent, compared with the CPI inflation rate of *** percent that month. For almost two years between November 2021 and June 2023, wage growth struggled to keep up with inflation, with the biggest gap occurring in October 2022 when inflation peaked at **** percent. The fall in real earnings in one of the most important factors in the UK's ongoing cost of living crisis. At the height of the crisis, around ** percent of UK households were reporting a monthly increase in their cost of living, with this falling to ** percent by March 2024.