People in Great Britain's experiences of and actions following increases in their costs of living, and how these differed by a range of personal characteristics.

In 2023/24 households in the United Kingdom spent approximately 113.3 British pounds a week on housing, fuel & power, making it the category which the average household spent the most on in that year, with transport being the second-highest spending category at 88.2 pounds a week.

Detailed cost of living comparison between United Kingdom and United States

Information about sample sizes, response rates, household characteristics, and expenditure uncertainty metrics for the Living Costs and Food Survey.

Real household disposable income per person in the United Kingdom is expected to grow by 2.6 percent in 2024/25, with disposable income growth slowing from that point onwards. In 2022/23, disposable income fell by two percent, after falling by 0.1 percent in 2021/22, and 0.3 percent in 2020/21.

In October 2025, 63 percent of households in Great Britain reported that their cost of living had increased in the previous month, compared with 72 percent in April. Although the share of people reporting a cost of living increase has generally been falling since August 2022, when 91 percent of households reported an increase, the most recent figures indicate that the Cost of Living Crisis is still ongoing for many households in the UK. Crisis ligers even as inflation falls Although various factors have been driving the Cost of Living Crisis in Britain, high inflation has undoubtedly been one of the main factors. After several years of relatively low inflation, the CPI inflation rate shot up from 2021 onwards, hitting a high of 11.1 percent in October 2022. In the months since that peak, inflation has fallen to more usual levels, and was 2.5 percent in December 2024, slightly up from 1.7 percent in September. Since June 2023, wages have also started to grow at a faster rate than inflation, albeit after a long period where average wages were falling relative to overall price increases. Economy continues to be the main issue for voters Ahead of the last UK general election, the economy was consistently selected as the main issue for voters for several months. Although the Conservative Party was seen by voters as the best party for handling the economy before October 2022, this perception collapsed following the market's reaction to Liz Truss' mini-budget. Even after changing their leader from Truss to Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives continued to fall in the polls, and would go onto lose the election decisively. Since the election, the economy remains the most important issue in the UK, although it was only slightly ahead of immigration and health as of January 2025.

Analysis of the proportion of the British adult population experiencing some form of depression in autumn 2022, including experiences of changes in cost of living and household finances. Analysis based on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

Detailed cost of living comparison between United Kingdom and Us Virgin Islands

Living expenses and utilities

Experimental statistics from the Student Cost of Living Insights Study (SCoLIS) in England. Includes information on the behaviours, plans, opinions and well-being of higher education students in the context of the increases in cost of living.

In July 2025, 95 percent of households in Great Britain that reported a cost of living increase in the previous month advised that that their food bills had increased, with 57 percent reporting increased gas or electricity bills.

Detailed cost of living comparison between Canada and United Kingdom

Detailed cost of living comparison between United Kingdom and Anguilla

The FCA presents the findings from a survey undertaken in January 2024 to understand the financial impact of the increased cost of living on adults across the UK. Key findings include: Since January 2023 there has been an improvement in the number of people finding it hard to manage the higher costs of living, although challenges remain for some groups. The cost of living continues to have an impact on the financial lives of some adults in the UK. In January 2024: 7.4m (14%) felt heavily burdened by their domestic bills and credit commitments 5.5m (11%) had missed any of these bills in the previous 6 months 14.6m (28%) were not coping financially or finding it difficult to cope 5.9m (11%) had no disposable income

Detailed cost of living comparison between United Kingdom and Montserrat