Households’ Income and Consumption Expenditure in the First Three Quarters of 2026

2026-10-20 10:00 Print| Large| Medium| Small

I. Households’ Income

In the first three quarters of 2026, the nationwide per capita disposable income was 34,230 yuan, a nominal increase of 5.3% over the same period of the previous year, and a real increase of 4.4% after adjusting for price factors. In terms of urban and rural areas, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 44,945 yuan, an increase of 4.5% (unless otherwise specified, all growth rates mentioned are year-on-year nominal growth rates), and a real increase of 3.6% after adjusting for price factors; the per capita disposable income of rural residents was 18,809 yuan, an increase of 6.3%, and a real increase of 5.6% after adjusting for price factors.

By source of income, in the first three quarters of the year, the per capita income from wages and salaries of residents nationwide was 19,653 yuan, an increase of 5.3%, accounting for 57.4% of the per capita disposable income; the per capita net business income was 5,542 yuan, an increase of 6.6%, accounting for 16.2% of the per capita disposable income; the per capita net income from properties was 2,671 yuan, an increase of 1.6%, accounting for 7.8% of the per capita disposable income; the per capita net income from transfer was 6,364 yuan, an increase of 5.7%, accounting for 18.6% of the per capita disposable income.

In the first three quarters of 2026, the median of the nationwide per capita disposable income was 28,388 yuan, an increase of 4.6%, and the median was 82.9% of the average. Among them, the median of the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 39,728 yuan, an increase of 3.9%, and the median was 88.4% of the average; the median of the per capita disposable income of rural residents was 15,895 yuan, an increase of 5.7%, and the median was 84.5% of the average.

Figure 1 Per Capita Disposable Income of Residents Nationwide and of Urban and Rural Areas in the First Three Quarters of 2026

II. Consumption Expenditure of Households

In the first three quarters of 2026, the nationwide per capita consumption expenditure was 22,354 yuan, a nominal increase of 3.6% over the same period of the previous year, and a real increase of 2.7% after adjusting for price factors. In terms of urban and rural areas, the per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents was 27,312 yuan, an increase of 3.0%, and a real increase of 2.1% after adjusting for price factors; the per capita consumption expenditure of rural residents was 15,218 yuan, an increase of 4.3%, and a real increase of 3.5% after adjusting for price factors.

In the first three quarters of 2026, the nationwide per capita consumption expenditure on food, tobacco and liquor was 6,643 yuan, an increase of 4.5%, accounting for 29.7% of the per capita consumption expenditure; the per capita consumption expenditure on clothing was 1,172 yuan, an increase of 4.1%, accounting for 5.2% of the per capita consumption expenditure; the per capita consumption expenditure on residence was 4,753 yuan, an increase of 1.9%, accounting for 21.3% of the per capita consumption expenditure; the per capita consumption expenditure on household facilities, articles and services was 1,281 yuan, an increase of 4.7%, accounting for 5.7% of the per capita consumption expenditure; the per capita consumption expenditure on transportation and telecommunication was 3,190 yuan, an increase of 2.8%, accounting for 14.3% of per capita consumption expenditure; the per capita consumption expenditure on education, culture and recreation was 2,647 yuan, an increase of 4.6%, accounting for 11.8% of the per capita consumption expenditure; the per capita consumption expenditure on health care and medical services was 1,974 yuan, an increase of 2.3%, accounting for 8.8% of the per capita consumption expenditure; the per capita consumption expenditure on miscellaneous goods and services was 694 yuan, an increase of 8.7%, accounting for 3.1% of the per capita consumption expenditure.

Figure 2 Per Capita Consumption Expenditure and Composition in the First Three Quarters of 2026

Table 1 Nationwide Income and Consumption Expenditure in the First Three Quarters of 2026

Item	Absolute Value (yuan)	Growth Rate Y/Y (%) (Real Increase in Brackets)
(I) Nationwide Per Capita Disposable Income	34230	5.3 (4.4)
Grouped by permanent residence
Urban residents	44945	4.5 (3.6)
Rural residents	18809	6.3 (5.6)
Grouped by income source
Income from wages and salaries	19653	5.3
Net business income	5542	6.6
Net income from properties	2671	1.6
Net income from transfer	6364	5.7
(II) Median of Nationwide Per Capita Disposable Income	28388	4.6
Grouped by permanent residence
Urban residents	39728	3.9
Rural residents	15895	5.7
(III) Nationwide Per Capita Consumption Expenditure	22354	3.6 (2.7)
Grouped by permanent residence
Urban residents	27312	3.0 (2.1)
Rural residents	15218	4.3 (3.5)
Grouped by consumption category
Food, tobacco and liquor	6643	4.5
Clothing	1172	4.1
Residence	4753	1.9
Household facilities, articles and services	1281	4.7
Transportation and telecommunication	3190	2.8
Education, culture and recreation	2647	4.6
Health care and medical services	1974	2.3
Miscellaneous goods and services	694	8.7
Notes: 1. Nominal growth rate of per capita disposable income of residents = (per capita disposable income of residents in the reporting period / per capita disposable income of residents in the base period - 1) * 100%; real growth rate of per capita disposable income of residents = (per capita disposable income of residents in the reporting period / per capita disposable income of residents in the base period / consumer price index of residents in the reporting period * 100 - 1) * 100%. 2. The data on nationwide per capita income and consumption expenditure are derived from a sampling survey of 160 thousand households across the country, and are weighted and summarized based on the number of households represented by each sample household. Influenced by urbanization, population migration and other factors, the composition of the population has changed over time by urban-rural area and by region, which sometimes leads to the phenomenon that the growth rate of some income and consumption expenditure items nationwide exceeds the growth range of corresponding income and consumption expenditure items of urban and rural residents. Especially in the process of urbanization, a segment of the rural population with relatively high incomes moves to urban areas, but they often belong to lower-income groups in urban settings. Their migration exerts a downward effect on the income and consumption expenditure of both urban and rural residents. Nonetheless, whether in urban or rural areas, the growth effect of this segment is reflected in the overall income and expenditure growth of residents nationwide. 3. In the column of year-on-year growth rates, the data in brackets refer to real growth rates, while the rest refer to nominal growth rates. 4. The average and median income are statistics reflecting the trend of residents’ income concentration. The average not only directly reflects the overall situation, but also reflects the overall structure, which is convenient for the comparison of income levels of different groups. However, the measure is vulnerable to the influence of extreme values. The median reflects the income of the surveyed household at the midpoint of the distribution, which is relatively stable and free from the influence of extreme values. However, it cannot reflect the overall structure.

Table 2 Income and Consumption Expenditure of Urban and Rural Residents in the First Three Quarters of 2026

Item	Absolute Value (yuan)	Nominal Growth Rate Y/Y (%)
(I) Per Capita Disposable Income of Urban Residents	44945	4.5
Grouped by income source
Income from wages and salaries	27254	4.7
Net business income	5647	6.5
Net income from properties	4176	0.5
Net income from transfer	7868	4.9
(II) Per Capita Consumption Expenditure of Urban Residents	27312	3.0
Grouped by consumption category
Food, tobacco and liquor	7932	3.8
Clothing	1453	3.3
Residence	6032	1.0
Household facilities, articles and services	1548	4.1
Transportation and telecommunication	3860	2.1
Education, culture and recreation	3303	4.4
Health care and medical services	2244	2.5
Miscellaneous goods and services	940	8.1
(III) Per Capita Disposable Income of Rural Residents	18809	6.3
Grouped by income source
Income from wages and salaries	8713	5.9
Net business income	5392	6.6
Net income from properties	504	7.6
Net income from transfer	4200	6.7
(IV) Per Capita Consumption Expenditure of Rural Residents	15218	4.3
Grouped by consumption category
Food, tobacco and liquor	4788	5.3
Clothing	768	5.4
Residence	2912	3.5
Household facilities, articles and services	896	5.3
Transportation and telecommunication	2225	3.7
Education, culture and recreation	1702	3.9
Health care and medical services	1586	1.6
Miscellaneous goods and services	341	8.9

Annotations:

1. Notes on Indicators

Disposable income of residents refers to the sum of final consumption expenditure and savings that residents can use, that is, the income that residents can use for free disposal, including both cash income and physical income. According to the source of income, disposable income includes income from wages and salaries, net business income, net income from properties and net income from transfer.

Consumption expenditure of residents refers to all the expenditure that residents use to meet their daily needs, including both cash and physical consumption. Consumption expenditure includes eight categories: food, tobacco and liquor, clothing, residence, household facilities, articles and services, transportation and telecommunication, education, culture and recreation, health care and medical services, and miscellaneous goods and services.

The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income refers to the per capita disposable income of residents that lies at the midpoint of all surveyed households ranked from low to high on the basis of per capita disposable income.

The quarterly income and consumption expenditure data do not cover the income and consumption of the self-produced and self-used parts of residents, which are included in the annual income and consumption expenditure data.

2. Survey Methods

The nationwide, urban and rural residents’ income and consumption expenditure data come from the household income and consumption expenditure and living condition surveys organized and implemented by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS of China), which are released quarterly.

Using a stratified, multi-stage, probability sampling method proportional to the size of the population, the NBS of China randomly selects 160 thousand households in nearly 2,000 counties (cities and districts) from 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) as surveyed households.

According to the unified rules and methods, the directly-affiliated survey teams stationed in localities by the NBS of China organize the surveyed households to keep accounts of data on residents’ income, expenditure, family business operations, production and investment; meanwhile, according to the unified questionnaire, the survey teams collect other information such as household members and the employment status of the labor force, the ownership of housing and durable consumer goods, and the coverage of residents’ basic social and public services. After the completion of data collection, the survey teams at the municipal and county level use unified methods and data processing procedures to code, review and input the original investigation information, and then directly transmit the basic household data to the NBS of China for centralized summary and calculation.

3. Additional Notes

Due to rounding, the sub-items may not add up to the aggregate totals.