Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Equivalised income
Household income adjusted so that households of different sizes can be compared more fairly.
Key term
What it means
£30,000 must stretch further for a family than for someone living alone. Equivalising income adjusts for the number of adults and children in a household. It also allows for costs people share, such as heating one home, so a four-person household is not simply treated as needing four times as much money. The adjusted figure is a tool for comparing living standards; it is not the amount in anyone's bank account.
Example
Two households each receive £30,000 after tax. One has one adult; the other has two adults and two children. After adjusting for household size, the larger household has a lower equivalised income, even though both receive the same £30,000.
Why it matters
A comparison of household incomes can mislead when it ignores how many people depend on each income. Check whether a published figure has been adjusted this way.
Also known as
equivalised household income
Related terms
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Absolute poverty
Having a household income below a line set using a reference year and then adjusted as prices change.
Read more -
Disposable household income
Money a household receives after direct taxes have been taken off and cash benefits have been added.
Read more -
Income after housing costs
Household income after taking off specified housing costs, including rent or mortgage interest.
Read more -
Income before housing costs
Household income measured before rent and certain other housing costs are taken off.
Read more -
Income decile
One of ten equally sized groups formed by putting people or households in order of income.
Read more -
Income inequality
The gap between people or households in the money they receive.
Read more -
Median household income
The middle household income when households are put in order from lowest income to highest.
Read more -
Relative poverty
Having a household income below a set share of what the middle household receives in the same year.
Read more
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