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.
Income decile
One of ten equally sized groups formed by putting people or households in order of income.
What it means
Sort a group from lowest income to highest and split it into ten equal parts. Each part is an income decile: the first is the lowest-income tenth, the tenth the highest-income tenth. In many UK reports, people are ranked using the income of their household, adjusted for its size. Check whether a chart groups people or households and which income measure it uses.
Example
With 100 households, the ten with the lowest incomes are in the first decile and the ten with the highest are in the tenth. The figures at the edges of those groups are income cut-offs, not the amount everyone in the group receives.
Why it matters
Deciles show how an income change or a policy affects different parts of the population, rather than only the overall average.
Also known as
income tenth
Related terms
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Equivalised income
Household income adjusted so that households of different sizes can be compared more fairly.
Read more -
Gini coefficient
A single number showing how unevenly income or wealth is spread across a group.
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
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News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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