SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Median market income for households from work and other sources like investment and rent rose in 2025, with figures released on Feb 9 by the Department of Statistics (DOS) including for the first time data on non-employment income.
Among resident households, the median monthly household income grew by 7.7 per cent, from $11,558 in 2024 to $12,446 in 2025 before adjusting for inflation. This is the first time the figure has crossed the S$12,000 (RM37,100) mark.
For the first time, the data on how much people earn also includes non-employment income, such as rental and investment income, and regular payouts from the Central Provident Fund and insurance.
Another change in the Key Household Income Trends 2025 report was the expanded coverage of households. The report now includes households with no employed person, whereas previously it only covered those with at least one employed person.
Including market income, which refers to income from both employment and non-employment sources, allows for “a more comprehensive analysis” of household income trends, the DOS said in a statement.
It said that with Singapore’s ageing population, there is a growing share of households made up of seniors aged 65 and older who are not working, but may have income from other sources, such as rental, investment and allowances from their children who do not live with them.
The median household market income grew in both real and nominal terms in 2025.
It grew by 6.8 per cent in real terms, after adjusting for inflation. Nominal refers to the unadjusted figure.
Likewise, the median household market income per household member in 2025 also rose in both real and nominal terms.
For example, it grew from $3,837 a month in 2024 to $4,160 in 2025.
The median household market income refers to the income earned from both employment and non-employment sources by a typical household measured at the midpoint. This means that half of such households earn more, while half earn less.
DOS said that it relied mainly on administrative data such as CPF and Central Depository (CDP) - an account that holds one’s shares on the open market - as sources of non-employment income, along with large-scale surveys by government agencies.
The data in the report refers to resident households, where the household reference person is a Singaporean or permanent resident.
The income from employment was the main source of income for households in the second to 10th decile, and employment income contributed to between about half to 80 per cent of all income among these groups.
However, the report also found that the percentage of income from non-employment sources has increased over the past decade. For example, income from sources other than employment was 14.9 per cent in 2015 and this rose to 20.4 per cent in 2025.
A decile is one-tenth of all households sorted by income, with the first decile as the lowest income group.
Households in the first decile, or the lowest income group, survived mainly on non-employment sources of income such as CPF payouts and interest.
The report also found that the average market income rose for all income groups, with households in the lower deciles experiencing higher income growth.
For example, the average market income per member from households in the first decile was $506 in 2025, up from $446 in 2024.
For those at the 50th decile, the figure was $3,745 in 2025, up from $3,458 in 2024. At the tenth or highest decile, each member had an average income of $17,958 in 2025, up from $17,232 in 2024.
In real terms, income rose by 12.8 per cent for the lowest decile, 7.4 per cent for the 50th decile and 3 per cent for the highest decile.
The most commonly used measure for inequality, the Gini coefficient based on market income per household member, fell from 0.460 in 2024 to 0.452 in 2025.
And after adjusting for government transfers and taxes, this figure fell to 0.379 in 2025.
In fact, the 2025 figure is the lowest since the authorities started keeping records on market income in 2015.
The gini coefficient measures inequality on a scale of 0 to 1, with a higher number indicating greater inequality.
Meanwhile, transfers include ad-hoc and regular government contributions such as the GST Vouchers, Workfare Income Supplement and One-off Retirement Savings Bonus under the Majulah Package, and transfers-in-kind.
The latter refers to the value of in-kind benefits through subsidised services or goods such as education and childcare subsidies.
In 2025, each household member received an average of $7,300 in Government transfers, which was lower than the $7,725 in 2024.
This is due to the end of one-off schemes introduced in 2024 such as the Budget 2024 Cost-Of-Living Special Payment and the MediSave Bonus and Retirement Savings Bonus under the Majulah Package.
But like in past years, households living in the smallest HDB flats, which are the one- and two-room flats, received the most government transfers.
They received an average sum of $16,519 per household member in 2025 - more than double the average amount received by all households.
In fact, households up to the 70th percentile by income received more from government transfers than the taxes they paid. -- The Straits Times/Asia News Network
