PETALING JAYA: Household expenditure grew faster than mean household income in 12 of Malaysia’s 16 states and federal territories between 2022 and 2024, with Johor recording the biggest increase in spending, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Nationally, mean monthly household expenditure rose from RM5,150 in 2022 to RM5,566 in 2024, while mean monthly household income increased from RM8,479 to RM9,155.
Expenditure grew at an annual rate of 3.9%, slightly outpacing income growth of 3.8%.
Eight states recorded annual mean household expenditure growth rates above the national average. Johor led at 5.2%, followed by Penang at 4.7%, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak at 4.5% each, Kelantan at 4.4%, Melaka and Terengganu at 4.2% each, and Perak at 4.0%.
Mean household expenditure in Johor rose 11% from RM5,342 in 2022 to RM5,927 in 2024. This coincided with the state recording the highest inflation rate among states, at 2%.
Penang recorded the second-largest increase in household expenditure, rising 10% from RM5,322 to RM5,850 over the same period.
Negri Sembilan and Sarawak followed, with expenditure increasing by about 9% in both states. In Negri Sembilan, it rose from RM4,678 to RM5,115, while in Sarawak, it increased from RM3,915 to RM4,281.
However, the gap between expenditure and income growth was widest in Labuan, where mean household expenditure rose 7.69% between 2022 and 2024, compared with a 3.70% increase in mean household income.
Terengganu recorded the next-largest gap, with mean household expenditure rising 8.82%, against 5.23% growth in mean household income.
In Kedah, expenditure increased 6.99%, while mean household income grew 4.38%. The same trend was observed in Sarawak and Negri Sembilan.
In contrast, mean household income grew faster than expenditure in Selangor, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur.
In terms of spending levels, Putrajaya recorded the highest mean household expenditure in 2024 at RM9,186 a month, well above the national mean of RM5,566.
Five other states and federal territories also recorded expenditure above the national average: Kuala Lumpur at RM8,178, Selangor at RM7,266, Melaka at RM6,212, Johor at RM5,927 and Penang at RM5,850.
At district level, Petaling recorded the highest mean household expenditure at RM8,210 a month, followed by Sepang at RM7,676 and Gombak at RM7,326.
Nationally, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels accounted for the largest share of household expenditure in 2024, at 23.5%, followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 17%, food and non-alcoholic beverages at 15.7%, and transport at 11%.
The share allocated to restaurants and accommodation services increased from 16.1% in 2022, while that for food and non-alcoholic beverages declined from 16.3%.
The trend comes amid continued price increases for food away from home. In September 2026, prices for food away from home rose 2.6% year-on-year, compared with a 1.2% increase for food at home, according to DOSM’s Consumer Price Index.
