Japan’s average household income registers record annual increase
Japan’s 2025 survey found income gains for elderly households and those with children, but 55.4% still reported difficult living conditions.
- Japan's average household income increased by a record 7.3% to 5,752,000 yen in 2024.
- The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare cited company pay raises as the main reason for the income growth.
- Despite the increase, 55.4% of households still reported their living conditions as difficult, partly due to rising food prices.
- Incomes for specific demographics also hit records, including elderly households and households with children.
Japan’s average household income rose by a record 7.3 per cent from the previous year to 5,752,000 yen in 2024, according to a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey released on Wednesday (15 July).
The ministry said it believed company pay rises were the main driver of the increase.
Despite the stronger income figure, 55.4 per cent of households described their living conditions as difficult, 3.5 percentage points lower than a year earlier.
Those reporting that life was “very difficult” accounted for 23.2 per cent, while 32.2 per cent said it was “somewhat difficult”.
The proportion reached 82.1 per cent among single-mother households and 61.5 per cent among households raising children.
The high figures were seen as likely reflecting the impact of rising food prices.
Average income for elderly households increased by 213,000 yen to a record 3,361,000 yen.
Under the survey’s current definition, the category covers households made up solely of people aged 65 or over, as well as those that also include people under 18.
Households with children recorded a 368,000-yen rise to a record 8,573,000 yen.
The annual survey’s large-scale edition, conducted once every three years, took place in June and July 2025.
Its final results covered 187,633 households for household composition and 16,921 for income.
Single-person households represented a record 35.4 per cent of the total.
Households with children accounted for 16.7 per cent, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous year.
Of the households with children, 50.1 per cent had one child, taking the proportion above half for the first time.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
