Cost of living refers to the percentage of net income spent on housing, fuel and food by households in Scotland and is measured as a three-year rolling average. Find out more about this indicator.

Cost of living refers to the percentage of net income spent on housing, fuel and food by households in Scotland and is measured as a three-year rolling average. The cost of living has remained relatively stable since 2013/14 – 2015/16 when measurement began.

Note that the most recent estimate precedes the recent marked increases in living costs. The current cost of living crisis is therefore not yet reflected in this data. However, the Scottish Government has worked on a more recent analytical report on the current Cost of Living crisis which can be accessed through the link below:

The Cost of Living Crisis in Scotland: analytical report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Beyond the headline statistic:

• The cost of living is considerably higher for households in the lowest three income deciles compared to those with higher incomes.
• The cost of living is similar among households with and without children overall.
• In low income households, the cost of living is slightly lower for households with children. In higher income households, the cost of living is similar for households with and without children.
• The cost of living is higher for households where the highest income householder (household head) is mixed race, Asian, Black, or other, compared to households with a White household head.
• The cost of living is highest for single parent households, followed by single adult households without any children. Households with two or more adults (with or without children) have a lower cost of living.
• The cost of living is highest for households with a single, or divorced or separated household head. Married or civil partnered households have the lowest cost of living.
• The cost of living is higher for households with female household heads compared to those with male household heads.
• The cost of living is slightly higher for households with household heads aged between 16 and 34 compared to older households. Costs of living slightly decrease with increasing age of the household head.

This indicator can be broken down by income, households with and without children, ethnicity, disability, household type, marital status, sex and age. This breakdown can be viewed on the Equality Evidence Finder.