Sources of household income
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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toSources of income by ethnicity section
- 3. Navigate toShare of income from wages, salaries or self-employment by ethnicity over time section
- 4. Navigate toShare of income from pensions by ethnicity over time section
- 5. Navigate toShare of income from benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time section
- 6. Navigate to Methodology section
- 7. Navigate to Data sources section
- 8. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- on average, households received just under three-quarters of their total income from earnings, salaries and self-employment in the 3-year period 2015/16 to 2017/18 (before deductions like tax and National Insurance)
- households in the Indian and Other White ethnic groups received the highest percentage of their income from employment
- households in the Pakistani ethnic group had the largest increase in the percentage of income from employment over the period studied
- on average, the percentage of income that White British households received from pensions was at least three times higher than any other ethnic group
Things you need to know
Because the data varies from year to year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes 3 years’ worth of data and works out the average for that period. For example, the published data for the period from 2015/16 to 2017/18 is an average of the data for the three years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18. DWP works out a new 3-year average every year.
While this increases the reliability of the data, it means that some statistical tests have not been carried out. The commentary on this page is for differences between ethnic groups that are reasonably reliable.
Some households contain people from different ethnic backgrounds. The ethnicity assigned to the household is that of the head of the household (usually the person with the highest income).
What the data measures
This data shows the percentage of income coming from different sources for households in the UK. Percentages are based on gross income, which is the amount before taxes and other deductions.
A household can be either:
- one person living alone
- a group of people living at the same address sharing a kitchen and either a living room, sitting room or dining area
Total household income includes income from all people in the household (including children).
Income from pensions includes both the State Pension and private pensions.
Income from benefits includes both:
- non-income related benefits like Child Benefit and Disability Living Allowance
- income-related benefits like Council Tax Reduction and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
The ethnic categories used in this data
The Family Resources Survey uses the following ethnic categories:
Asian/Asian British:
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese
- Other Asian
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
White:
- White British
- White Other (White ethnic minorities)
Other ethnic group
2. Sources of income by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | All other sources | Self-employed income | Wages and salaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| All | 28 | 9 | 63 |
| Asian | 21 | 11 | 68 |
| Bangladeshi | 38 | 7 | 55 |
| Chinese | 25 | 11 | 64 |
| Indian | 14 | 9 | 77 |
| Pakistani | 27 | 19 | 54 |
| Asian other | 23 | 11 | 66 |
| Black | 29 | 7 | 64 |
| Mixed | 23 | 6 | 71 |
| White | 28 | 9 | 63 |
| White British | 30 | 8 | 62 |
| White other | 14 | 12 | 74 |
| Other | 24 | 9 | 67 |
Download table data for ‘Sources of income by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Sources of income by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Sources of income by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- on average, households received 63% of their total income from wages and salaries, 9% from self-employment, and 28% from other sources including pensions and benefits
- households in the Indian and Other White ethnic groups received the highest percentage of their income from employment (including wages, salaries and self-employment) at 86%
- households in the Bangladeshi and White British ethnic groups receiving the highest percentage of their income from other sources (including pensions and benefits), at 38% and 30% respectively
3. Share of income from wages, salaries or self-employment by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2009/10-2011/12 | 2010/11-2012/13 | 2011/12-2013/14 | 2012/13-2014/15 | 2013/14-2015/16 | 2014/15-2016/17 | 2015/16-2017/18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Asian | 75 | 76 | 78 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 79 |
| Bangladeshi | 60 | 58 | 60 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 62 |
| Chinese | 68 | 69 | 79 | 74 | 75 | 70 | 75 |
| Indian | 83 | 84 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 86 |
| Pakistani | 65 | 67 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 73 |
| Asian other | 75 | 73 | 75 | 74 | 76 | 76 | 77 |
| Black | 72 | 71 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 71 |
| Mixed | 77 | 74 | 75 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 77 |
| White | 72 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 72 |
| White British | 71 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| White other | 83 | 82 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 86 | 86 |
| Other | 73 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 73 | 76 |
Download table data for ‘Share of income from wages, salaries or self-employment by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Share of income from wages, salaries or self-employment by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Share of income from wages, salaries or self-employment by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- on average, households received 72% of their gross income from employment (wages, salaries and self-employment) in every year of the period studied
- households in all 5 Asian ethnic groups saw an increase in the percentage of their income coming from employment over the period studied
- households in the Other White and Other ethnic groups also saw an increase in the percentage of income coming from employment
- households in the Pakistani ethnic group had the biggest increase in the percentage of income coming from employment over the period studied, from 65% to 73% over the period studied
- households in the Bangladeshi ethnic group consistently had the lowest percentage of income coming from employment, although it increased from 60% to 62% over the period studied
4. Share of income from pensions by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2009/10-2011/12 | 2010/11-2012/13 | 2011/12-2013/14 | 2012/13-2014/15 | 2013/14-2015/16 | 2014/15-2016/17 | 2015/16-2017/18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Asian | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Bangladeshi | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Chinese | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Indian | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Pakistani | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Asian other | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Black | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Mixed | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| White | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| White British | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 |
| White other | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Other | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Download table data for ‘Share of income from pensions by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Share of income from pensions by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Share of income from pensions by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- on average, households received 15% of their income from pensions in the most recent period (the 3 years from 2015/16 to 2017/18)
- the percentage of household income coming from pensions remained stable for all ethnic groups except Other, with no variation of more than 3 percentage points over the period studied
- White British households received the highest percentage of their income from pensions in every year of the period studied, at between 16% and 18%
- households in the Pakistani and Chinese ethnic groups consistently received the lowest percentage of their income from pensions
5. Share of income from benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2009/10-2011/12 | 2010/11-2012/13 | 2011/12-2013/14 | 2012/13-2014/15 | 2013/14-2015/16 | 2014/15-2016/17 | 2015/16-2017/18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Asian | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Bangladeshi | 27 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 27 |
| Chinese | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Indian | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Pakistani | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 18 |
| Asian other | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Black | 17 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Mixed | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| White | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| White British | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| White other | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Other | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
Download table data for ‘Share of income from benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Share of income from benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Share of income from benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, the percentage of household income coming from benefits and tax credits was broadly stable at between 8% and 9% over the period studied
- Pakistani households had the biggest percentage point drop in the share of income from benefits and tax credits, from 24% to 18% over the period studied
- Bangladeshi households received the highest percentage of income from benefits and tax credits in every year of the period studied, ranging from 24% to 27%
- Chinese households received the lowest percentage of income from benefits and tax credits (either 3% or 4%) in every year of the period studied
6. Methodology
The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is a continuous household survey which collects information on a representative sample of private households in the UK. Detailed information is recorded on respondents’ income from all sources:
- housing tenure
- caring needs and responsibilities
- disability
- expenditure on housing
- education
- pension scheme participation
- childcare
- family circumstances
- child maintenance
The survey is conducted in respondents’ homes.
In the latest three-year period, 2015/16 to 2017/18, the FRS sample consisted of almost 60,000 households in the UK.
It has a financial-year survey period with surveys conducted throughout the year and is cross-sectional (a ‘snapshot’ of households over the year). The same individuals are not then approached again (i.e. there is no further ‘wave’ of the survey). Since responses reflect only a sample of the total population, they are weighted on the basis of subnational population totals by age and sex to give estimates for the entire UK household population.
Estimates are subject to sampling error and non-sampling bias. The FRS only covers private households. Therefore, individuals who live in communal accommodation (for example, care homes) or have no fixed address (for example, who are homeless) are not included in these results.
Households where every resident over the age of 16 responds to the questions are classed as fully co-operating. Only households with full co-operation are included in the analysis. This may introduce some error, as the characteristics of individuals living in households which do not respond fully may be different to those who do fully co-operate. Therefore, the sample will be biased towards (that is, more representative of) those who do respond fully. Overall, 52% of households fully co-operated with the survey, meaning there was a sample size of 19,136 households in 2017/18.
Results derived from a low number of responses are more likely to be affected by statistical variation, so observed changes might not reflect real differences. As such, caution is needed when interpreting short-term trends in the data, especially for subgroups (for example, a specific ethnic group, age group and gender). Using a 3-year average for income minimises the risks due to uncertainty to an extent. As the data is presented as a 3-year average, no statistical tests have been performed to determine whether the estimates taken from the survey are statistically significantly different from one another.
In other words, as the results are based on a sample of the population, without further testing it isn’t possible to determine whether any differences observed would likely be seen across the entire population. This is important to consider and means that conclusions around differences between groups cannot be drawn. However, the data is still useful because it indicates where differences between ethnic groups might exist.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Any values based on fewer than 100 responses have been suppressed.
Rounding
Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Due to this, some figures may not add up to 100%.
Related publications
Quality and methodology information
7. Data sources
Source
Family Resources Survey: financial year 2017/18
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Work and Pensions
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The main purpose of the Family Resources Survey (FRS) is to give the Department for Work and Pensions data to develop, monitor and evaluate social welfare policy.
The survey is also used by other government departments, including for tax and benefit policy modelling by HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs. The FRS is also used extensively by academics and research institutes for social and economic research.
8. Download the data
This file contains data for the 3-year period 2009/10 to 2016/17. This is the latest data available. This file contains: measure, ethnicity, year, value