About 1 in 7 S’pore families has income of at least $30k a month; share almost doubled in 5 years

Theresa Tan
The Straits Times
June 30, 2026

The share of families with monthly incomes of at least $30,000 has almost doubled in the past five years, with about one in seven households earning this amount in 2025.

In 2025, 13.4 per cent of resident households have a monthly market income of $30,000 or more, up from 7.4 per cent in 2020.

Market income refers to income from employment and non-employment sources, such as rental and investment earnings.

According to the General Household Survey, which was released by the Department of Statistics on June 30, the proportion of resident households earning at least $12,000 a month rose from 38.2 per cent in 2020 to 51.6 per cent in 2025.

The 135-page report covered a snapshot of trends across areas like marriage, income, education and housing.

It noted that the share of resident households in the higher income brackets rose between 2020 and 2025, in line with rising median household market incomes.  

In 2025, the median household market income for resident households was $12,446 – the first time it crossed the $12,000 mark. It was up from $9,099 in 2020, which meant it rose by 3.2 per cent per annum after adjusting for inflation. 

This $12,446 figure was first released in February in the Key Household Income Trends 2025 report. 

The General Household Survey report stated that all three major ethnic groups saw their household market income rise in real terms, or after adjusting for inflation, between 2020 and 2025.

Indian families saw the largest increase at 3.5 per cent per annum, followed by Chinese at 3.1 per cent. The rise for Malay families was 2.3 per cent.

In 2025, the median household market income for Indians was $13,382 a month, $12,969 for Chinese and $8,581 for Malays.

Employment remains the primary source of income for families in Singapore, comprising almost 80 per cent of their total income in 2025. However, this fell from 85 per cent in 2020.

On the other hand, the share from non-employment sources, especially from investment income, rose from 9.6 per cent in 2020 to 13.5 per cent in 2025.

Meanwhile, couples where both the husband and wife work are more common.

In 2025, 56.6 per cent of married couples were dual-income families, up from 52.5 per cent in 2020.

Over the same period, the share of households where only the husband was employed fell from 24.9 per cent in 2020 to 21 per cent in 2025.

The share of married couples where only the wife was working remained stable. In 2025, this figure was 7.5 per cent, up marginally from 7.4 per cent in 2020. 

Economists and sociologists attributed the sharp rise in the proportion of families with at least $30,000 in monthly income to a mix of factors, including the growing prevalence of dual-income couples.

Nominal wage growth has also been strong over the past five years.

At the same time, capital markets have performed well in the past five years, and investment income is fuelling the rise in household income, said Walter Theseira, associate professor of economics at Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Shannon Ang, an assistant professor of sociology at the Nanyang Technological University, said new immigrants, including permanent residents, tend to be highly skilled and well paid, and their numbers are likely to raise overall household incomes.

The rise in incomes is not confined to top earners, said Terence Ho, who is executive director of the Institute of Adult Learning. Nominal household incomes have grown significantly across the income groups, reflecting national efforts to narrow the income gap.

“That said, there must be sustained efforts to ensure broad-based income growth. This is particularly so as rising affluence increases domestic demand, which can contribute to higher living costs,” Ho added.

Observers said that income inequality is another concern, particularly as investment income accounts for a growing share of household income.

Theseira said the latest data may prompt questions about Singapore’s tax regime, which is focused on employment and property income, and whether this needs a re-look given the growing share of income from investment returns.

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