INS: Romanians earned more in 2025, but also spent more

A household in Romania had an average monthly income of 9,399 lei in 2025 and expenses of 8,037 lei, according to the INS. Compared to the previous year, income increased by 13.6%, and expenses by over 1,000 lei per month. The difference between the two values ​​shows that a household had, on average, approximately 1,362 lei per month left after covering all expenses.

Salaries remain the main source of income

The majority of income comes from salaries. These represented 68.5% of total household income, equivalent to 6,438 lei per month. In second place were social benefits, which brought in an average of 1,879 lei per month and represented 20% of total income. The data also show a significant difference between cities and villages. In urban areas, the average monthly income per person reached 4,489 lei, while in rural areas it was 3,038 lei.

Where most of the money goes

The majority of household expenses are for current consumption. On average, Romanians spent 4,833 lei per month on consumption, which represents over 60% of total expenses. Another important category is represented by taxes, contributions and fees. These amounted to almost 2,700 lei per household and represented a third of total expenses.

Within consumer expenses, food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the main destination of money, with an average of 1,553 lei per month and a share of 32.1%. Expenses for housing, water, electricity and gas followed, with 761 lei per month, respectively 15.7% of consumption. At the opposite end is education. The INS shows that households spent an average of only 27 lei per month on this category, equivalent to only 0.6% of total consumer expenses.

Cities continue to spend more than villages

The differences between urban and rural areas are also noticeable in terms of expenses. An urban household spent an average of 9,123 lei per month, approximately 30% more than one in rural areas. Per person, spending was 3,816 lei in cities and 2,622 lei in villages. INS data suggests that although Romanians’ incomes continued to grow in 2025, much of this additional earnings was absorbed by daily expenses, especially consumption and tax obligations.