Living Standards
Up to 1/4 in low-income households
Income and expenditure
In the year 2001/02 median total household income in Wales was £313 per week. Most of this income was derived from earnings, either wages and salaries (58 per cent) or earnings from self-employment (7 per cent). Social security benefits accounted for a further 13 per cent of household income, and pensions 17 per cent.
Between half a million and three-quarters of a million people in Wales were calculated to be living in a low-income household in 2001/02. One in five people lived in low income households (20 per cent) before housing costs were taken into consideration. The proportion rose to one in four (25 per cent) after housing costs were deducted.
In 2001/02 the largest item of average weekly household expenditure in Wales was recreation and culture (£51 a week). This was followed by transport (£46) and food and non-alcoholic drinks (£41). Equal amounts were spent on housing, fuel and power, and, restaurants and hotels (both £31).
Weekly household expenditure, 2001/02
Amenities and housing
Most households in Wales had washing machines (93 per cent), at least one car or van (75 per cent), mobile phones (63 per cent), and television satellite receivers (56 per cent). Home computers were owned by 44 per cent of households and 32 per cent had an internet connection. The proportion of households with internet access in Wales has increased rapidly, doubling every year since 1998/99 when the proportion was just 7 per cent.
The 2001 Census recorded certain types of household amenities, and found that more than nine out of ten households in Wales had central heating and the sole use of either a bath or shower, and a toilet (92 per cent).
A further 7 per cent of households had sole use of bathroom facilities but were without central heating. The largest proportion of these households was found in north west Wales. The highest was in Gwyendd (21 per cent), followed by the Isle of Anglesey (19 per cent) and Conwy (14 per cent). Very few households in Wales had neither central heating nor bathroom facilities. Ceredigion had the highest proportion (0.7 per cent).
More than seven out of ten households in Wales (71 per cent) were owner occupied, either with a mortgage (37 per cent) or owned outright (34 per cent). The highest proportion of owner-occupied households was in the Vale of the Glamorgan (78 per cent), the lowest in Blaenau Gwent (63 per cent).
Just over one in seven Welsh households lived in accommodation rented from the local council (14 per cent). The proportion varied widely between Unitary Authority area, ranging from 24 per cent in Blaenau Gwent to 8 per cent in Conwy. Across Wales a further 7 per cent of households rented from a private landlord, and 4 per cent from a housing association.
Sources: Households Below Average Income, 2001/02, Department for Work and Pensions; Family Resources Survey, 2001/02, Department for Work and Pensions; Expenditure and Food Survey 2001/02, Office for National Statistics; Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics.
Notes: Total Income: Weekly income from all sources for all adults and children in the household.
Low-income household: One having less than 60 per cent of the median equivalised disposable income.
Income before & after housing costs: These two measures are used in HBAI. Each has imperfections as a guide to differences in, and changes to, living standards.
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Demography