One third of a household's total expenditure (33.6%) goes to the state – taxes, contributions, fees. More than spending on non-food goods and services combined. Romanians practically work a third of the month for the public budget, according to the press release sent by Statistics on Tuesday
The smallest category of consumption expenditure is education: 26 lei per household per month — that is, 0.5% of consumption. Less than anything else. In an economy that always talks about the importance of human capital, households invest almost nothing in it.
Urban incomes are 1.4 times higher than rural ones, but in rural areas 11% of expenses are covered by own production — that is, one tenth of the economy still operates on barter and self-consumption, according to INS data
- The total average monthly income was in the fourth quarter of 2025, in nominal terms, of 9,454 lei per family, representing 3,804 lei per person, up by 0.4% compared to the third quarter of 2025. Compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year, the average total monthly income per household increased by 10.3%.
- The total average monthly expenses of the population were in the fourth quarter of 2025, in nominal terms, of 8,075 lei per family and represented 85.4% of total income, down by 4 lei compared to the third quarter of 2025.
Gross salaries and other salary rights were 6,466 lei per family per month and formed the most important source of total income (68.4% of total household income, at the same level as in the third quarter of 2025).
Social benefits contributed almost 20% to the formation of total family incomes, Statistics also shows
- Regarding the residence environment, the level of the total average monthly income per household in the urban environment in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 10,785 lei, 1.4 times higher than in the rural environment, and per person 4,511 lei, 1.5 times higher than in the rural environment.
The share of income in kind was 10.5% in the rural area, 3.0 times higher than in the urban area.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the main destinations of household expenses are consume (monetary consumption expenses and the value of human consumption from own resources) of 4,834 lei per household per month (59.9%) and transfers to the public administration and to public and private social insurance funds, in the form of itaxes, contributions, contributions, taxes of 2711 lei per household (33.6%).
In the urban environment, the monthly expenses per family were 1.3 times higher than in the rural environment.
Thus, a person from the urban environment spent, on average, 3825 lei per month, 1.4 times more than a person from the rural environment. From the point of view of the structure of total expenses, in the urban environment, the weight of expenses for taxes, contributions, contributions and fees was 36.8%, 8.1 percentage points higher than in the rural environment, while in the rural environment the weight of the counter value of the consumption of agri-food and non-food products from own resources was 10.9%, 4.0 times higher than in the urban environment.
The residence environment highlights differences between the level of total average monthly expenses. In the urban environment, the average monthly expenses per household were 9144 lei, 1.3 times higher than in the rural environment. Thus, a person from the urban environment spent, on average, 3825 lei per month, 1.4 times more than a person from the rural environment. From the point of view of the structure of total expenses, in the urban environment, the weight of expenses for taxes, contributions, contributions and fees was 36.8%, 8.1 percentage points higher than in the rural environment, while in the rural environment the weight of the counter value of the consumption of agri-food and non-food products from own resources was 10.9%, 4.0 times higher than in the urban environment.
