Housing expenses occupy a third of household budgets
Household spending grew by 3.1% compared to the previous year
BarcelonaAccess to housing is one of the main concerns of citizens, and its high prices translate into a strong impact on pockets. According to the Household Budget Survey of the National Statistics Institute (INE), housing-related expenses were those that grew the most during the past year (+5.8%), and already represent 33.2% of families' budgets.
In absolute terms, this growth is equivalent to 636 euros more than the previous year. Thus, all those payments related to the home — such as rent, mortgage, gas, water, or electricity, among others — represent a third of household budgets. The weight of these expenses is even more present among the segment of the population that spends the least: for them, housing represents 41.9% of the total; while for those who spend the most, it is equivalent to 28.9%.
In general, as the same INE survey shows, the average household expenditure was 35,101 euros during 2025, and it is 3.1% above last year. Per person, the figure stood at 14,066 euros. Besides housing, the expenses that grew the most last year were those related to personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services, which increased by 5.2% compared to 2024. On the other hand, the areas where families reduced spending the most were alcoholic beverages and tobacco (-3.4%) and restaurants and accommodation services (-3.2%).
Food and transport
Furthermore, the other two branches that represent a greater effort for citizens' pockets are food and transport. Specifically, filling the fridge accounts for 16% of families' annual budget, while, on average, 11.5% of the total is spent on mobility. Thus, households concentrate 60.7% of their annual budget on covering expenses for housing, food, and transport.
As for families that spend less, the effort to cover these three branches rises to 67.9%. It should be noted that, unlike what happens with food and housing, the spending percentile that the lowest spectrum spends on transport (6.4%) is much less representative than that of the quintile with the highest budget (16.3%).
By type of household, those formed by a couple with children were the ones that spent the most on average in 2025, with 44,438 euros (1,275 more than the previous year). On the other hand, the households with the least spending were those formed by a single person aged 65 or over (with an average of 23,024 euros) and single-person households under 65 years of age (23,784 euros).
By territories, Catalonia was the third region with the highest spending per person. Catalans spent 15,017 euros throughout last year, although the Spanish average stood at 14,066 euros. Ahead of Catalonia were the Basque Country (16,642 euros) and the Community of Madrid (16,124 euros).