by Theleaders | June 30, 2026 2:36 pm
SINGAPORE, June 30 — Nearly one in seven households in Singapore now earns at least S$30,000 (RM95,000) a month, almost double the share recorded five years ago, underscoring how rapidly the city-state’s income profile has shifted toward higher earnings.
According to The Straits Times, which cited the latest General Household Survey released by the Department of Statistics today, 13.4 per cent of resident households reported monthly market incomes of S$30,000 or more in 2025, up from 7.4 per cent in 2020.
The gains were not confined to the highest earners. More than half of resident households — 51.6 per cent — now bring in at least S$12,000 a month, compared with 38.2 per cent five years earlier, reflecting broad-based income growth across the economy.
The survey also showed Singapore’s median monthly household market income reached S$12,446 in 2025, the first time it has exceeded the S$12,000 mark. Adjusted for inflation, median income grew by an average of 3.2 per cent annually from S$9,099 in 2020.
Market income includes earnings from employment as well as non-employment sources such as investments and rental income.
The report attributed the upward shift in household income brackets to rising median earnings over the five-year period.
Income growth was recorded across Singapore’s three largest ethnic groups after accounting for inflation. Indian households posted the fastest annual increase at 3.5 per cent, followed by Chinese households at 3.1 per cent and Malay households at 2.3 per cent.
Median monthly household market income reached S$13,382 for Indian households, S$12,969 for Chinese households and S$8,581 for Malay households in 2025.
Employment continued to account for the bulk of household earnings, contributing almost 80 per cent of total market income.
The survey also pointed to changing family dynamics, with dual-income marriages becoming increasingly common.
In 2025, 56.6 per cent of married couples were households in which both spouses were employed, up from 52.5 per cent in 2020.
By contrast, households where only the husband worked continued to decline, falling from 24.9 per cent to 21 per cent over the same period. The share of families where only the wife was employed remained largely unchanged at 7.5 per cent.
The findings were among a broader set of trends highlighted in the 135-page General Household Survey, which tracks changes in Singaporean life across areas including income, marriage, education and housing.
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