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Research · Cost of Living

UK Cost of Living and Household Pressure Report 2026

SupportFund analysis of 25 official ONS records on reported cost-of-living pressure, household-cost inflation, disposable income and saving, showing how measured pressure differs between household groups.

Published 12 August 2026 · Updated 12 August 2026 · SupportFund analysis of Office for National Statistics data · First edition · Last reviewed 12 August 2026

Executive summary

  • 25 verified ONS records are compiled in this report.
  • Reported cost-of-living pressure, the drivers households name, and the actions they report taking are shown from the same ONS opinions survey.
  • Household Costs Indices are shown by household group so that differences between low-income, high-income and renting households are visible.
  • Real household disposable income per head and the household saving ratio are shown from the ONS quarterly sector accounts.

Key findings

  • Cost of living remains the most commonly reported major issue

    89% — 89% of adults in Great Britain said the cost of living was an important issue facing the UK.

  • Adults reporting a monthly increase in their cost of living

    66% — 66% of adults said their cost of living had increased compared with the previous month.

  • Food is the most commonly named driver

    93% — Among adults reporting a rise in their cost of living, 93% cited the price of food shopping.

  • Adults cutting back on food and other essentials

    41% — 41% reported spending less on food shopping and essentials because of increased living costs.

  • Household-cost inflation for low-income households

    3.7% — Households in income decile 2 saw costs rise by 3.7%.

  • Household-cost inflation for private renters

    3.7% — Private renting households saw household costs rise by 3.7% in the year to March 2026.

  • Real household disposable income per head

    -0.8% — Real household disposable income per head decreased by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2026.

  • The household saving ratio

    8.9% — The UK household saving ratio was 8.9% in the first quarter of 2026.

Analysis

Two different kinds of ONS evidence are used in this report and they answer different questions. The Public opinions and social trends survey records what adults say about their own costs and what they are doing in response. The Household Costs Indices measure how the prices faced by different household groups have actually moved. Neither is a substitute for the other.

On the survey side, cost of living remains the most commonly reported major issue facing the UK, a majority of adults report another monthly increase in their own costs, and food is named far more often than any other driver. The reported responses are concentrated in cutting non-essential spending, cutting essentials including food, and using less household energy.

On the measured side, the Household Costs Indices show household costs rising faster than headline CPI over the period covered, with low-income households and renters facing higher rates than high-income households. Over five years the cumulative gap for low-income households is considerably larger, which is a useful corrective to the idea that falling headline inflation means costs have returned to normal.

The sector accounts add the balance-sheet view: real household disposable income per head fell over the quarter and the saving ratio fell alongside it. A falling saving ratio at the same time as reported cutbacks in essentials is consistent with households having less financial buffer, but this data cannot show causation and none is claimed here.

What households report

ONS Public opinions and social trends survey, Great Britain.

  • 89% — 89% of adults in Great Britain said the cost of living was an important issue facing the UK. (Office for National Statistics, 6–31 May 2026)
  • 66% — 66% of adults said their cost of living had increased compared with the previous month. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 63% — 63% of adults reported being very or somewhat worried about rising costs of living. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 69% — 69% of adults aged 30 to 49 said they were very or somewhat worried about rising living costs. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 93% — Among adults reporting a rise in their cost of living, 93% cited the price of food shopping. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 77% — Among adults reporting a rise in their cost of living, 77% cited the price of fuel. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 61% — Among adults reporting an increased cost of living, 61% cited gas or electricity bills. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 61% — 61% of adults reported spending less on non-essentials because of increases in the cost of living. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 41% — 41% reported spending less on food shopping and essentials because of increased living costs. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 35% — 35% of adults said they were using less gas or electricity at home because of rising living costs. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 8% — 8% of adults said they had been unable to buy or access essential food items they needed in the previous two weeks. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)
  • 13% — 13% disagreed or strongly disagreed that their household income covered their household's minimum living expenses. (Office for National Statistics, May 2026)

Measured inflation and household costs

ONS Consumer price inflation and Household Costs Indices.

  • 2.6% — Consumer Prices Index inflation was 2.6% in the 12 months to June 2026. (Office for National Statistics, 12 months to June 2026)
  • 0.1% — CPI increased by 0.1% between May and June 2026. (Office for National Statistics, June 2026)
  • 1.7% — Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices were 1.7% higher than a year earlier. (Office for National Statistics, June 2026)
  • 21.3% — Motor fuel prices increased by 21.3% in the 12 months to June 2026. (Office for National Statistics, June 2026)
  • 3.6% — The ONS Household Costs Index showed household costs rising by 3.6% in the year to March 2026. (Office for National Statistics, Year to March 2026)
  • 3.7% — Households in income decile 2 saw costs rise by 3.7%. (Office for National Statistics, Year to March 2026)
  • 3.5% — Households in income decile 9 saw costs rise by 3.5%. (Office for National Statistics, Year to March 2026)
  • 3.7% — Private renting households saw household costs rise by 3.7% in the year to March 2026. (Office for National Statistics, Year to March 2026)
  • 3.7% — Social renting households saw household costs rise by 3.7% in the year to March 2026. (Office for National Statistics, Year to March 2026)
  • 33.9% — Cumulative Household Costs Index inflation for low-income households over the preceding five years was 33.9%. (Office for National Statistics, Five years to March 2026)

Income and saving

ONS quarterly sector accounts.

  • -0.8% — Real household disposable income per head decreased by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2026. (Office for National Statistics, Q1 2026)
  • 8.9% — The UK household saving ratio was 8.9% in the first quarter of 2026. (Office for National Statistics, Q1 2026)
  • -0.7 percentage points — The household saving ratio fell by 0.7 percentage points compared with the previous quarter. This is a percentage-point change, not a percentage change. (Office for National Statistics, Q1 2026)

Charts

What households say is driving higher living costs

Great Britain · May 2026 · Source: Office for National Statistics

% of adults reporting an increased cost of livingFood shoppingFood shopping: 93%93%FuelFuel: 77%77%Gas and electricityGas and electricity: 61%61%Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Office for National Statistics. Great Britain, May 2026.

Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Office for National Statistics. Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: May 2026. Last checked 12 August 2026. View original source

How households are responding to higher living costs

Great Britain · May 2026 · Source: Office for National Statistics

% of adultsSpending less on non-essentialsSpending less on non-essentials: 61%61%Spending less on food and essenti…Spending less on food and essentials: 41%41%Using less gas or electricityUsing less gas or electricity: 35%35%Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Office for National Statistics. Great Britain, May 2026.

Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Office for National Statistics. Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: May 2026. Last checked 12 August 2026. View original source

Household cost inflation by household group

United Kingdom · Year to March 2026 · Source: Office for National Statistics

% annual household-cost inflationLow-income households (decile 2)Low-income households (decile 2): 3.7%3.7%High-income households (decile 9)High-income households (decile 9): 3.5%3.5%Private rentersPrivate renters: 3.7%3.7%Social rentersSocial renters: 3.7%3.7%Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Office for National Statistics. United Kingdom, Year to March 2026.

Mortgagor and outright-owner household groups are not shown because those figures are not part of this verified import.

Chart: SupportFund. Source data: Office for National Statistics. Household Costs Indices for UK household groups: January to March 2026. Last checked 12 August 2026. View original source

Methodology

  • This publication is SupportFund analysis and compilation of official UK statistics. SupportFund did not collect the underlying data and has not run a survey. Every figure remains the property and responsibility of the original publisher.
  • Each figure is stored once in the SupportFund statistics registry with its publishing organisation, release title, source URL, reference period and last-checked date, and is read back from that record wherever it appears.
  • Values are reproduced exactly as published. SupportFund does not recalculate, rebase, seasonally adjust or combine official figures into an index.
  • Reference periods differ between releases and are shown against every figure. Figures from different periods are not compared as if they were a time series.
  • Percentages and percentage points are distinguished throughout: a change of 0.7 percentage points is not a 0.7% change.
  • All records were last checked against their source on 2026-08-12.
  • Survey findings and price-index findings are presented separately and never combined into a single measure.
  • Where the ONS publishes a change in percentage points, it is described as a percentage-point change and not as a percentage change.

Limitations

  • This is a compilation of separate official releases, not a single consistent survey.
  • Geographic coverage varies by release: some figures are UK-wide, some are Great Britain, some England and Wales, and some England only. The coverage is shown against each figure.
  • Survey-based figures carry sampling uncertainty that is documented by the original publisher.
  • Administrative caseload figures reflect the date the data was extracted and are routinely revised by the publisher.
  • Association is not causation: figures published in the same report do not establish that one caused the other.
  • Survey figures describe what respondents report, which may differ from measured spending.
  • The Household Costs Indices are published with a lag and cover a different period from the latest CPI release.
  • Figures appearing together in this report do not establish a causal relationship.

Sources

Source: Office for National Statistics — Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: May 2026

Last checked: 12 August 2026

View original source

Source: Office for National Statistics — Consumer price inflation, UK: June 2026

Last checked: 12 August 2026

View original source

Source: Office for National Statistics — Household Costs Indices for UK household groups: January to March 2026

Last checked: 12 August 2026

View original source

Source: Office for National Statistics — Quarterly sector accounts, UK: January to March 2026

Last checked: 12 August 2026

View original source

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this report. Read our corrections policy.

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