Monthly Living Expenses by Household Income: 5ch Reacts, ‘Wait, Isn’t That More Than the Income?’

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On 5ch’s News Express+ board, data on monthly living expenses by household income sparked discussion. Households earning under 2 million yen a year reportedly spend 173,000 yen a month — more than their annual income would suggest — while households earning 15 million yen or more spend 591,000 yen, highlighting a stark gap.

In response to the question “isn’t it strange that living costs exceed income?”, commenters pointed to pensioners drawing down savings and differences in Engel’s coefficient (the share of spending that goes to food).

(…)

Key points

– The average monthly living expense for two-or-more-person households nationwide is 314,000 yen.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

5Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:08:46.96ID:GwoLY7FA0
How the heck do you spend 500,000 yen in a month?
16Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:11:56.33ID:hXwVrQvR0
>>5
Household income of 15 million yen or more.
95Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:43:23.06ID:1HqZueCA0
>>5
This survey doesn't even list household size, so it's kind of a garbage study…
14Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:10:45.42ID:EdMIOe7C0
– Under 2 million yen: 173,000 yen
That's gotta be fake. Welfare recipients (namapo) live on under 100,000 yen a month, don't they?
25Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:17:23.06ID:Y1Xx/6C10
>>14
Probably rising utility and rent costs. I'm in Saitama, and rent has shot up brutally this year. I've seriously considered moving from Saitama City to Kawagoe.
24Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:15:44.89ID:XOduj0S20
Hardly anyone makes under 10 million yen a year these days lol

28 years old, 185cm tall, 25 million yen a year — got a problem with that?
28Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:18:48.44ID:I6p+Uw4O0
>>24
Sorry, you win. Started at 6 million fresh out of school, now in my fifth year making 7.5 million. Guess a college with a hensachi (deviation score, Japan's standardized measure of academic difficulty) of 65 just doesn't cut it.
125Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:00:33.16ID:c4r7MGwq0
>>24
I've been a JRA (Central Horse Racing) jockey for 40 years — I lose on age (57) and height (170cm), but my prize money and riding fees this year might edge out yours a bit.
27Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:17:47.18ID:IMUNYumK0
A household income of 2 million yen a year but spending 170,000 yen a month? That doesn't add up.
29Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:19:55.59ID:dQ3R9wlq0
>>27
40,000 yen of that is probably from consumer loans…
120Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:58:55.49ID:yEgIEmyv0
>>27
Probably pensioners drawing down their savings.
34Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:21:18.23ID:HkXPxj2t0
Under-2-million households spending 173,000 yen a month
173,000 x 12 = 2,076,000

Wait, huh?
44Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:24:22.53ID:EdMIOe7C0
>>34
That's probably just living expenses lol, no taxes included lolol
36Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:22:14.91ID:wBuCqXdj0
Isn't this way lower than other countries? Japan doesn't grow because it doesn't have enough ultra-rich people.
38Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:23:10.54ID:4duST+bt0
>>36
But Japan's ultra-rich don't spend their money anyway.
41Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:24:05.48ID:bURWm99O0
>>36
So more hyper-rich people supposedly means more growth — but growth of what, exactly?
47Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:25:24.15ID:iPLa0PRQ0
>>36
By that logic the Arab states should be the most developed nations around. And if you're going to claim they are, then why isn't any Arab country in the G7?
42Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:24:11.70ID:xNF7dLsm0
Food: 30,000 yen a month
Cigarettes: 15,000 yen
Utilities: just under 15,000 yen
Own my home outright
(´・ω・`)
98Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:44:12.09ID:EfpEw0ak0
>>42
Property tax… where'd that go… phone/internet bill? Subscriptions? And why are your utilities so cheap?
46Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:24:58.48ID:EdMIOe7C0
For under 2 million a year, I'd guess it's more like 100,000 yen a month.
52Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:26:50.64ID:xNF7dLsm0
>>46
Yeah, if you average it out including health insurance and national pension, it comes to about 100,000 yen.
(´・ω・`)
57Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:29:28.78ID:904PkVvS0
>>46
With a household income of 2 million yen, it's basically one of two options: rent in the 30,000-yen range and 130,000 yen for everything else, or rent in the 60,000-yen range and everything else in the low 100,000s. Because if you try to keep non-rent spending under 100,000 yen, there's almost nothing left for food. That's the reality at the bottom. No wonder people can't afford books, let alone a newspaper or NHK fees. And when this becomes society's core demographic, that's when you start hearing 'the earth is flat,' 'vaccines make people crazy,' Ministry of Finance conspiracy theories, or 'the JAL crash was a cover-up.'
91Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:42:11.79ID:zOYqa8fg0
The median household income is probably around 4 million yen.
93Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 20:43:22.31ID:EfpEw0ak0
>>91
Think about Japan's average age… most people are past 10 million by then, and plenty are past 15 million too.
126Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:01:07.78ID:yEgIEmyv0
>>91
For the child-rearing generation it's 8 million yen. It's just that there are so many retired pensioners dragging the average down.
184Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:31:55.39ID:vVFjsISR0
Under 2 million yen: 173,000 yen

Wait, isn't that more than the annual income?
189Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:34:04.98ID:yEgIEmyv0
>>184
Pensioners drawing down their savings.
209Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:51:08.07ID:sm5KUMUs0
>>184
Their savings rate is like -60%.
195Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:39:48.06ID:yEgIEmyv0
– Under 2 million yen: 173,000 yen
– 2-2.5 million yen: 192,000 yen ← up to here is the range where national-pension retirees draw down savings
– 2.5-3 million yen: 216,000 yen
– 3-3.5 million yen: 241,000 yen
– 3.5-4 million yen: 260,000 yen
– 4-4.5 million yen: 265,000 yen
– 4.5-5 million yen: 279,000 yen
– 5-5.5 million yen: 292,000 yen
– 5.5-6 million yen: 298,000 yen
– 6-6.5 million yen: 300,000 yen
– 6.5-7 million yen: 315,000 yen
– 7-7.5 million yen: 319,000 yen
– 7.5-8 million yen: 318,000 yen
– 8-9 million yen: 350,000 yen ← average for the child-rearing generation, includes added child-rearing costs
– 9-10 million yen: 366,000 yen
– 10-12.5 million yen: 432,000 yen ← for child-rearing households, this also includes private middle-school exam prep costs
– 12.5-15 million yen: 467,000 yen
– 15 million yen or more: 591,000 yen
197Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:42:03.94ID:Lic1oda+0
>>195
Actually, the average spending for a 3-person household is around 300,000 yen, so the average for the child-rearing generation is probably more like the 6-6.5 million yen bracket.
203Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:47:03.07ID:yEgIEmyv0
>>197
https://www.bk.mufg.jp/column/others/b0079.html
https://www.bk.mufg.jp/column/others/img/b0079_img05.jpg
This is from 2023 statistics.
6-6.5 million yen? (ヾノ・∀・`) no way, no way
223Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:56:15.05ID:sm5KUMUs0
For the 15-million-yen-plus bracket, average income is 19 million yen. Consumption spending is 590,000 yen, of which food is 130,000 yen (Engel's coefficient 22%), transport/communication is 100,000 yen, education/entertainment is 70,000 yen, and other miscellaneous expenses are 110,000 yen.
236Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:58:38.85ID:sm5KUMUs0
>>223
● For reference, the 2-million-yen households have an Engel's coefficient of 35%. They're scraping by just to eat.
252Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 22:08:38.03ID:sm5KUMUs0
>>223
The average annual income for households under 2 million yen is 1.53 million yen. Monthly consumption spending is 170,000 yen, food is 60,000 yen (Engel's coefficient 35%), utilities/water are 20,000 yen, transport/communication is 17,000 yen, education/language study is 15,000 yen, and other miscellaneous expenses are 22,000 yen.
232Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:57:45.24ID:OZWX2TRD0
Does 'living expenses' even include food?
237Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:59:17.07ID:YCjtDJ/d0
>>232
Well, obviously.
238Anonymous2026/08/26(水) 21:59:17.55ID:sm5KUMUs0
>>232
Originally it's just 'consumption spending' being called 'living expenses.'

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Monthly Living Expenses by Household Income, Latest Data: High-Income Households Top ¥590,000 a Month”.

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