People living alone, families and earners: which budget fits?

The budget for this household group

These pooled historical household averages come from a separate survey. Household composition differs between cantons.

Whole-household monthly means, not medians. Single-person groups and couples without children are split by age; for couples, the older partner’s age applies. Children follow the source definition: own or stepchildren, with at least one under 25. Three or more children is not an exact five-person family.

Employed members = the source means for employed and self-employed people added together. This is a group average, not a count of working partners or full-time jobs, and does not classify a household as one- or two-earner.

Saving = disposable income − consumption − other insurance, fees and transfers + irregular income.

Housing and energy are included in consumption above. Do not subtract them again.

The source assigns precision classes: a <1%, b 1–<2%, c 2–<5%, d 5–<10%, e ≥10% coefficient of variation. This is not a confidence interval. An absent class remains unknown.

One earner versus two: a published person-level comparison

Historical SILC 2018 (income reference year 2017), from the family report. Median equivalised disposable income of people living in couple households with children, including imputed rent. Not a household cash total or a current estimate. Earner count covers all working household members, not necessarily only the partners; working hours are not fixed.

CHF per year · equivalised person · median · SILC 2018

Employed household members

These groups contain different people. The difference does not estimate the income gained when a partner starts working. The historical earner groups cannot be applied to the canton or current household figures.

Equivalised income adjusts household resources for household composition to compare living standards. It is not the household total divided by headcount, an individual salary or a personal entitlement. Tax and SILC measures use different income concepts; their values are kept separate.