Insee Première · July 2024 · n° 2004

Living standards and poverty in 2022  Stable standards of living and poverty rate in 2022 despite high inflation

In 2022, the median annual standard of living for people living in ordinary housing in metropolitan France was 24,330 euros, almost unchanged from 2021 (-0.1%). The standards of living of the most modest and most affluent households also varied little in 2022. Inequality indicators thus remained close to their 2021 levels, among the highest observed since 1996.

2022 was marked by a sharp rise in inflation. Several measures to protect household purchasing power were introduced throughout the year. Salaried employees also benefited from an upturn in the labour market. On the other hand, standards of living were weighed down by the cessation of the last of the subsidies introduced to compensate for work interruptions during the health crisis, and by the end of the ramp‑up of housing benefit reforms.

9.1 million people lived below the income poverty threshold, i.e. 1,216 euros per month for a single person. The poverty rate remained almost stable in 2022, at 14.4%. The intensity of poverty, measured by the gap between the median standard of living of poor people and the poverty threshold, was reduced.