Financial Information from the Scottish Household Survey 2024
This publication contains the key findings of the question asked in the 2024 Scottish Household Survey on how the household is managing financially.
Scottish Household Survey 2024
Key findings: finance
- Overview
Historically, the proportion of households reporting they were managing well financially had been increasing overall, from 41% in 1999 to a high of 56% in 2019. The levels at that stage suggested a period of recovery following a dip between 2007 and 2012, which may be explained in part by the economic downturn during that period (Table 1). The most recent figures show lower levels since the pandemic, with 54% of households in 2024 reporting they were managing well financially, up from 52% in 2023 (Table 1).
The proportion of households that say they are not managing well has decreased gradually over time, from 15% in 1999 to 9% for the most recent year (Table 1).
The information collected in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic is not comparable and is not included here.
- Managing financially by income and deprivation
The proportion of households reporting that they managed well financially was higher for those with higher household incomes than for those with lower income levels (Table 2). Of households with a net annual household income over £30,000, 62% reported that they were managing well in 2024, and 4% said that they did not manage well. The proportion of households with a net annual household income up to £10,000 reporting that they managed well was 30%, while 23% said they did not manage well – more than twice the overall Scottish average of 9%.
Levels of perceived financial difficulty were higher in more deprived areas, as measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. In the 20% most deprived areas, 16% reported that they were not managing well financially, dropping to 4% for households in the 20% least deprived areas (Table 10).
- Managing financially by population sub-groups
As in previous years, single parent and single adult households were the most likely to report that they were not managing well financially (19% and 16% respectively), compared to the Scotland average of 9% (Table 3).
Of the different household tenures, owner occupiers were most likely to report they were managing well financially: 65%, compared to 28% for households in the social rented sector (Table 5).
Households relying mainly on benefits (including the state pension) were the most likely to say they were not managing well financially (15%), compared to households relying on earnings (6%). Where households relied on other sources of income (including occupational pension and other investments), 2% reported that they were not managing well financially (Table 6).
Households where the highest income householder (HIH) were male were more likely to say they managed well financially compared to those where the HIH was female (57% and 48% respectively) (Table 7).
