Insee Analyses · April 2026 · n° 119

Household Accounts by Category in 2023 Inequalities Widened Despite Mitigation by Social Transfers

In 2023, total gross primary income of households reached 2,011 billion euros, averaging 42,700 euros per year per consumption unit (CU) and 3,560 euros per month per CU. This income was composed of 47% net wages, 27% social contributions (from both employees and employers), 20% property and financial income, and 7% income from self‑employed. It revealed stark disparities: the bottom 10% received an average of 6,700 euros per CU per year, compared to 131,500 euros per CU for the top 10%, a ratio of 1 to 20.

The secondary redistribution of primary income was mainly carried out by public authorities. After direct taxes on households (averaging 17,300 euros per CU in 2023) and cash social benefits (12,600 euros per CU), the average gross disposable income (GDI) of the bottom 10% nearly doubled, while that of the top 10% was reduced by about one third. When social transfers in kind (10,800 euros per CU) were added – mainly in health, education, and housing – the inequality ratio between the top 10% and the bottom 10% decreased further, from 7.1 for GDI to 3.7 for adjusted gross disposable income (AGDI).

In a context of near stability in the purchasing power of the average GDI per CU (+0.3%), inequalities increased in 2023. Driven by a rise in real primary income among the wealthiest and a decline among the poorest, the ratio between the average GDI of the top 20% and that of the bottom 20% increased from 4.1 in 2022 to 4.4 in 2023. After accounting for social transfers in kind, the purchasing power of the adjusted GDI (AGDI) per CU decreased for the bottom 40% and increased for the top 40%, with the inter‑quintile ratio rising from 2.5 to 2.6.