Insee Première · July 2026 · n° 2117

Standards of Living and Poverty in 2024 Standards of Living Rose Without Curbing Inequalities

In 2024, standards of living rose in the context of a sharp decline in inflation. This rise was recorded across the entire spectrum of living standards. The median standard of living for people living in ordinary housing in metropolitan France reached 2,228 euros per month, increasing by 1.8% in constant euros. The standard of living of the most modest households rose by 1.7% and that of the wealthiest by 1.4%. These increases were mainly driven by pension revaluation and wage rises exceeding inflation, high returns on financial investments and, for the most modest households, revaluation of social benefits.

Despite the recovery in living standards among the most modest households, inequalities in living standards reached a historically high level due to higher incomes at the top of the distribution.

In 2024, 9.8 million people living in ordinary housing in metropolitan France were living below the monetary poverty threshold (1,337 euros per month). The poverty rate remained stable compared with 2023, standing at 15.4% and has thus stayed at its highest level since 1996, the year the series began. The intensity of poverty, measured by the gap between the median standard of living of poor people and the poverty threshold, slightly rose. Pensioners’ poverty rate fell, getting back to the same level as that of the working population (10.4%). The unemployed and single-parent families remained the groups most affected by poverty.