According to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24 released on Friday, South India outperforms the rest of the country in monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE). The five southern states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka—recorded MPCE levels significantly above the national average.
In Kerala, rural households spend Rs 6,611 and urban households Rs 7,834 per month—compared to national averages of Rs 4,122 and Rs 6,996. Tamil Nadu follows with Rs 5,872 in rural areas and Rs 8,325 in urban areas. In Telangana, the figures are Rs 5,675 and Rs 9,131 respectively.
Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest MPCE in the south, with rural households spending Rs 6,107 and urban households spending Rs 9,877. Karnataka rounds out the top five, with Rs 5,068 in rural areas and Rs 8,169 in urban areas.
Interestingly, industrialized states like Gujarat and Maharashtra hover around the national average, while populous northern states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan lag behind. West Bengal also falls below average in both rural and urban spending.
The survey identified stark contrasts across the country. The highest MPCE was recorded in Sikkim – rural households spent Rs 9,377 while urban households spent Rs 13,927. At the other extreme, Chhattisgarh recorded the lowest MPCE at Rs 2,739 in rural areas and Rs 4,927 in urban areas.
The survey also revealed significant rural-urban disparities. Meghalaya leads with a rural-urban gap of 104%, followed by Jharkhand at 83% and Chhattisgarh at 80%. Across all 28 states, nine MPCE levels were recorded above the national average in both rural and urban categories.
Conducted from August 2023 to July 2024, the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey provides critical insights that help measure spending trends, poverty, inequality and economic well-being.