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Estimated Inflation by Household Characteristics June 2026

Estimated inflation was highest for households headed by those aged under 35 in the 12 months to June 2026

CSO statistical release, , 11am
Frontier Series Output

CSO Frontier Series outputs may use new methods which are under development and/or data sources which may be incomplete, for example new administrative data sources. Particular care must be taken when interpreting the statistics in this release.

Key Findings

  • In June 2026, the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation was 3.4%. New analysis by the CSO estimates that some lower-income households experienced a higher rate of inflation of 3.6%, while it was 3.4% for households with the highest incomes.

  • Households headed by a person aged under 35 had an estimated inflation rate of 3.9%. However, when the household reference person was aged 35 to 64 it was estimated at 3.4%, and estimated at 3.2% for those aged 65 or over.

  • Households renting had an estimated annual inflation rate of 3.7% compared with a rate of 3.4% for households paying a mortgage and 3.1% for households that own their home outright.

  • The annual inflation rate for urban households was 3.4%, while estimated inflation stood at 3.5% for rural households.

  • Households with children had an estimated inflation rate of 3.3% while households without children had an estimated inflation rate of 3.5%.

  • Households with only one adult had an estimated inflation rate of 3.6% compared with 3.4% for households with two adults and for those with three or more adults.

  • In the five years between June 2021 and June 2026, the index for Mortgage Interest Payments rose by 91.5%, prices for Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels were 69.8% higher, and the index for Rent was up 39.5%.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (17 September 2026) published Estimates of Inflation by Household Characteristics. This is the fifth in a series of research papers and releases where the CSO estimates how the inflation rate affects different types of households in Ireland depending on age, household composition, income, and other characteristics. See Background Notes for more information.

This release is a Frontier Series output which means care must be taken when interpreting these results as methodologies may change and data sources may be incomplete.

Commenting on this CSO Frontier Series release, Edel Flannery, Senior Statistician in the Prices Division, said: “The annual rate of inflation had been on a general downward trend from the high of 9.2% observed in October 2022 until August 2024 when it fell below 2.0% for the first time since June 2021. With the exception of April 2025 when it stood at 2.2%, annual inflation remained at or under 2.0% from August 2024 until August 2025 but has since ranged from 2.7% to 3.7% as of August 2026. The price of fuel in particular has had an upward impact on inflation over that time, due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East. These continued elevated rates of inflation have renewed interest in price change and its effects on households.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of average inflation for all private households in Ireland. However, each household has its own unique consumption pattern of goods and services and therefore its own personal experience of inflation. This release attempts to take account of those differences between households and provides an estimated breakdown of the CPI results by household characteristics up to June 2026. This analysis builds on a series of Research Papers and statistical releases on this topic previously published by the CSO.

The estimates in this release have been calculated by combining the CPI results from June 2026 with more detailed expenditure data from the 2022 to 2023 Household Budget Survey. Estimates of inflation are classified by household income, housing tenure, age of the household reference person, whether the household is in an urban or rural setting, and composition of the household; children in household (yes or no) and number of adults in the household.” 

Highlights

The official measure of inflation as published in the CPI shows that prices for consumer goods and services rose by 3.4% from June 2025 to June 2026. Over the same period, estimated annual rates of inflation changed when split into four equal groups depending on income (income quartiles). Estimated inflation by income quartile ranged from 3.4% for higher quartiles by income (third and fourth) over this period to 3.6% per annum for the lowest quartile (first). See Table 2 and Figure 3.

In the 12 months to June 2026, household groups which were estimated to have experienced inflation at a higher rate than the official measure of inflation of 3.4% included:

  • Households where the reference person was aged under 35 years (3.9%)
  • Households that were rented (3.7%)
  • Lower income households with estimated rates of inflation of up to 3.6%
  • Households containing only one adult (3.6%)
  • Households without children (3.5%)
  • Rural households (3.5%)

Contributions to Inflation

Restaurants & Accommodation Services, Transport, and Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels were the largest drivers of inflation in the 12 months to June 2026. See Table 4.

Restaurants & Accommodation Services price changes were responsible for more than one-fifth of the annual change in the CPI (0.7 percentage points of the 3.4% annual increase) while Transport and Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels both contributed another seventh each of the change (both 0.5 percentage points). Looking at household breakdowns:

  • Lowest quartile (the lowest 25% by income): Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels and Rent were the largest contributors to their estimated inflation rate at 0.8 percentage points and 0.7 percentage points respectively of 3.6%. 
  • Top income quartile: Restaurants & Accommodation Services was the largest contributor to their estimated inflation (0.8 percentage points of 3.4%).
  • Dwellings owned with a mortgage: Restaurants & Accommodation Services was the largest contributor to their annual inflation (0.8 percentage points of 3.4%), followed by Mortgage Interest Payments (0.6 percentage points).
  • Renting their homes: Rent was the largest contributor to their annual inflation (1.3 percentage points of 3.7%), followed by Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels and Restaurants & Accommodation Services (both 0.5 percentage points).
  • Rural households: Restaurants & Accommodation Services contributed 0.7 percentage points to their annual estimated inflation of 3.5%, while Transport and Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels both contributed 0.6 percentage points each.
  • Urban households: Annual estimated inflation for urban households was 3.4%, with Restaurants & Accommodation Services contributing 0.8 percentage points and Rent and Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels both contributing 0.5 percentage points each.
  • Where reference person was aged under 35: Annual inflation was estimated at 3.9%. The main contributors were Rent (0.9 percentage points), and Restaurants & Accommodation Services (0.8 percentage points).
  • Where reference person was aged 65 years or over: The main contributors to the estimated inflation of 3.2% for such households were Restaurant & Accommodation Services (0.8 percentage points) and Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (0.7 percentage points).
  • Households with children: Annual estimated inflation for households with children was 3.3%, with Restaurants & Accommodation Services contributing 0.7 percentage points while Transport and Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels both contributed 0.4 percentage points each.
  • Households without children: The main contributors to the estimated inflation of 3.5% for such households were Restaurant & Accommodation Services (0.8 percentage points) followed by both Transport and Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (0.5 percentage points).
  • Households with one adult: The three joint main contributors to the estimated inflation of 3.6% for households with one adult were Rent, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels, and Restaurants & Accommodation Services (0.7 percentage points each).

Inflation Trends over Five Years: June 2021 to June 2026

Price changes for the different household groups for the five years from June 2021 to June 2026 were also published today. Over that period, overall inflation as measured by the CPI was 24.5% while estimated inflation by income quartiles show a range from 24.2% for higher income households to 25.7% for lower income households. The lowest income quartile experienced an estimated price increase of 25.7% over those five years, while the highest income quartile experienced a rise of 24.3%. See Table 2 and Figure 2.

In the five years since June 2021, the estimated inflation experienced by households who owned their dwelling with a mortgage and households that rented were higher than the CPI and stood at 25.7% and 25.9%, respectively.

Inflation in the last five years for urban households is estimated at 24.8% compared with 23.9% for rural households.

In the five years since June 2021, the estimated inflation experienced by households with the reference person aged under 35 years was higher than the overall CPI (25.8% versus 24.5%).

Households where the household reference person was aged over 65 years had lower estimated inflation than the average CPI since June 2021 (23.6% versus 24.5%). 

Inflation in the last five years for households with children is estimated at 24.1% compared with 24.8% for households without children.

In the five years since June 2021, the estimated inflation experienced by households with only one adult and households with two adults were higher than the CPI and stood at 25.8% and 24.6%, respectively.

Recent Trends in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

In the tables and commentary, the following periods are distinguished:

  • Overall period (five years) from June 2021 to June 2026.
  • The period (four years) from June 2021 to June 2025.
  • The 12 months (one year) from June 2025 to June 2026.

In the five years from June 2021 to June 2026, the CPI rose by 24.5%, with just over one-seventh of this change being concentrated in the final 12 months. Between June 2021 and June 2025 (four years), the CPI increased by 20.4% while in the 12 months from September 2022 to June 2026, the CPI rose by 3.4%. See Table 1.

Further details for selected CPI subindices are also shown in Table 1 and Figure 1.

Table 1 Change in All Items CPI and selected subindices, June 2021 to June 2026 (5 years), June 2021 to June 2025 (4 years) and June 2025 to June 2026 (1 year)
 01. Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages02. Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco04.1 Rent04.2 Mortgage Interest Payments04.5 Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels07. Transport 11. Restaurants & Accommodation ServicesCPI All Items
June-2021 to June-2026 (5 years)26.423.839.591.569.823.5 28.424.5
June-2021 to June-2025 (4 years)25.720.631.877.855.418.6 23.820.4
June-2025 to June-2026 (1 year)0.62.65.87.79.34.1 3.63.4
CPI All Items01. Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages02. Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco04.1 Rent04.2 Mortgage Interest Payments04.5 Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels07. Transport11. Restaurants & Accommodation Services
2021 June100100100100100100100100
2021 July100.4100.5100.6100.2100102.2102.7100.8
2021 August101.1100.1100.7101.6100.3107104.6101.3
2021 September101.499.9101.6103.9100.8108.6104.1100.7
2021 October102.1100.2100.9104.8101.2114.9106.3100.5
2021 November102.7100.4100.2105.2101.4118.5107.7100.2
2021 December103.3100.898.1105.9101.9118.6110.8100.6
2022 January102.8100.8107.9106.3102.4120106.7100.3
2022 February103.7101.7106.6107.2102.9122.8109100.9
2022 March105.7102.6106.5108103.1141.8114.5102.8
2022 April106.7103.5105.8109.2103.6142.4116.5104.5
2022 May107.7104.2108110.6103.7156.4114.6105.7
2022 June109.1106.7108.2111.3104.2160.1120.3106.9
2022 July109.6108.2108.4112.5104.4158.2122.5108.2
2022 August109.7108.9108.7113.8105.8159.2120108.6
2022 September109.8109.6108.9114.3108.5162.4115.8108.2
2022 October111.6110.8109.8114.8116.3198.3115.9107.9
2022 November111.9111.5109.3115.3122.6196.5116.3107.9
2022 December111.7112.7108.7115.9124.3190.9113.2108.6
2023 January110.7113.6111.4116.2129.9191.3110.1107.6
2023 February112.6115111.8117.1135.5189.4112.6109.7
2023 March113.8116.1111.7117.8139.2188.1114.9111.8
2023 April114.4117112.3118146186.2113.9112.8
2023 May114.8117.4113.4118.6149.6181.5112.6114.7
2023 June115.8117.5113.2119.2152.5182.2115.5115.7
2023 July116117.7113.3119.9156181.9117116.1
2023 August116.7117.9113.3121.2159.9186.2117.7116.4
2023 September116.8118.2113.7122.3162.1188.3116.5116.7
2023 October117.2118.6114.4122.3164.9184.7117.8116.2
2023 November116.2119114.5122.4168.1169.6116.3115.4
2023 December116.8119113.9123.3169.8167.8117.1115.7
2024 January115.3118.8116.6123.4171.1167.1112.3115.3
2024 February116.5119.6115.8123.8173166.8115.7116.8
2024 March117.1119.5115.3124.2174.4157.9119.1117.9
2024 April117.3120.2117.5124.3176.4157.4118.5118.4
2024 May117.9120.5117.4124.7177.2156.9120.1120.1
2024 June118.3120.2117.1125.8178.6156.2121.1120.9
2024 July118.6120.2117.2126178.6156123.4121.2
2024 August118.7120.2117.5126.8179.5155.2122.5121.8
2024 September117.6120.5117.2128180.5154116.2121.2
2024 October118121.1119.9128.5178.4156.2115.3120.5
2024 November117.4121.3118.5129176.7154.9114.3119.8
2024 December118.5121.4117.4129.8177.8155119120
2025 January117.5121.9121.1130177.8156.2116.6119.8
2025 February118.6122.6120.2130.2177.1156.4118.5120.4
2025 March119.4123.5120.2130.7178.1155.4120.8121.8
2025 April119.9124.3120.2130.9177.4156.2120.6122.3
2025 May119.9125.2121.1131.3176.9155.5117.3123.5
2025 June120.4125.7120.6131.8177.8155.4118.6123.8
2025 July120.6125.8120.7131.9177.6157119.9124.4
2025 August121126.4121.3132.4178.1156.5119.7124.9
2025 September120.8126.2121.3133179.6156.2117.7124.8
2025 October121.4126.5122.3133.2181.2159.7117.3124.4
2025 November121.1126.5121.4133.5182.7160.2117.3124.1
2025 December121.7126.4120.5134.2183.7159.6119.3124.3
2026 January120.7126.7123.8134.3185.2158.9116.5123.7
2026 February121.7126.7123.2134.4186.2159.2118.1124.8
2026 March123.7126.3122.9135.5187.3175.3124.2126
2026 April124.3126.8123.3136.6189.5178.2125.2127.1
2026 May124.2126.9124137190.5171.6124.5128
2026 June124.5126.4123.8139.5191.5169.8123.5128.4

For Electricity, Gas & Other Fuelsprices rose by 55.4% in the four years between June 2021 to June 2025, followed by an increase of 9.3% in the year from June 2025 to June 2026. This means that prices for Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels in June 2026 were 69.8% higher than five years earlier.

The index for Mortgage Interest Payments rose by 77.8% in the four years from June 2021 to June 2025, and by 7.7% in the year from June 2025 to June 2026. The Mortgage Interest Payments index was 91.5% higher in June 2026 than five years earlier.

The index for Rent increased by 31.8% in the four years from June 2021 to June 2025, and by 5.8% in the year from June 2025 to June 2026. The Rent index was 39.5% higher in June 2026 than five years earlier.

Looking at these CPI results, we can expect that household groups which spend higher than average proportions of their total expenditure on Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels, on Mortgage Interest Payments, or on Rent to have experienced higher inflation than the overall CPI particularly in the last 12 months. The results analysing these points are presented in Tables 3 and 4 below.

Summary of Methodology for Estimated Inflation

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) subindices were combined with detailed expenditure data from the 2022 to 2023 Household Budget Survey (HBS) to calculate an estimated inflation rate in the five years from June 2021 to June 2026, for the following groups:

  • Households grouped by equivalised gross household income (quartiles)
  • Households grouped by type of tenure
  • Urban and rural households
  • Households grouped by the age of the household reference person
  • Households with or without children
  • Households with one, two, three of more adults

The method used is described in the Appendix of the March 2022 research paper.

The following household groups were estimated to have experienced higher inflation than the overall CPI increase of 24.5% from June 2021 to June 2026 (five years):

  • Households with lower gross household income
  • Households that own their dwelling with a mortgage
  • Households that rent their home
  • Households where the household reference person is aged under 35
  • Households without children
  • Households with one adult
  • Households with two adults
  • Urban households.

Figure 2 shows the difference from the overall CPI increase of 24.5% for different household groups for the five years from June 2021 to June 2026. All the household categories in the analysis had estimated inflation of 22.2% or more in the five years from June 2021 to June 2026. This ranged from 22.2% for households who owned their home outright to 25.9% for households that were renting their home.

IndicesEstimated difference
1st (Lowest) Income Quartile1.2
2nd Income Quartile0
3rd Income Quartile-0.3
4th (Highest) Income Quartile-0.2
Owned Outright-2.3
Owned with Mortgage1.2
Rented1.4
Urban0.3
Rural-0.6
Under 35 years1.3
35 to 64 years0
65 years or over-0.9
No children0.3
Children-0.4
1 adult1.3
2 adults0.1
More than 2 adults-0.5

In the past year, from June 2025 to June 2026, the following categories of household were estimated to have experienced higher inflation than the overall CPI increase of 3.4%:

  • Households with lower gross household income
  • Households that are rented
  • Rural households
  • Households where the household reference person is aged under 35 years
  • Households without children
  • Households with one adult.

Figure 3 shows the difference from the overall CPI increase of 3.4% for different household groups in the 12 months from June 2025 to June 2026. All categories of household in the analysis had estimated annual inflation of 3.1% or more in the year to June 2026. This ranged from 3.1% for households who owned their home outright up to 3.9% for households where the household reference person was aged under 35 years.

IndicesEstimated difference
1st (Lowest) Income Quartile0.2
2nd Income Quartile0.1
3rd Income Quartile0
4th (Highest) Income Quartile0
Owned Outright-0.3
Owned with Mortgage0
Rented0.3
Urban0
Rural0.1
Under 35 years0.5
35 to 64 years0
65 years or over-0.2
No children0.1
Children-0.1
1 adult0.2
2 adults0
More than 2 adults0

Difference from CPI Inflation

Table 2 Estimated Difference from CPI Inflation by Household Characteristics
Type of HouseholdJune 2021 to June 2026 (5 years) June 2025 to June 2026 (1 year)
Inflation (%) Difference (%) from overall inflation  Inflation (%)Difference (%) from overall inflation
All Households24.50.0 3.40.0
Income     
1st (Lowest) Income Quartile25.71.2 3.60.2
2nd Income Quartile24.50.0 3.50.1
3rd Income Quartile24.2-0.3 3.40.0
4th (Highest) Income Quartile24.3-0.2 3.40.0
Household Tenure     
Owned Outright22.2-2.3 3.1-0.3
Owned with Mortgage25.71.2 3.40.0
Rented25.91.4 3.70.3
Household Location     
Urban24.80.3 3.40.0
Rural23.9-0.6 3.50.1
Age of Household Reference Person     
Under 35 years25.81.3 3.90.5
35 to 64 years24.50.0 3.40.0
65 years or over23.6-0.9 3.2-0.2
With/without Children     
No children24.80.3 3.50.1
Children24.1-0.4 3.3-0.1
Number of Adults in Household     
1 adult25.81.3 3.60.2
2 adults24.60.1 3.40.0
More than 2 adults24.0-0.5 3.40.0

Contributions - 5 Years

Table 3 Contributions to Estimated Inflation by Household Characteristics, June 2021 to June 2026 (5 years), %
Type of Household01. Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages 02. Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco04.1 Rent04.2 Mortgage Interest Payments04.5 Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels07. Transport 11. Restaurants & Accommodation ServicesOtherTotal
All Households2.9 1.22.72.43.03.0 5.04.424.5
Income           
1st (Lowest) Income Quartile3.7 2.25.30.94.22.4 3.33.725.7
2nd Income Quartile3.4 1.43.31.73.32.9 4.14.424.5
3rd Income Quartile2.8 1.11.82.33.03.4 5.24.524.2
4th (Highest) Income Quartile2.4 0.72.13.52.23.0 6.14.324.3
Household Tenure           
Owned Outright3.1 1.10.30.03.53.5 5.65.022.2
Owned with Mortgage2.7 0.90.36.32.53.1 5.54.625.7
Rented2.9 1.79.70.02.92.3 3.52.825.9
Household Location           
Urban2.7 1.23.52.52.72.8 5.34.224.8
Rural3.3 1.21.32.23.43.5 4.54.523.9
Age of Household Reference Person           
Under 35 years2.6 1.46.91.42.52.7 5.03.325.8
35 to 64 years2.9 1.12.43.12.73.1 5.04.224.5
65 years or over3.3 1.40.70.44.33.1 5.15.223.6
With/without Children           
No children2.8 1.32.91.73.23.1 5.34.624.8
Children3.1 1.02.43.42.62.9 4.64.124.1
Number of Adults in Household           
1 adult2.6 1.55.01.93.82.9 4.93.225.8
2 adults2.9 1.12.92.72.83.0 4.94.424.6
More than 2 adults3.0 1.21.72.12.83.1 5.24.824.0

Contributions - 1 Year

Table 4 Contributions to Estimated Inflation by Household Characteristics, June 2025 to June 2026 (1 year), %
Type of Household01. Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages 02. Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco04.1 Rent04.2 Mortgage Interest Payments04.5 Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels07. Transport 11. Restaurants & Accommodation ServicesOtherTotal
All Households0.1 0.10.40.20.50.5 0.70.83.4
Income           
1st (Lowest) Income Quartile0.1 0.20.70.10.80.5 0.50.83.6
2nd Income Quartile0.1 0.10.40.20.60.5 0.61.03.5
3rd Income Quartile0.1 0.10.20.20.50.5 0.81.03.4
4th (Highest) Income Quartile0.1 0.00.30.30.40.4 0.81.03.4
Household Tenure           
Owned Outright0.1 0.10.00.00.60.5 0.81.23.1
Owned with Mortgage0.1 0.10.00.60.40.5 0.81.03.4
Rented0.1 0.21.30.00.50.4 0.50.83.7
Household Location           
Urban0.1 0.10.50.20.50.4 0.80.83.4
Rural0.1 0.10.20.20.60.6 0.70.93.5
Age of Household Reference Person           
Under 35 years0.1 0.10.90.10.40.4 0.81.03.9
35 to 64 years0.1 0.10.30.30.50.5 0.70.83.4
65 years or over0.1 0.10.10.00.70.5 0.81.03.2
With/without Children           
No children0.1 0.10.40.20.50.5 0.81.03.5
Children0.1 0.10.30.30.40.4 0.70.93.3
Number of Adults in Household           
1 adult0.1 0.10.70.20.70.4 0.70.73.6
2 adults0.1 0.10.40.30.50.4 0.70.83.4
More than 2 adults0.1 0.10.20.20.50.5 0.80.93.4

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