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Household budget · Switzerland

Where a Swiss household’s money goes

What the average household pays each month for its contracts, bills and taxes, from the Federal Statistical Office’s household budget survey (HABE, for Haushaltsbudgeterhebung). Where we compare a cost, its line links to the comparison.

  • CHF 4’313.00 a month on these 16 items
  • 9 of 16 with a comparison on MEconomy
  • Survey year 2023

Every month, largest first

Taxes and rent or mortgage interest alone are CHF 2’326.50 a month, 54% of these items.

  1. Taxes

    CHF 1’244.90

    CHF 14’939 a year

    Federal, cantonal, municipal and church taxes, withholding tax included.

    HABE 3200 · quality c

  2. Rent or mortgage interest

    CHF 1’081.60

    CHF 12’979 a year

    For the main home. 61.1% of households rent.

    Compare:Rent reduction Mortgages HABE 5711.00 · quality b

  3. Basic health insurance

    CHF 688.70

    CHF 8’264 a year

    Compare:Health insurance HABE 3300.01 · quality b

  4. Pillar 3a

    CHF 296.60

    CHF 3’559 a year

    Tied pension saving. The survey counts it as saving, not spending.

    Compare:Pillar 3a HABE 8100.01 · quality c

  5. Phone, internet and TV

    CHF 158.80

    CHF 1’906 a year

    Subscriptions and devices.

    Compare:Mobile Internet and TV HABE 632 · quality b

  6. Supplementary health insurance

    CHF 142.30

    CHF 1’708 a year

    Hospital, accident and other supplementary cover.

    HABE 4100 · quality c

  7. Fuel

    CHF 128.10

    CHF 1’537 a year

    76.7% of households have at least one car.

    Compare:Fuel and heating oil HABE 6215 · quality c

  8. Public transport

    CHF 126.10

    CHF 1’513 a year

    Train and bus tickets and passes: GA, Halbtax and fare-network passes.

    Compare:Public transport HABE 6221, 6222.01, 6225 · quality c–e

  9. Car leasing

    CHF 100.90

    CHF 1’211 a year

    HABE 6217.03 · quality d

  10. Car insurance

    CHF 94.40

    CHF 1’133 a year

    HABE 4202.01 · quality b

  11. Electricity

    CHF 81.60

    CHF 979 a year

    Compare:Electricity HABE 5713.01 · quality c

  12. Heating billed to the household

    CHF 45.30

    CHF 544 a year

    Gas, oil and other fuels, central or district heating. Heating paid with a tenant’s service charges is counted elsewhere in the survey.

    Compare:Fuel and heating oil HABE 5713.02, 5713.03 · quality c–d

  13. Bank and other financial fees

    CHF 44.30

    CHF 532 a year

    Compare:Accounts and cards HABE 6832 · quality d

  14. Home contents, liability and building insurance

    CHF 39.40

    CHF 473 a year

    HABE 4201 · quality b

  15. Radio and TV fee (Serafe)

    CHF 26.50

    CHF 318 a year

    HABE 6632.04 · quality a

  16. Water, wastewater and waste

    CHF 13.50

    CHF 162 a year

    HABE 5712.02–5712.04 · quality c–d

Each figure is the mean over all private households in Switzerland, including those without the cost: a household with a car spends more on fuel than CHF 128.10, one without spends nothing. 61.1% of households rent and 76.7% have at least one car (summary table je-d-20.02.01.00.01).

Source: Federal Statistical Office (BFS), household budget survey (HABE) 2023, table je-d-20.02.01.02.01, published 17.11.2025. The position numbers are the survey’s; its quality code runs from a (very precise) to e (a coefficient of variation of 10% or more). Lines that add several positions show the range of their codes.

Pillar 3a counts as saving in the survey, not as spending; it is here because a household chooses where it pays in. Food and drink (CHF 637.80) and restaurants (CHF 427.20) are left out: they are shopping, not contracts or bills. All consumption spending together comes to CHF 5’049 a month in the survey.