Household Consumption Survey: Sikkim tops rural, urban spending, Goa is second; Chhattisgarh ranks lowest

India's Household Expenditure Consumption Survey was released on February 24

The hill state of Sikkim spends the most across rural and urban households, while Chhattisgarh ranks the lowest on both metrics, as per their Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) during 2022-23.

With an average MPCE of Rs 7,731 in rural areas and Rs 12,105 in urban areas, Sikkim topped the charts among states, while mineral-rich Chhattisgarh, with rural consumption of Rs 2,466 and urban consumption of Rs 4,483, came in at the bottom, India's Household Expenditure Consumption Survey released on February 24 showed.

Jharkhand came in above Chhattisgarh with an average MPCE of Rs 2,763, preceded by Odisha at Rs 2,950. For urban consumption, Bihar at Rs 4,768 took up the second spot, and Manipur was third at Rs 4,880.

Among states, in rural and urban consumption, Goa, with an average MPCE of Rs 7,367 and Rs 8,734, respectively, came in second, while Kerala was in third place at Rs 5,924 for expenditure by rural households, and Arunachal Pradesh took the third spot for urban.

The rural-urban difference in average MPCE among the states was found to be the highest in Meghalaya (83 percent) followed by Chhattisgarh (82 percent).

Among the Union Territories, MPCE was the highest in Chandigarh (rural at Rs 7,467 and urban at Rs 12,575), and the lowest in Ladakh (Rs 4,035) and Lakshadweep (Rs 5,475) for rural and urban areas, respectively.

Among the 36 states and Union Territories in the country, 27 registered higher rural expenditure compared to the all-India average MPCE figure of Rs 3,773 in 2022-23. UP, Bengal, Odisha, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Assam ranked lower than the national average.

On the other hand, in terms of urban consumption, a lower number of 21 states and Union Territories had an average MPCE that was higher than the national average at Rs 6,459 in 2022-23. A host of them, including Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, had a lower consumption level compared to the all-India figure.