Where you stand in the Philippine income hierarchy
Ever wondered where you'd rank compared with Filipino families? Below is monthly income for a family of five (about ₱62.90 to the dollar).
Poor: under ₱14,634 ($233). 6.4% of all households.
Low income (not poor): ₱14,634 to ₱29,268 ($233 to $465). About 38%.
Lower middle: ₱29,268 to ₱58,536 ($465 to $931). About 34%.
Middle: ₱58,536 to ₱102,438 ($931 to $1,629). About 19% for middle and upper middle combined.
Upper middle: ₱102,438 to ₱175,608 ($1,629 to $2,792). Included in the figure above.
Upper (not rich): ₱175,608 to ₱292,680 ($2,792 to $4,653). About 1.6%.
Rich: ₱292,680 and up ($4,653 and up). About 0.6%.
The brackets are multiples (1x, 2x, 4x, 7x, 12x, 20x) of the 2025 poverty line of ₱14,634 for a family of five. The poor share is the 2025 PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) figure, and the other shares are estimates, since the 2025 breakdown by bracket hasn't been released yet. The exchange rate is the October 8 close.
I'm rich, buddy.
I remember being told in the province that half the country makes under $5 a day, some as little as $1 a day. A guy could work all day and only afford a jeepney ride and a soda. There are a lot of weird labor contracts where people get paid little or nothing for the first 90 days. On the other hand, every family has at least one OFW who juices up the family income.
Now do net worth
Rich seems pretty subjective. To an American (or at least to me) it means marble floors and ocean views... $4K can't get you anywhere near that. What does it actually get you?
As a local, I agree with these numbers
It doesn't matter how rich you are if you can't get to a hospital or get proper treatment.
It's per family. Usually two or three people in a family work, something like 20k, 15k, and 8k from a daughter working as a maid. In Manila 100k is rich; in the province 50k is rich.
Comments 0
Please log into write a comment.