2027 Household Expenditure Survey (Pilot)
Your spending tells an important story about Jamaica.
The 2027 Household Expenditure Survey (HES) will collect information on how households across Jamaica spend on everyday goods and service; from food and housing to transportation, education, healthcare and more. The information you provide will help to build a clearer picture of household spending patterns and support important economic and social statistics used to inform decisions that affect Jamaicans.
If your household is selected, your participation matters. By taking part, you will help ensure that the statistics produced reflect the realities of households across Jamaica.
New Feature: HES Mobile Budget Calculator
As part of the 2027 Household Expenditure Survey, STATIN has introduced a new HES Mobile Budget Calculator to assist respondents in recording their expenditures on consumer goods and services. The mobile calculator will provide respondents with a convenient way to keep track of their household spending and support the collection of accurate expenditure information during the survey.
You can access the HES Mobile Budget Calculator directly on the STATIN website via the HES Budget App download page, or launch the browser version using the HES Web App.
Have questions about the survey? Explore the FAQs below to learn more about the 2027 HES, why it is important, what participation involves, and how your information will be protected.
FAQs and Commonly Asked Questions
The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) is conducted by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) every 10 years to capture information on household spending on consumer goods and services, along with other related details such as income, household characteristics, consumption patterns and living conditions.
The core purpose of the survey is to provide data and estimates of the amounts households spend on consumption goods and services, and for other purposes, over a given period of time.
The HES plays a critical role in helping Jamaica understanding how households spend their money and how spending patterns change over time.
It helps update Jamaica's Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The HES provides critical information on household consumption patterns and is a vital source of data used for rebasing the Consumer Price Index (CPI), one of the most widely used measures of inflation.
The survey helps to:
- Update the basket of goods and services used in the CPI
- Identify new products and services that households are purchasing
- Remove obsolete items that are no longer commonly used
- Improve the measurement of changes in the cost of living
As consumer preferences change and new technologies emerge, the HES ensures that the CPI remains relevant and accurately reflects how Jamaicans live and spend.
It supports national planning and policy development
The information collected helps government agencies/ policymakers and researchers make informed decisions about social and economic programmes, resource allocation and national development initiatives.
It supports businesses to make informed decisions.
The HES provides valuable insights into how Jamaican households spend their money. Businesses can use this information to better understand consumer spending patterns, identify market opportunities, and make informed decisions about products, services, pricing, and investment.
Participation is very important. Every response helps to build a more complete and accurate picture of household spending patterns in Jamaica.
Your participation in the 2027 Household Expenditure Survey helps STATIN understand how Jamaican households spend their money on everyday items and services. The information STATIN collects are used to update important national economic statistics, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is used to calculate inflation. By participating in the survey, the household is helping to ensure that these statistics accurately reflect the spending patterns today, which supports better planning and decision-making for the country.
Households are selected using the systematic random sampling technique. The HES sample is selected in two stages:
Stage 1
Enumeration Districts (EDs), the smallest geographic areas into which Jamaica is divided for census and survey data collection, are selected from across the country.
Stage 2
A fixed number of dwellings are then randomly selected within each selected ED.
This process ensures that households across the country have a chance of being selected and that survey results are representative of the Jamaican population.
- A trained STATIN interviewer will visit your household.
- You will be asked questions about your household consumption and spending patterns.
- Household members may be asked to record their spending using the STATIN Budget Calculator App.
The process is designed to be easy, guided, and manageable.
The guided interview takes approximately three hours on average, although the duration may vary by household. Some household members may also be asked to record their spending for a short period using the STATIN Budget Calculator App. Your time and participation will help provide valuable information for Jamaica's development.
The STATIN budget calculator app is a user-friendly, easy to use app that helps households record their everyday purchases and expenses for the HES. It makes it easy for households to keep track of and understand their spending habits. Using the app improves the
accuracy of expenditure information collected and helps STATIN produce high-quality statistics about household spending patterns in Jamaica.
Previous Household Expenditure Survey (HES) reports are available on the Statistical Institute of Jamaica's (STATIN) website. Visit www.statinja.gov.jm to access historical HES publications, reports, and other statistical resources.
You must track and record all expenses incurred over a specified two-week period.
The questionnaire covers expenditure in several areas, including:
- Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
- Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Narcotics
- Housing and Housing Expenses
- Health
- Education
- Clothing and Footwear
- Restaurants
- Transport
- Special Occasions (Weddings and Funerals)
- Overseas Expenditure
- Household Income
And other related areas of household expenditure.
All information collected during the HES is strictly confidential, protected by law, and used only for statistical purposes for example, to update the basket of goods and services that is used in the production of the Consumer Price Index.
STATIN is committed to protecting the privacy of respondents and has established procedures to safeguard information collected during the survey process in compliance with the Statistics Act, the Data Protection Act, and the Fundamental Principles of Statistics.
Information provided by respondents is never released in a manner that identifies establishments, individuals or households. Survey findings are published only as aggregated statistics that reflect broader trends and patterns.
The 2026 HES Pilot is scheduled to begin on September 21, 2026.
Android users are currently able to download the Budget App Apk from our website via The STATIN website. Users are also able to use the web version of the app at their convenience and perform the same operations as they would on the app by visiting The Budget App website
