The highest average incomes were found in Russia’s northern regions such as the Yamal-Nenets, Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Areas; the poorest regions with the lowest incomes are Tyva, Kalmykia and Altai, according to a RIA Novosti study.
Tyva and Ingushetia have the largest number of citizens living below the “extreme” poverty line. As for the “regular” poverty line, the highest number of people living below it can be found in Yakutia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Kamchatka.
These estimates are based on both incomes and expenses, that is, the cost of the consumer basket in the respective regions; the study compares the ratios of the median income to the value of the basket in various regions (based on last year’s data).
“It is difficult to accurately estimate the difference in income in different cities, but it can be safely said that the residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg have the highest incomes. Their salaries and informal wages are much higher than the national average, while their expenses are not significantly higher, and sometimes even lower,” says tax expert Nikolai Yepikhin, director of the Uproshchyonka (‘simplified taxation system’) website. “This is explained by the strong competition between the local retail chains and more options to choose from, something people in the provinces do not have.”