Seventeen percent of respondents rate their financial situation as poor, while 3% admit they do not have enough money even for food, according to a survey commissioned by LRT. For most people, daily living costs – utility bills, food prices, and loan repayments – remain the biggest burden.
“Food prices are too high when we measure how much we can afford with the average wage,” said Kęstutis Kupšys, Vice President of the Consumer Alliance.
“At times, it feels as if the entrepreneurs working in Lithuania’s food retail sector are waging a war against their customers,” Kupšys added.
The survey also found that a further 14% of respondents said they have enough money for food but find it very difficult to afford new clothes.
Almost half (45%) of those surveyed described their family’s financial situation as average. They have enough money for food and clothes and can save a little, but still struggle to save for larger purchases such as a television or refrigerator.
A third (33%) of respondents described their household’s financial situation as good. Thirty-one per cent said they can afford some more expensive items, such as a television or refrigerator, but cannot afford major purchases like a flat or holiday home.
Another 2% of adults said they can afford everything they want, while 5% had no opinion on the matter.
People aged over 65 were more likely to rate their household’s financial situation as poor (30%). Similar views were expressed by residents of rural areas and smaller towns (22%), respondents with incomplete secondary education (31%) and those whose family income is the lowest – up to €1,200 per month (45%).
Those who rated their financial situation as good (33% of adults in Lithuania) were more often men (38%) than women (29%), people under 50, city residents (41%) and respondents with higher education (55%).
This group also included those with the highest family incomes – over €2,000 per month (56%), managers (85%), and professionals and office workers (50%).
Respondents were also asked what they consider to be their biggest personal or family financial burden at the moment. They provided spontaneous answers, as no list of possible options was given (an open-ended question).
The survey showed that residents most often identified two main financial problems – utility bills (17%) and high food prices and living costs (16%).
The risk of energy poverty in Lithuania remains real, and the cost of utility services is “a critical factor in many households’ budgets”, according to Associate Professor Evaldas Stankevičius from the Faculty of Economics and Business at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU).
The average household in Lithuania currently spends about 36–40% of its income on food and utilities, he said, while for lower-income groups this figure can reach 50–55%.
This means that for half of the country’s population, these essential expenses leave very little room for saving or covering unexpected needs, according to the expert.
“The cost of utilities and food in Lithuania is indeed hard to afford for a significant share of the population, especially for lower-income households,” Stankevičius said.
One in ten (11%) adults said their family currently has no financial burdens, while a fifth (19%) did not answer the question.
Respondents with higher education, those who rated their financial situation as good, people in managerial positions, and those without children under 18 were more likely to say they had no financial burdens.
Women, people aged over 65, residents of rural or smaller towns, and graduates of colleges or technical schools were more likely than men to name utility bills (heating, gas, electricity, etc.) as their biggest financial burden.
High food prices and living costs were also more often mentioned by women, people aged over 65, and residents of smaller twons and also larger cities..
Housing loan repayments were more often a burden for young people under 30 (just over one in ten) and middle-aged respondents (30–49), one in four of whom reported this issue.
Loan repayments were also more common among city residents, respondents with higher education and those with the highest family incomes (over €2,000 per month).
A representative survey of Lithuanian residents was carried out for LRT by the market and public opinion research company Baltijos Tyrimai.
The survey took place between September 24 and October 9, 2025. It questioned 1,004 Lithuanian residents aged 18 and over across 108 sampling points.
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