Subsistence minimum in 2026 by region: how much in Moscow, the Moscow region and other subjects

2026-09-27 · Living standards

The subsistence minimum for 2026 across Russia as a whole is 18,939 rubles per month per person. For the working‑age population it is 20,644 rubles, for pensioners 16,288, for a child 18,371. In the regions the figures differ: from 15,719 rubles in the Lipetsk and Tambov regions to 49,431 rubles in Chukotka. In Moscow the minimum per capita is 25,342 rubles, in the Moscow region 20,286. These are Rosstat data on the amounts set by the government and regional authorities.

This amount determines whether a family receives a single allowance, whether a supplement is added to a pension and how much money a debtor will have to leave. Below we examine how it works in practice, which regions are at the top and bottom of the list and how much the minimum has grown over the year. All figures can be opened in interactive charts.

Subsistence minimum 2026 by population groups

The minimum is calculated for four groups, each with its own amount. The highest is for the working‑age population: a person who goes to work needs a higher amount than a pensioner. The smallest is for pensioners.

All four amounts grew by the same 6.8%. A year ago the increase was twice as large: from 2024 to 2025 the per‑capita minimum rose from 15,453 to 17,733 rubles, a 14.8% rise.

The chart shows a step in the middle of 2022. At that time the minimum was changed twice: on 1 January it was 12,654 rubles per capita, and on 1 June it was raised to 13,919. In the other years the amount stays the same throughout the year. Open the subsistence minimum figures for Russia since 2021 → A series from 2013 is compiled in the summary "Subsistence minimum by years".

What the subsistence minimum means for a family

The minimum itself is not paid to anyone. It is a benchmark against which incomes are compared, and for each case a specific group and region are taken.

Unified child benefit. They look at how much money is allocated per family member and compare it with the per‑capita minimum in the region. Take a family with two adults and two children. In Moscow the benchmark for it is 4 × 25,342 = 101,368 rubles of income per month for everyone. In the Tambov region the same family is compared with 62,876 rubles, and by the all‑Russia standard it would be 75,756. The same income gives the right to the benefit in one region, but not in the other.

Social pension supplement. If a non‑working pensioner’s pension is lower than the pension minimum in his region, a social supplement up to that amount is due. In the Sverdlovsk region this benchmark is 16,125 rubles, in St. Petersburg 17,754, in Moscow 18,971.

Debt recovery. When bailiffs seize money from a salary, the debtor must be left at least the minimum for a capable worker. In Moscow this is 28,940 rubles, in the Moscow region 22,112, and on average across the country 20,644.

Fixed‑amount alimony. If a court sets alimony as a fixed sum rather than a share of earnings, the amount is tied to the minimum per child. Across Russia it is 18,371 rubles, in Moscow 21,903, in the Sverdlovsk region 18,188.

Your region not listed in the examples? Each subject has a page with all years, for example subsistence minimum in Moscow or in the Sverdlovsk region. For pensioners and children there are separate rankings: pensioner minimum by region and minimum per child by region.

Subsistence Minimum 2026 by Region: Where It Is Higher, Where It Is Lower

The gap between the extreme regions is more than threefold. In Chukotka the minimum per capita is 49,431 rubles, in Lipetsk and Tambov oblasts it is 15,719, 3.1 times less.

The top of the list is almost entirely the North and the Far East. After Chukotka come Kamchatka (33,333), Magadan Oblast (32,954), Nenets Autonomous Okrug (31,060) and Yakutia (28,598). It is expensive to transport food there, the winter is long, clothing and heating cost more. Moscow with 25,342 rubles is in ninth place, the only region among the top ten that is neither in the North nor in the Far East.

At the bottom are regions of the Black Earth and Volga areas: Lipetsk and Tambov oblasts, followed by Belgorod, Penza and Saratov, all three with 15,909 rubles. In most subjects the minimum is below the national level. It is exactly at the country level in Tula and Yaroslavl oblasts.

Here are the figures for the largest regions:

Rubles per month, 2026. In many regions the amounts coincide to the ruble.

The full table for all subjects is in the regional ranking by subsistence minimum. Open the original Rosstat table from 2013 →

Moscow and Moscow Oblast

The difference between the capital and the oblast is 5,056 rubles per person. Within Moscow the groups also differ sharply: a working‑age person needs 28,940 rubles, a pensioner 18,971, almost 10 thousand less. In the Moscow region these amounts are 22,112 and 17,446.

Both territories raised the minimum for 2026 less than the country as a whole: Moscow by 6.0%, the oblast by 5.1%. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug (5.7%), Murmansk Oblast and Yugra (each 4.0%) also grew modestly. Almost all other regions added exactly 6.8%, matching the federal figure.

Who sets the subsistence minimum and how often

Since 2021 the minimum is set once a year, immediately for the whole next year. The nationwide figure for 2026 was set by the federal law of 28 November 2025 No 426-FZ, i.e., the budget law. Regional amounts are adopted by the authorities of each subject. Until 2021 the minimum was recalculated each quarter according to the cost of the consumer basket. Now it is linked to the median income, not to the price of a specific set of products.

The set amount is valid for the whole year. In the middle of the year it was reviewed once, in June 2022. Rosstat does not set the minimum itself: it collects the decisions of the government and regions into one table and publishes it.

Subsistence minimum, minimum wage and incomes

Comparing with the minimum wage shows how the ratio has changed over a little more than ten years. In 2013 the minimum wage was 68.2% of the subsistence minimum for a working‑age person, i.e. a worker on the minimum wage earned less than needed for life by the official measure. In 2020 the minimum wage overtook the minimum for the first time (103.4%), and on 1 January 2026 it equals 131.2% of the subsistence minimum for a working‑age person.

View the ratio of minimum wage, benefits and scholarships to the subsistence minimum →

Average population incomes have moved even further away from the minimum. In the second quarter of 2026 the per‑person income in Russia was 405.1% of the subsistence minimum, about four times higher. In Moscow it was 636.1%, 6.4 times higher. Ten years earlier, in the second quarter of 2016, the country was at 302.4%.

But the average income hides those who live right at the border. In 2025, incomes below the poverty line were recorded for 9.7 million people. In 2015 there were 19.8 million, twice as many. Open the number of poor by region → More about poverty in the article "Poverty level in Russia by year".

Questions and Answers

What is the subsistence minimum in 2026 per person?

Across Russia it is 18,939 rubles per month per capita. For working‑age people 20,644, for pensioners 16,288, for a child 18,371. For benefits and supplements the amount of your own region is used, not the nationwide figure.

What is the subsistence minimum in Moscow in 2026?

25,342 rubles per capita, 28,940 for working‑age people, 18,971 for pensioners and 21,903 for a child.

What is the subsistence minimum in the Moscow region in 2026?

20,286 rubles per capita, 22,112 for working‑age people, 17,446 for pensioners, 19,677 for a child.

Where are the highest and lowest subsistence minimums?

The highest is in Chukotka, 49,431 rubles per capita. The lowest are in Lipetsk and Tambov regions, 15,719 rubles each.

How much did the subsistence minimum increase in 2026?

The nationwide figure rose by 6.8% compared with 2025. In most regions the increase is the same, in Moscow 6.0%, in the Moscow region 5.1%, in Murmansk region and Yugra 4.0%.

In Brief

• Subsistence minimum for 2026 in Russia: 18,939 rubles per capita, 20,644 for working‑age people, 16,288 for pensioners, 18,371 for a child.
• Over the year it grew by 6.8%; the previous year the growth was 14.8%.
• The highest minimum is in Chukotka (49,431), the lowest in Lipetsk and Tambov regions (15,719).
• In Moscow 25,342 rubles per capita, in the Moscow region 20,286.
• The minimum wage on 1 January 2026 equals 131.2% of the working‑age minimum, and the average income per person is roughly four times higher than the minimum.

See Also

• Regional ranking by subsistence minimum
• Pensioner subsistence minimum by region
• Child subsistence minimum by region
• Inflation calculator
• Poverty level in Russia by year

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