How much Irish households spend on Meals Away From Home: CSO Household Budget Survey

The CSO's table for 2023 gives average weekly household expenditure on "Meals away from home (including takeout tea/coffee)" as €30.68 per household, out of €1,007.47 on everything, which is 3.05% by our arithmetic. For 2015 the same table family gives €26.27 of €837.47. The figure rises with household disposable income, from €11.20 in the 1st quintile to €54.93 in the 5th. These are averages per household per week, in euro as published, with no price adjustment, so a given household can be far from them.

How much does an Irish household spend a week on meals away from home?

The CSO's 2023 figure is €30.68 a week on average per household. Its total average weekly household expenditure for the same households is €1,007.47, so the category is 3.05% of the total. The percentage is ours.

One label matters. The CSO calls the category "Meals away from home (including takeout tea/coffee)", and I use those words exactly. I do not say what it covers beyond them. "Average weekly household expenditure" is the table's own wording: an average across households, not what any one household spends.

How does that compare with 2015?

The 2015 figure for the State is €26.27 a week, of €837.47 total average weekly household expenditure, which is 3.14% by our arithmetic. The 2023 figure is 16.8% higher, while total expenditure is 20.3% higher. Both percentages are ours.

Both are in euro as published, and the tables give no price adjustment, so this is a comparison of published euro amounts only. The CSO tables give no reason for the change, so this page gives none. The 2015 table labels the category "Meals away from home (incl. takeout tea/coffee)".

Does spending on meals away from home differ by income?

Yes. The CSO's table by Household Disposable Income Quintile runs from €11.20 a week in the 1st quintile to €54.93 in the 5th, and the 5th is 4.9 times the 1st by our arithmetic. The table is below, with shares of total spending that are ours.

The CSO's own results page says: "Just over 14% of total Food expenditure for households in the lowest income quintile was on Meals Away From Home (including takeout tea/coffee). This was over 23% for households in the highest income quintile." That is a share of food expenditure, a different base from the shares of total expenditure in the table.

The 2015 table uses deciles, not quintiles, so I do not compare the two years by income group.

Does spending on meals away from home differ by region?

Yes, in 2023. The CSO's NUTS 2 Region table gives €35.68 a week for Eastern and Midland, €26.74 for Southern and €24.59 for Northern and Western. As shares of total average weekly household expenditure, ours, those are 3.28%, 2.85% and 2.67%.

The 2015 table uses eight regions, a different breakdown, so I do not compare regions across the two years. The CSO tables give no reason for the differences, so this page gives none.

What about urban and rural households?

In 2023 the CSO gives €32.16 a week for "Urban (Population over 1,500)" households and €28.08 for "Rural (Population up to 1,499)". As shares of total, ours, that is 3.12% and 2.90%. The 2015 table uses different labels, "Urban areas" and "Rural areas", so I do not compare urban and rural across the two years.

Where do these numbers come from?

They come from the CSO's Household Budget Survey. The tables label the 2023 figures "2023"; the CSO's survey is called Household Budget Survey 2022-2023. The earlier survey is labelled "2015". I read tables HBS01 to HBS07 (updated 1 August 2024) and HS012 (updated 1 October 2020), all on 22 October 2026, taking the category "Meals away from home (including takeout tea/coffee)" and the total, in euro, as average weekly household expenditure.

You can download the figures as a CSV. If you cite it: Cupán Studio, from CSO Household Budget Survey tables HBS01 to HBS07 and HS012, read 22 October 2026.

For what a card payment total looks like, see our page on Central Bank card spending. For prices, see our page on café and restaurant prices.

2023, by Household Disposable Income Quintile: average weekly household expenditure, euro. Share is ours: meals away divided by total.

Quintile	Meals away from home (including takeout tea/coffee)	Total	Share of total
1st quintile	€11.20	€444.00	2.52%
2nd quintile	€20.06	€695.19	2.89%
3rd quintile	€26.50	€899.76	2.95%
4th quintile	€40.94	€1,247.52	3.28%
5th quintile	€54.93	€1,757.16	3.13%
All quintiles	€30.68	€1,007.47	3.05%

Sources

• CSO, Household Budget Survey tables HBS01 to HBS07, including table HBS03 (2023, updated 1 August 2024), read 22 October 2026.
• CSO, Household Budget Survey table HS012 (2015, updated 1 October 2020), read 22 October 2026.
• CSO, Household Budget Survey 2022-2023, Results and Analysis, read 22 October 2026.

Figures from CSO Household Budget Survey tables HBS01 to HBS07 (2023) and HS012 (2015), read 22 October 2026; averages per household per week; shares and percentage changes are ours; no price adjustment. A summary of published statistics, not financial advice. Cupán Studio builds websites for cafés in Ireland.