Nominal cash incomes of Kazakhstan's residents grew 11.2% year-on-year, but inflation swallowed most of that gain, leaving the real figure up just 0.7%. The Bureau of National Statistics published the data for the second quarter of 2026, according to infohub.kz.

According to official statistics, average per capita nominal cash income in Kazakhstan in the second quarter of 2026 stood at 263,691 tenge a month. The figure rose 3.9% over the quarter and 11.2% over the year. Inflation, however, ate into much of that gain: real incomes grew 1.6% over the three months and just 0.7% over the year.

It is important not to confuse nominal household income with per capita income, which analysts calculate from household surveys rather than official statistics. By that measure, the figure stood at 410,088 tenge in the second quarter.

Nominal incomes vary widely from region to region. The highest figure was recorded in Almaty at 427,584 tenge a month, followed by Astana (365,451 tenge) and the Ulytau region (313,488 tenge). In Shymkent, nominal incomes reached only 169,512 tenge, while the lowest figure was in the Turkistan region at 152,711 tenge a month.

Among other regions: Abai — 232,676 tenge, Akmola region — 240,609 tenge, Aktobe — 237,753 tenge, Almaty region — 197,279 tenge, Atyrau — 304,479 tenge, West Kazakhstan — 234,422 tenge, Zhambyl — 179,360 tenge, Zhetisu — 180,101 tenge, Karaganda — 286,829 tenge, Kostanay — 262,497 tenge, Kyzylorda — 188,788 tenge, Mangystau — 289,938 tenge, Pavlodar — 287,897 tenge, North Kazakhstan — 232,657 tenge and East Kazakhstan — 293,783 tenge.

The fastest growth in nominal incomes was recorded in Almaty, up 14.4% over the year, with real growth of 4.7%. East Kazakhstan came next, at 14% in nominal terms and 3.3% in real terms. Third was Kostanay region, at 13.9% and 3.1% respectively.

In Astana, nominal incomes rose 8.7% over the year, but there was no real growth — down 0.6%. Shymkent followed a similar pattern: nominal incomes rose 9.9%, while real incomes slipped 0.2%.

Inflation hit residents of the Atyrau region hardest. Nominal incomes there did not grow at all and fell 1.5%, while real incomes dropped 11.8%.

Nationwide, then, nominal incomes have finally outpaced inflation, but in some regions they still lag behind price growth in the country, weighing on households' well-being.

Earlier it was reported that inflation in Kazakhstan fell to 9.3% at the end of September.