How to ask income survey questions

When it comes to collecting personal information from respondents, it’s important to put your respondents sufficiently at ease to answer. Sensitive questions involve disclosing personal information such as health, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and income. To obtain accurate responses to sensitive questions about factors such as these, the correct method must be used. 

Asking someone questions about their income may seem intrusive, causing the respondent to skip the question or exit the survey entirely.  Knowing how to ask an income survey question using the correct method can increase your survey completion rate.

Income survey questions are part of a demographic questionnaire that reveals the financial situation of a respondent. Income is personal information, but it's also information that is necessary for some businesses, such as banks, restaurants, retailers, etc., to make informed business decisions. For example, banks may issue a loan based on the applicant’s financial ability to pay it back. Another example is that income survey questions can help you assess whether your customer base can afford the product or service offered. Having insight into annual income can also help businesses better price their products to sell them. 

Asking respondents income survey questions using the correct method has its benefits. Understanding household income can provide valuable insight that helps you make better decisions for your business. Income survey questions can help you achieve three things: 

Just like the advantages, there are also some disadvantages to asking income survey questions. However, these disadvantages can be easily navigated to benefit your business. Still, such drawbacks are worth acknowledging.

If you want to achieve the best results for your next survey, it’s important to get survey-takers to answer all of your questions. Respondents need to feel at ease when answering your questions. They’ll probably trust you enough to answer honestly if they're at ease. Here’s what you need to do to write great survey questions about income:

If you want respondents to answer all your survey questions about income, it’s important to put them at their ease. That’s why it’s crucial to know your audience when composing survey questions. If you know that the income of your target market doesn’t go beyond a certain range, then stop your answer ranges before they get too large. This is where referencing your buyer persona comes in handy, and you’ll be able to target people who are most likely to buy your product or service. As a result, your questions will be worded to relate better to this pool of respondents.

Make sure your questions are clear, direct and easy to understand. Avoid making respondents read income survey questions more than once. Survey takers generally want to finish questionnaires quickly. The easier an income survey question is to read, the quicker they’ll honestly answer the question, and the faster they’ll complete the survey.  

While income survey questions need to be clear and direct, it’s also beneficial to mix them with questions that don’t mention income yet are still income-related. Asking too many precise survey income questions in a row might be too much personal information for the respondent to disclose. Asking a question about a respondent's education level won’t give you a direct answer about annual income, but it can provide data to correlate for practical insights.

Make sure your questions about income are clear so that you can get the most accurate response from respondents. For example, the question “What is your total annual household income?” reads better than “How much money does your partner make a year?”.

It’s best to avoid assuming that respondents will understand the terminology you use to construct your survey questions. Avoid confusion by explaining the terms you’re using. For example, although household income and personal income are two different terms, respondents might use these terms interchangeably. This misunderstanding could render the wrong answers that can affect the overall assessment of your survey results. 

Part of putting the respondent at ease is being honest with them. Tell them why you’re asking a sensitive survey question about income. Educating the respondents upfront about your survey goals may encourage them to want to answer all of your questions honestly.

Offer respondents an easier way to answer delicate questions. Provide answering options that give a range in GBP. This means that respondents don’t have to reveal the exact GBP amount of their income. For example, you could ask:

What is your total annual income?

Upper and lower limits relate to the first and last answer choice. To avoid assuming respondents make a minimum amount of money, start the first band with a range that starts with zero. For example, £0–£30,000. 

The best way to ensure that respondents are at ease when answering income survey questions is to offer an option not to answer. Opting out of a question is better than the respondent exiting the survey altogether. If survey-takers select this option and continue with the survey, this tells you that perhaps the question needs to be rephrased. 

There are many ways to ask about a person’s income. The following questions can give you an idea of how to ask better “What is your income level?”. You’ll also learn why these questions are asked and how the answers can benefit your business:

1. Which of the following best describes your personal income last year?

Income bracket survey questions (a list of answers using a GBP range) allow respondents to disclose personal information without revealing their actual income. They also allow surveyors to assess the results more effectively. Additionally, they provide businesses with another way to organise their customer base. 

2. What is your total annual household income?

Asking for the total annual household income avoids asking the respondent how much every person living in their home earns per year. The question is also inclusive of other means of income, including pensions, dividends and social security payments. Surveyors will have a better understanding of the respondent’s overall household income. 

3. Do you have any income from sources other than salary?

This question works in tandem with question No. 2. Knowing whether the respondent has other sources of income lets you better assess/categorise the total household income. Surveyors can also fine-tune their demographic with more questions that are specific to what kind of sources supplement the total annual income, like questions 4-7. 

4. Did you receive spousal maintenance in the last year?

This question is a non-invasive way to determine a respondent’s marital status. Spousal maintenance can sometimes be a temporary source of income. If this supplements the total household income, then it’s important information that businesses should consider. 

5. Did you receive any social security benefits or disability income in the past year?

In addition to learning about specific types of supplemental income, you can acquire other useful demographic information. Asking about pension income is another way to ask about age. Learning the age of your customer base, young or mature, can help you communicate in a relatable way.

6. Did you receive any monetary contribution for child support in the last year?

This question reveals whether the respondent is a guardian to a minor. Businesses can benefit from knowing what percentage of their respondents are parents. There are lots of products and services catering to children and parental needs.

7. Have you received any gifts or monetary contributions, including rent or utility payments, from someone who does not live with you?

This is another way to distinguish a respondent’s annual personal income from their annual household income. Asking specific questions like this helps the respondent itemise supplemental income for you.

8. List all your sources of income

This open-ended question allows respondents to type in their answers and provide information that you, as the surveyor, may have missed. You can also provide a multiple choice option in a radio button, tick box or dropdown list to limit the response and help you assess survey results more efficiently. 

The income survey question examples provided above are just one aspect of sensitive demographic survey questions. Ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and health-related questions are considered sensitive topics for most people. Gain better insights into collecting other types of demographics. Demographic surveys help you gain a better understanding of your buying audience. Start your next questionnaire with these helpful demographic survey templates and learn how to collect demographic information from surveys using the correct method.

Building a household income question survey requires finesse to gain a better understanding of your buyers’ identity. Knowing your audience and providing precise instructions with clear and relevant wording and band ranges with appropriate limits will help you provide surveys that customers can trust and answer honestly. These helpful survey tips will prepare you to collect customer demographics that your business can use. Sign up for a free account with SurveyMonkey to build your next survey!