The minimum cost of living for a working-class family reached more than 90 million tomans at the end of July 2026, nearly four times the monthly wage of a married worker with one child.
Based on these calculations, a worker’s total salary, including all benefits, covers living costs for only about eight days of the month.
Labor activist Faramarz Toufiqi described the surge in living costs as “unprecedented” in an interview with the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA).
Toufiqi calculated the figure using data from the Statistical Center of Iran and food basket metrics from the National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute. In his estimate, the minimum monthly food cost for an average family of 3.3 people stands at approximately 34.4 million tomans.
By factoring in the food expenditure share, which exceeds 38 percent of total spending for households in the fourth and fifth income deciles, Toufiqi estimated the total minimum living cost for a working-class household at roughly 90.6 million tomans.
According to Toufiqi, the total monthly compensation for a married worker with one child and one year of tenure, assuming all statutory benefits are fully paid, is about 24.9 million tomans. This amount covers merely 27.5 percent of the calculated livelihood basket, proving sufficient for only about eight days of monthly expenses.
This calculation comes alongside official statistical reports confirming severe price surges across basic consumer goods.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, point-to-point inflation reached 88 percent in July 2026, with annual inflation rising to 66 percent and monthly inflation recorded at 3 percent.
Monthly inflation for food, beverages, and tobacco was reported at 2.5 percent, while non-food items and services rose by more than 3 percent. Notably, point-to-point food and beverage inflation surged to 128 percent, meaning households spent more than double compared to July of the previous year for an identical food basket.
Oils and fats registered the highest increase, with a point-to-point inflation rate of 261.5 percent. Point-to-point inflation stood at 147 percent for dairy products (milk, cheese, and eggs) and 145 percent for red and white meat.
In March 2026, the Supreme Labor Council originally determined the working-class family livelihood basket at 42.9 million tomans. The latest July calculations reveal that this figure surged to approximately 90.6 million tomans in just four months.
Consequently, the cost of the livelihood basket grew by 47.7 million tomans, an increase of 111 percent, more than doubling within four months.
During the same March meeting, the Supreme Labor Council set the 2026–2027 base minimum wage at roughly 16.6 million tomans following a 60 percent increase. With all legal benefits included, the maximum total payout for a married worker with one child reached approximately 24.9 million tomans.
At the time of approval, this payout covered about 58 percent of the official livelihood basket. However, July calculations demonstrate that its purchasing power and coverage capacity plummeted to roughly 27.5 percent.
Article 41 of Iran’s Labor Law obligates the Supreme Labor Council to determine minimum wages relative to the inflation rate and the cost of maintaining a family’s basic standard of living. Nevertheless, the approved 1405 minimum wage fell drastically short of the livelihood basket from the outset, a gap that rapid price increases in subsequent months have further widened.