These are the most expensive counties to live in

Those living in Nairobi and Mombasa counties, which also double up as the country’s largest cities, bear the highest cost.

Kenyans in some devolved units are paying dearly to survive due to the high cost of living that is even beyond the national average.

Those living in Nairobi and Mombasa counties, which also double up as the country’s largest cities, bear the highest cost.

While nurturing and protecting the well-being of the individual, family, communities and the nation is one of the preambles of the Constitution, meeting basic needs and spare some money to meet some luxury needs as well as save some for a rainy day remain some of the biggest concerns for many Kenyans.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report on the well-being of Kenyans, expenditure per month per adult on food and none-food items averages Sh7,811.

A breakdown of the data shows that in nine counties, the average expenditure is above the national average, pointing to higher cost of living.

Over-reliance on purchased food has also meant that the food budget is high.

“Nationally, food consumed from purchases was the main source - accounting for 68.3 per cent of total food consumed,” said the report indicating over-reliance on purchases.  

Even for individuals residing in rural areas, more than half (57.4 per cent) is purchased with residents of Mombasa County leading in food purchases.

About 89 per cent of their food is purchased, while West Pokot had the least share - at 44.4 per cent.

Mombasa County reported the least share (0.4 per cent) of consumption from own production followed by Nairobi City (1.6 per cent).

Households in rural and peri-urban areas spend more than 60 per cent of their income on food- being much higher than 49 per cent spend on food by households in core-urban areas according to KNBS.

In the data that also breaks down counties where residents depend on gifts for food, consumption from gifts and other sources was highest (17 per cent) among households in Homa Bay.

The KNBS data, compared with that of Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) shows that at least eight counties where expenditure on food and non-food items is high also record high spending on bribes. Nairobi and Mombasa cities feature in the top 20 list of both high cost of living as well as big spending on bribes.

Others on both lists are Kiambu, Nakuru, Machakos, Lamu, Tharaka Nithi and Uasin Gishu.

At the county level, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) survey found that the services perceived to be the most prone to corruption include health, which was cited by more than a third (37.4 per cent of the respondents).

This was followed by county public works and services, education and childcare. “Comparisons by county marked Lamu County (74.6 per cent) with the highest number of observation of forms (types) of corruption followed by Uasin Gishu (71.1 per cent), Taita Taveta (59.8 per cent) and Nairobi (59.3 per cent),” said EACC.

Expenditure on food and non-food items is highest in Nairobi with residents spending Sh14,311 on average.

It is the most expensive county to live in with both food and non-food expenses being the highest.

NATIONAL AVERAGE

On average, one spends Sh6,153 on food items against the national average of Sh4,239. On non-food items, one requires Sh8,158 against the national average of Sh7,811.

In the KNBS data, food component consisted of  items such as cereals, bread, meat, fish, seafood, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, sugar, non-alcoholic beverages as wells as food eaten in restaurants and canteens.

Non-food items included education, health, tobacco, water, cooking and lighting fuel, personal care, transport, communication, refuse costs, domestic workers costs, clothing, footwear and rent among other items.

Data from EACC also put Nairobi county as third highest in average bribe size (Sh15,360). The county was also ranked third among the devolved units with the highest number of observations of various forms of corruption when seeking government services.

According to the survey, Nairobi County residents mostly encounter this vice when seeking for services such as registration of business, water connection, obtaining a tender, employment, medical attention among others.

In Mombasa, expenditure on food and non-food items is Sh10,969 with expenditure on food averaging Sh5,459 per month. It’s ranked 19th with an average bribe size of Sh3,896, according to EACC.

In the same county, only 0.4 per cent of food items consumed is from own production, making the county the most reliant on outside purchases.

This is followed by Nairobi where only 1.6 per cent of the food is from own production. Other counties where the total expenditure on food and non-food items is above the national average include Kiambu (Sh9,594), Nyeri (Sh9,220), Nakuru (Sh8,634), Machakos (Sh8,456), Kajiado (Sh8,407), Narok (Sh8,265) and Kilifi at Sh7,909.

The report showed that Kajiado County had the highest average number of times a bribe was paid (2.34 times) followed by Nyeri (1.8), Elgeyo Marakwet (1.76) and Kiambu1.71).

Corruption increases the cost of living since the bribes being asked for directly eat into the home budget. For instance, the non-food budget is greatly affected by the level of corruption.

According to EACC data, applications for or making alterations to national identity card was cited as leading service for which bribe is demanded followed by application of birth certificate, seeking medical attention, processing title deed and reporting a crime.

While the national average bribe stood at Sh7,082, up from Sh3,257 that used to be demanded in 2005, residents in seven counties pay bribes above the national average.

In Busia, the average bribe is Sh81,560, while in Tharaka Nithi, it averages Sh40,907.

This is followed by Nairobi at Sh15,360, Lamu (Sh13,072) and Isiolo at Sh7,951.In Nyamira, it averages Sh7,909, while in Marsabit, it is at Sh7,206.