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Who decides on larger household spending in Poland: CBOS data for people over 55
In most Polish homes, decisions on large expenses are made jointly by a woman and a man. In older age groups the woman decides alone more often than in younger ones. The figures from a CBOS survey of July 2025, with what cannot be concluded from them.
In 69 percent of Polish households, decisions on larger expenses are made jointly by a woman and a man, in 17 percent by the woman alone and in 12 percent by the man alone. Among respondents aged 55–64, 22 percent name the woman as the person who decides, and among those over 65, 25 percent; these are the highest values of all age groups. The data come from a survey by CBOS (Public Opinion Research Center, a Polish polling institute) carried out on 3–13 July 2025 on a representative sample of 970 adult residents of Poland. The question concerned larger expenses, not everyday shopping.
Who decides on larger expenses in a Polish home?
Most often both. CBOS asked: “Who in your household usually makes decisions about incurring larger expenses?”. Joint decision-making was declared by 69 percent of respondents. The woman as the sole decision-maker was named by 17 percent, the man by 12 percent, and 2 percent could not answer.
The model in which the man settles money matters at home is a minority in these data. The woman alone appears in the answers more often than the man alone.
womanmanboth equally
Values in percent, in the order of the legend. The remainder to 100 is “hard to say”. Source: CBOS, July 2025, full figures in the table below.
| Respondent group | Woman | Man | Both equally | Hard to say | Number of people | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 17% | 12% | 69% | 2% | 895 | CBOS, July 2025 |
| aged 45–54 | 16% | 13% | 71% | 0% | 160 | CBOS, July 2025 |
| aged 55–64 | 22% | 11% | 67% | not in the table | 132 | CBOS, July 2025 |
| 65 and over | 25% | 9% | 65% | 1% | 218 | CBOS, July 2025 |
| Women answering | 23% | 8% | 69% | 1% | 456 | CBOS, July 2025 |
| Men answering | 10% | 17% | 70% | 3% | 438 | CBOS, July 2025 |
The rows come from annex table 16 of CBOS research report no. 100/2025. In the 55–64 row the “hard to say” cell is empty in the report, so we leave it empty too.
Does the woman decide more often after 55?
Yes, according to what respondents declare. In the 55–64 group, 22 percent name the woman and 11 percent the man. After 65 the proportion rises to 25 percent against 9 percent. In the 45–54 group the two values are still close to each other: 16 and 13 percent.
Joint decision-making declines gently with age, from 71 percent in the 45–54 group to 65 percent after 65. It is still a clear majority in every group.
of households where both partners decide on larger expenses, CBOS
of respondents aged 55–64 name the woman as the person who decides
the same among people over 65
All values come from one survey: CBOS, „Aktualne problemy i wydarzenia” [“Current problems and events”] (423), 3–13 July 2025, a named-person sample of adult residents of Poland drawn from the PESEL national population register, 970 interviews in three modes chosen by the respondent (face-to-face, telephone and online). The annex table gives a base of 895 people for this question. The report does not explain who is missing from it.
These are statements about the respondent's own household, not observation of purchases. The question concerned larger expenses, so it says nothing about who chooses the yoghurt or the washing powder. The CBOS age brackets do not add up to a 50+ group, which is why we do not give a result “for 50+” here. The report also does not publish the margin of error for subgroups, and the 55–64 group has 132 people, so we do not treat differences of a few points between neighbouring groups as certain.
The last limitation matters most for the 65+ group. CBOS does not separate single-person households from multi-person ones. A woman who lives alone answers “woman”, because there is nobody else at home, and that answer describes the make-up of the household, not the division of roles. The report's tables do not show how many such answers are included in those 25 percent.
Why do women and men describe the same home differently?
Because each of them answers about themselves. Women name the woman as the decision-maker in 23 percent of cases, men in 10 percent. Men name themselves in 17 percent of cases, women name the man in 8 percent. They declare joint decision-making almost equally: 69 and 70 percent.
The survey does not ask both partners from the same home, so it is not known who is right. What is known is that the answer to the question “who decides” depends on who is asked. Any brief that relies on a single figure about the decision-maker should say whose statement it is.
How were decisions made in the homes where respondents grew up?
Less often jointly. In respondents' family homes, both parents decided on larger expenses in 50 percent of cases, the woman alone in 31 percent and the man alone in 17 percent. In the same respondents' own households, a joint decision is more common: 69 percent against 50.
CBOS also asked how respondents think it is “generally in Poland”. Here 21 percent attributed spending decisions to men, 14 percent to women, 52 percent to both, and 13 percent had no opinion. The authors of the report point out that the picture of the country gives men a bigger role in finances than follows from the same people's descriptions of their own homes.
What does this change in a campaign aimed at people over 50?
This part is our interpretation. The survey ends with the figures above.
For larger purchases, such as a renovation, a car, a trip or household equipment, planning the message for a single decision-maker is at odds with what people say about their own homes. In roughly two thirds of households in every age group, the conversation about an expense takes place between two people. Material that one of them can show the other works better in that conversation than material cut to the stereotype “he pays, she chooses”.
Among people over 55, the woman as the sole decision-maker appears more often than the man. On the audience side we see a similar pattern: 64.3 percent of the Silver TV audience on YouTube in June 2026 were women over 45. These are two different measurements, and neither of them says that our female viewers decide on purchases in their homes. We put them side by side because together they show to whom, in this age group, both the message and the decision most often go, not because one confirms the other.
This survey does not cover everyday shopping. The answer to the question of who in the home chooses products from the shelf comes from a newer CBOS survey of July 2026, described in the dataset who decides on everyday shopping at home.
Sources
Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej (CBOS, Public Opinion Research Center), research report no. 100/2025 „Polacy o rolach płciowych i różnicach między kobietami a mężczyznami” [“Poles on gender roles and differences between women and men”], prepared by Daria Litwin and Jonathan Scovil, October 2025, figures 7, 9 and 11 and annex table 16 - cbos.pl
Silver TV own data: YouTube Analytics, channel audience demographics, 1–30 June 2026 - dataset with the measurement method
We share this compilation under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Please cite it as: silver-marketing.pl, Silver TV, with a link to this page. For the figures on household decisions, the original publisher is CBOS, and it is worth citing CBOS directly.
Quick answers
Who decides on larger household expenses in Poland?
Most often both partners. According to CBOS in July 2025, 69 percent of respondents declare joint decision-making, 17 percent name the woman alone and 12 percent the man alone.
Do people over 55 decide on spending differently from younger people?
Joint decisions prevail in all age groups, but in older groups the woman decides alone more often than in younger ones: 22 percent of answers in the 55–64 group and 25 percent after 65.
Do these data concern everyday shopping?
No. CBOS asked about decisions on larger expenses. Everyday shopping is described by a separate CBOS survey of July 2026, covered in the dataset on everyday shopping.
Is there a result for the whole 50+ group?
No. CBOS gives the brackets 45–54, 55–64 and 65 and over. Building a 50+ result from them would require individual-level data, which the report does not publish.
silver-marketing.pl is published by Silver TV — internet television for viewers aged 50+ in Poland. We describe how we run campaigns with brands that want to talk to this audience on the station's website.
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