The disposable income of households can be seen as the maximum amount that a household can afford to spend on consumption goods or services without having to reduce its financial or non-financial assets or by increasing its liabilities. As such, it is a better indicator of the material well-being of citizens than gross domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant. Regions where net commuter flows are high may display a very high GDP per capita which does not translate into a correspondingly high income for their inhabitants.

In most OECD countries, the population is ageing. Due to higher life expectancy and low fertility rates, the elderly population (those aged 65 years and over) accounted for 15% of the OECD population in 2012. The proportion of elderly population is remarkably lower in the emerging economies (Brazil, China, and South Africa), and in Mexico and Turkey ().

Inter-regional mobility within countries is an important component of the change in the demographic structure and in the labour force supply.

Unemployment has soared in OECD countries in recent years, from 5.6% in 2007 to 8% in 2013. In 2012, regional differences in unemployment rates within OECD countries were almost two times higher (32 percentage points) than differences among OECD countries (18 percentage points).

The economic crisis has dramatically increased the level of unemployment in OECD countries, and youth unemployment has been particularly affected. In 2013, 8% of the OECD labour force was unemployed and the number of youths unemployed is nearly a third higher than in 2007.

Regional disparities in participation rates, measured here by the Gini index, have generally decreased from 1999 to 2011 due to an increase in labour force participation in less advantaged regions (). The Gini index showed the greatest decline in Ireland, thanks to an increase in labour force among the regions with relatively lower participation rates, but also due to a steep reduction of the labour force participation in Dublin. Countries like Canada, Greece and Turkey also show a significant decline in the Gini index between these two points in time. Regional inequalities in participation rates increased the most in Italy, Poland, and the Slovak Republic.

Part-time employment has increased in many OECD countries during the past years (OECD, 2012). Depending on the institutional and economic context, part-time employment can have opposite effects on the well-being of the working population. On the one hand, part-time workers may suffer a penalty compared to their full-time counterparts in terms of job-security, training and promotion, and unemployment benefits. On the other hand, part-time employment can offer a better family-friendly working-time arrangement. In general, in the presence of the right incentives, part-time jobs seem to promote labour force participation and can be a relevant alternative to inactivity (OECD, 2010).

The quality of human capital is a key factor in the social and economic well-being of a region. Education provides individuals with knowledge and competencies to participate effectively in society and to break the cycle of disadvantage. Still, in 2012 one-fourth of the OECD population had only a basic education, and in most of the regions in Turkey, Mexico and Portugal, and in some regions in Australia and Spain, this proportion was as high as 50%.

Ensuring adequate access to health services for all the population is an important policy objective in OECD countries. This requires among other things an adequate supply of doctors and hospital beds in regions.

Life expectancy at birth is the most frequently used measure of the health of the population. The difference in life expectancy among OECD regions is of almost 20 years, ranging from 68 years in Chihuahua (Mexico) to 84 years in Navarra (Spain). The regions enjoying the highest life expectancy at birth are concentrated in Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland and Japan. The regions with the lowest life expectancy are found in Mexico, Hungary and Poland ().

Safety is a critical element of well-being. The list of criminal activities is long and highly contextual and the measurement of some of them is a daunting task. Despite the fact that criminal activities like murder and car theft do not account for the whole spectrum of crimes faced by society, they can provide some basis for international co-operation. Recent analysis shows that the underlying causes of crime differ not only across but within countries calling for policies that take into account the regional heterogeneity of causes (OECD, 2013).