The paper is focused on the issue of rural population incomes, their evolution, and changes in their structure that occurred in the period 2006-2012. It was performed a comparative analysis of the ratio between the available income per capita and subsistence minimum in rural and urban areas, and based on this, it was highlighted the gap between the welfare of urban and rural population. The result of the study proved that despite positive tendencies in reducing rural poverty, rural population income is still very low, without reaching the subsistence minimum. This fact, along with other negative aspects (reduced share of income from employment, increased share of social allowances and remittances) leads to the decrease of the motivational effects of work payment and income from agricultural activity. Thus, it is obvious, that along with government social programs, to have more effective state actions targeted to business development in rural areas and hence creating new workplaces.