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As prices in general are pretty expensive in Uruguay, I often get asked this. Let me share with you numbers from the National Statistics Institute from October 2024.
The figures look at the average income of a 2 adult, 2 child household and per person per month. You will see that salaries are higher in the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo, compared to the rest of the country. Half of the nation’s population resides in the capital.
| AVERAGE INCOME | Montevideo | Rest of Uruguay |
| Average household income | 112,701 pesos 2612 USD* | 93,856 pesos 2175 USD |
| Average per capita income | 41,575 pesos 963 USD | 28,016 pesos 649 USD |
The median figures are more sombre. Median being the income of ‘bottom’ 50% of the population.
| MEDIAN INCOME | Montevideo | Rest of Uruguay |
| Median household income | 90,679 pesos 2101 USD* | 69,127 pesos 1602 USD |
| Median per capita income | 37,337 pesos 865 USD | 23,610 pesos 594 USD |
Over the last decade and a half years a growing number of Europeans and North Americans have been moving to Uruguay. It’s partly down global factors and the progressive nature and long time stability of Uruguay’s laws and economy. For decades our neighbours—particularly Argentina and to a lesser extent Brazil—have regarded Uruguay as a safe haven for investment, buying apartments and keeping saving here. And particularly after Uruguay’s excellent response to the coronavirus epidemic, more and more people began seriously looking at Uruguay as a secure, desirable place to live.
Uruguay is overall an expensive place to live, with prices comparable to countries in the north where people earn significantly higher salaries. The Numbeo website has figures that look in detail at the cost of living in Uruguay. I can testify that they look pretty accurate.
So as you can see from the average income in Uruguay, it’s not an easy place to make ends meet. One of the first questions that I ask my clients who contact me to help them figure out if Uruguay is a good fit for themselves and their families is how they are planning to support themselves.
Personal recommendations are essential to getting good service when living in Uruguay, maybe more than in other countries. Guru’Guay only recommends specialists and companies we know personally and professionally and—crucially—have vetted.
*We used xe.com to convert from Uruguayan pesos to US dollars. The exchange rate on 5 December 2024 was 1 USD = 43.149 UYU
Guru’Guay would like to thank Rodrigo Álvarez of Neurona Financiera for his cooperation in making this article possible.
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5 responses
D’origine espagnole, je suis française, je vis en Aquitaine en France, près de Bordeaux. A la retraite, l’Uruguay m’attire depuis de nombreuses années, le côté océanique aussi! J’envisage de venir y passer 3 ou 4 mois…pour , peut être y rester..
Existe t il un réseau FB ? ( je ne maîtrise pas tout: retraitée!!) je voudrais louer dans une petite ville plutôt tempérée proche de l’océan. Français, pouvez vous entrer en contact? Je sais qu’une famille d’arcachon, constructeur de bateau a émigré en Uruguay.
Are these numbers before or after tax?
Good question. I’ll check — Karen
My spouse and I have permanent residency in Uruguay. Our cedulas will have to be renewed in August of 2026. In the past we have spent at least 6 months per year in the country, however for the past 14 months we have had to return to the United Staes to attend to medical issues (a knee replacement for myself and a cornea transplant for my spouse. We will be returning to Uruguay in June of this year. Would you recommend our speaking with Laura Canepa about our absence? She helped us with residency.
Hi Kenneth, if you are planning to apply for citizenship then I would say yes. I almost thought you must have seen my recent interview with Laura (Canepa of Mobility LC) on getting Uruguay citizenship because she talks about managing one’s migratory process to keep everything in order. Perhaps you did! Anyway, it sounds like a good idea to reach out to her, yes. Cheers, Karen