Cost of Living inMaldonado, Uruguay
Image credit: Marcelo Campi
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Uruguay: $32,039/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 44% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.6 / 10
#27 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Uruguay; Maldonado-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Mixed quality
Assessment snapshot: 2022
Expat access
Resident families can use it
conditionalInstruction
Spanish
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
417
Well below OECD avg
PISA 2022 · OECD avg ~480
Why this quality rating
Uruguay has one of South America's more stable and equitable public school systems. PISA outcomes are around the regional average. Spanish-medium instruction throughout.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident expat families can enroll in public schools. Spanish-medium instruction and modest quality variation compared to regional peers. Most expat families in Montevideo use private schools.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically regulatedUruguay does not have specific homeschooling legislation. Education is compulsory but alternatives are not well-defined. Some families homeschool under distance-education provisions.
Homeschool legality in Uruguay — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Uruguay.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$675-$925
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$1,250-$1,650
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Maldonado is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Uruguay.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, strong doctor availability, and maternal mortality is low support this rating.
Public care
StrongBroad public coverage, strong public funding, and relatively low patient cost-sharing support this rating.
Private care
LimitedSelf-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
85/100
2023
Physicians
4.67/1k
2022
Hospital beds
2.44/1k
2023
Out of pocket
17%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
78.3 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
15/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
4.0/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedCountry-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Uruguay yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Maldonado, Uruguay · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
digital nomad
Digital Nomad Visa
Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 24
retirement
Rentista Visa Uruguay
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Maldonado compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.5x further in Maldonado than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Uruguay here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Maldonado cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Maldonado is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 44% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Maldonado. We are using the country-level cost index for Uruguay here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Maldonado compare with New York City?
Rent in Maldonado is about 85% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Uruguay here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Maldonado?
Groceries in Maldonado are about 45% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 40% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Uruguay here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
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