Cost of Living inBarquisimeto, Venezuela
Image credit: Jorge Andrés Paparoni Bruzual
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Venezuela: $4,218/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 62% 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
5.6 / 10
#77 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Venezuela; Barquisimeto-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Usually not practical for expats
not practicalInstruction
Spanish
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Venezuela's public-school path is not usually a compelling default for expat families seeking predictability and strong support.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Even where resident enrollment is possible, Spanish-medium instruction and system instability make the public route usually unattractive for expat families.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically regulatedVenezuela has constitutional provisions for education but homeschooling is not specifically addressed. The economic crisis has severely disrupted formal schooling. Not a primary destination for worldschooling families under current conditions.
Homeschool legality in Venezuela — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Venezuela.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$325-$500
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$575-$850
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Barquisimeto is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Venezuela.
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
LimitedGood national coverage help, but hospital capacity looks tighter and maternal outcomes are weaker.
Public care
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public funding looks lighter and country-level outcomes are weaker.
Private care
MixedA clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
75/100
2023
Physicians
1.66/1k
2017
Hospital beds
0.99/1k
2020
Out of pocket
30%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
72.7 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
227/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
15.0/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and there is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Venezuela 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 |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
2020 annual wages in Barquisimeto, Venezuela · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (sector aggregate) (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
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 Barquisimeto compared with the US?
Your money goes about 23.9x further in Barquisimeto than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Venezuela here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Barquisimeto cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Barquisimeto is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 62% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Barquisimeto. We are using the country-level cost index for Venezuela here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Barquisimeto compare with New York City?
Rent in Barquisimeto is about 93% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Venezuela here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Barquisimeto?
Groceries in Barquisimeto are about 58% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 59% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Venezuela here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Barquisimeto
Barquisimeto is the capital of Lara state in northwestern Venezuela and the country's fourth-largest city, with about 1.24 million residents on the Yaracuy valley plateau at roughly 600 meters elevation. It is the historic agricultural-trade hub of the Lara-Yaracuy region, known nationally for sugar, sisal, and a strong musical tradition centered on the cuatro. Climate is tropical savanna with a long dry season and mild temperatures moderated by elevation. Relocators should weigh that Venezuela's compounding political and economic crisis has produced years of hyperinflation, mass emigration, persistent electricity and water rationing, and dollarization of much daily commerce. Any move here is family-tied or mission-driven rather than lifestyle-driven, and Spanish is non-negotiable.
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