Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Joliet, IL and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Montevideo: $1,784 a month against $2,572 in Joliet, IL, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Joliet, IL
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Joliet, IL Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Joliet, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$2,572

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Joliet, IL and in Montevideo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Joliet, IL and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,572 in Joliet, IL versus $1,784 in Montevideo.

Joliet, IL $2,572
Montevideo $1,784

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,769 in Joliet, IL versus $2,756 in Montevideo.

Joliet, IL $3,769
Montevideo $2,756

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,967 in Joliet, IL versus $3,728 in Montevideo.

Joliet, IL $4,967
Montevideo $3,728

Living in Joliet, IL is roughly 44% more expensive than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Joliet, IL 90% above, Montevideo 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.77 $18.77

$14.82 UYU 595

26.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.3 $75.3

$69.7 UYU 2,797

8.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.95 $10.95

$14.68 UYU 589

-25.41%

Cappuccino

$5.22 $5.22

$4.65 UYU 186

12.26%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 $2.47

$2.74 UYU 110

-9.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 $1.99

$2.07 UYU 82.9

-3.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.11 $6.11

$4.79 UYU 192

27.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.04 $7.04

$3.63 UYU 146

93.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.39 UYU 55.8

-25.18%

White Bread (500g)

$3.47 $3.47

$2.89 UYU 116

20.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.40 $4.40

$1.70 UYU 68.1

158.82%

Eggs

$4.27 $4.27

$4.62 UYU 185

-7.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.50 $12.50

$14.22 UYU 571

-12.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.49 $11.49

$11.62 UYU 466

-1.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.28 $15.28

$12.23 UYU 491

24.94%

Apples (1kg)

$4.88 $4.88

$2.77 UYU 111

76.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 $1.64

$2.85 UYU 114

-42.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.22 $4.22

$1.81 UYU 72.5

133.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.78 $4.78

$3.20 UYU 129

49.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.81 $2.81

$1.94 UYU 77.8

44.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 $2.85

$2.16 UYU 86.5

31.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.07 $2.07

$1.43 UYU 57.3

44.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.94 UYU 77.9

13.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.66 $9.66

$5.47 UYU 219

76.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.80 $13.80

$8.95 UYU 359

54.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$2.26 UYU 90.8

-21.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 $3.40

$2.81 UYU 113

21.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.56 UYU 62.6

30.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 UYU 2,962

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.60 $3.60

$1.90 UYU 76.2

89.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 $1.59

$0.43 UYU 17.36

269.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.95 $28.95

$10.59 UYU 425

173.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 $0.91

$2.12 UYU 85.2

-57.08%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$29.8K $29.8K

$26.8K UYU 1.1M

11.28%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.9K $25.9K

$37.0K UYU 1.5M

-29.96%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$186 $186

$193 UYU 7,727

-3.63%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$53.2 $53.2

$20.91 UYU 839

154.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.6 $66.6

$44.89 UYU 1,802

48.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.59 $42.59

$50.8 UYU 2,038

-16.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.73 UYU 792

Cinema Ticket

$13.61 $13.61

$12.30 UYU 494

10.65%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,282 $1,282

$629 UYU 25.2K

103.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.9K $23.9K

$10.9K UYU 437.3K

119.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.8 $50.8

$104 UYU 4,166

-51.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.24 $39.24

$57.4 UYU 2,305

-31.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.6 $85.6

$125 UYU 5,010

-31.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 $112

$132 UYU 5,315

-15.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,619 $1,619

$713 UYU 28.6K

127.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,352 $1,352

$575 UYU 23.1K

134.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,600 $2,600

$1,164 UYU 46.7K

123.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,250 $2,250

$1,033 UYU 41.5K

117.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,825 $2,825

$3,418 UYU 137.2K

-17.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,490 $2,490

$1,760 UYU 70.6K

41.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,244 UYU 49.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.51

5.74

13.41%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Joliet, IL: October 18, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Joliet, IL

$1.4K 52.6%

Montevideo

$575 32.2% 57.4% $776

Groceries & Markets

Joliet, IL

$388 15.1%

Montevideo

$334 18.7% 14% $54

Eating Out

Joliet, IL

$308 12%

Montevideo

$269 15.1% 12.7% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Joliet, IL

$305 11.9%

Montevideo

$258 14.5% 15.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Joliet, IL

$129 5%

Montevideo

$188 10.6% 45.5% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Joliet, IL

$70 2.7%

Montevideo

$75 4.2% 8% $5.6

Getting Around

Joliet, IL

$20 * 0.8%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 327% $64

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,619 in Joliet, IL and $713 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $75.0 in Joliet, IL vs $70.0 in Montevideo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $334 per month, with Montevideo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Joliet, IL

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

22:51 10:51 PM

00:51 12:51 AM

2 h ahead of Joliet, IL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

150,362

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

UYU to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Joliet, IL Montevideo 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Joliet, IL
Montevideo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Joliet, IL vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Joliet, IL and Montevideo differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($2,572 vs $1,784 including rent). Montevideo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,857 in Joliet, IL and $2,676 in Montevideo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,619 in Joliet, IL versus $713 in Montevideo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,282 in Joliet, IL versus $629 in Montevideo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Montevideo – a meal for two runs $70.0 versus $75.0 in Joliet, IL. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,784 in Montevideo versus $2,572 in Joliet, IL, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Montevideo but tight or insufficient in Joliet, IL. The gap between the two cities makes Montevideo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Joliet, IL and Montevideo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Montevideo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Joliet, IL. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.