Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint John Island and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Montevideo: $1,813 a month against $6,201 in Saint John Island, rent and utilities included – about $52,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

297

Cost of Living Index in Saint John Island
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Saint John Island Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Saint John Island

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$6,201

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Saint John Island 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 Saint John Island and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $6,201 per month in Saint John Island vs $1,813 in Montevideo, rent included.

Saint John Island $6,201
Montevideo $1,813

A couple spends around $8,382 per month in Saint John Island vs $2,782 in Montevideo, rent included.

Saint John Island $8,382
Montevideo $2,782

A family of three spends $10.6K per month in Saint John Island vs $3,750 in Montevideo, rent included.

Saint John Island $10.6K
Montevideo $3,750

Saint John Island costs about 242% more than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Saint John Island and Montevideo sit above the global median – Saint John Island by 363%, Montevideo by 35%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$69.9 $69.9

$15.26 UYU 613

357.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$150 $150

$67.4 UYU 2,711

122.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.14 $15.14

$14.37 UYU 578

5.36%

Cappuccino

$9.16 $9.16

$4.64 UYU 187

97.41%

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

$3.41 $3.41

$2.73 UYU 110

24.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 $3.48

$2.09 UYU 84.0

66.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.13 $5.13

$4.75 UYU 191

8.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.87 $6.87

$3.67 UYU 147

87.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.15 $3.15

$1.38 UYU 55.5

128.26%

White Bread (500g)

$7.96 $7.96

$2.77 UYU 112

187.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$12.02 $12.02

$1.69 UYU 67.8

611.24%

Eggs

$12.07 $12.07

$4.52 UYU 182

167.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$32.43 $32.43

$14.17 UYU 570

128.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$33.00 $33.00

$12.07 UYU 485

173.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.11 $24.11

$12.16 UYU 489

98.27%

Apples (1kg)

$21.82 $21.82

$2.87 UYU 116

660.28%

Banana (1kg)

$3.91 $3.91

$2.75 UYU 110

42.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$17.29 $17.29

$1.73 UYU 69.5

899.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$11.89 $11.89

$3.24 UYU 130

266.98%

Potato (1kg)

$7.74 $7.74

$2.07 UYU 83.1

273.91%

Onion (1kg)

$7.86 $7.86

$2.07 UYU 83.1

279.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.95 $4.95

$1.38 UYU 55.4

258.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 $3.55

$1.85 UYU 74.5

91.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.86 $8.86

$5.57 UYU 224

59.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.36 $23.36

$8.89 UYU 357

162.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.58 $4.58

$2.29 UYU 92.2

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.17 $6.17

$2.70 UYU 109

128.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$7.15 $7.15

$1.52 UYU 61.3

370.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$149 $149

$73.7 UYU 2,962

101.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$30.31 $30.31

$1.82 UYU 73.4

1565.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.05

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.2 $50.2

$10.66 UYU 429

371.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 $1.56

$2.22 UYU 89.2

-29.73%

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

$47.1K $47.1K

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

76.22%

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

$52.2K $52.2K

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

42.13%

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

$297 $297

$191 UYU 7,674

55.44%

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

$98.4 $98.4

$20.40 UYU 820

382.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$101 $101

$44.14 UYU 1,775

129.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,177

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 791

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 496

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

$613 UYU 24.7K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.4 $80.4

$103 UYU 4,134

-21.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.69 $49.69

$56.1 UYU 2,255

-11.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.9 $84.9

$124 UYU 5,000

-31.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 $100

$130 UYU 5,214

-22.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,020 $4,020

$705 UYU 28.4K

469.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,511 $3,511

$575 UYU 23.1K

510.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,081 $5,081

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

346.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,566 $4,566

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

349.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,349 UYU 134.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,942 UYU 78.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,412 $4,412

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

258.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

21.95%

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

Last update for Saint John Island: October 4, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Saint John Island

$3.5K 57.3%

Montevideo

$575 32.3% 83.6% $2.9K

Groceries & Markets

Saint John Island

$987 16.1%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 66.3% $654

Eating Out

Saint John Island

$781 12.8%

Montevideo

$271 15.2% 65.3% $510

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint John Island

$496 8.1%

Montevideo

$255 14.3% 48.6% $241

Getting Around

Saint John Island

$208 * 3.4%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 59.7% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Saint John Island

$142 2.3%

Montevideo

$186 10.4% 30.9% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Saint John Island

- * 0%

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $4,020 in Saint John Island versus $705 in Montevideo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 259% higher in Saint John Island, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $150 in Saint John Island versus $67.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $987 vs $332 – making Montevideo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇮 Saint John Island

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

08:15 8:15 AM

09:15 9:15 AM

1 h ahead of Saint John Island

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,170

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 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 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.21 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.06 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

UYU to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saint John Island Montevideo 5,990 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Saint John Island
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

Saint John Island vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Saint John Island is pricier by about 242%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $9,302 per month in Saint John Island and $2,720 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Montevideo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 102% less in Montevideo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Groceries cost about 197% more in Saint John Island, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Montevideo, where all-in costs run around $1,813, than in Saint John Island at $6,201. In Montevideo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Saint John Island it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Montevideo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Montevideo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Saint John Island makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.