Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Thomas and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Montevideo: $1,771 a month against $2,432 in St. Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in St. Thomas
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St. Thomas Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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St. Thomas

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,432

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,432 per month in St. Thomas vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

St. Thomas $2,432
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $3,274 per month in St. Thomas vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

St. Thomas $3,274
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $4,117 per month in St. Thomas vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

St. Thomas $4,117
Montevideo $3,708

St. Thomas costs about 37% more than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both St. Thomas and Montevideo sit above the global median – St. Thomas by 80%, Montevideo by 31%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.05 CA$29.92

$15.16 UYU 610

38.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 CA$89.0

$69.2 UYU 2,780

-9.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.38 CA$16.18

$14.65 UYU 589

-22.32%

Cappuccino

$3.32 CA$4.71

$4.46 UYU 179

-25.56%

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

$2.19 CA$3.12

$2.67 UYU 107

-17.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 CA$2.25

$2.00 UYU 80.5

-20.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 CA$7.14

$4.83 UYU 194

3.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.89 CA$8.37

$3.80 UYU 153

55.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 CA$2.96

$1.36 UYU 54.9

52.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 CA$3.70

$2.87 UYU 115

-9.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.73 CA$5.30

$1.75 UYU 70.3

113.14%

Eggs

$3.09 CA$4.39

$4.68 UYU 188

-33.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.94 CA$14.13

$13.88 UYU 558

-28.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.43 CA$21.92

$11.98 UYU 482

28.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.20 CA$27.29

$11.97 UYU 481

60.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 CA$5.49

$2.78 UYU 112

38.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 CA$1.76

$2.74 UYU 110

-54.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 CA$4.97

$1.77 UYU 71.3

97.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 CA$5.64

$3.24 UYU 130

22.53%

Potato (1kg)

$3.36 CA$4.78

$1.97 UYU 79.3

70.56%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.36

$2.07 UYU 83.2

48.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.85 CA$4.06

$1.37 UYU 55.2

108.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 CA$2.07

$1.88 UYU 75.4

-22.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.98 CA$15.61

$5.59 UYU 225

96.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 CA$18.10

$8.78 UYU 353

45.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 CA$3.41

$2.26 UYU 91.0

6.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 CA$3.95

$2.75 UYU 111

1.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 CA$3.20

$1.53 UYU 61.6

47.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.7 CA$83.4

$74.3 UYU 2,985

-21.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.30 CA$3.27

$1.91 UYU 76.8

20.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 CA$2.30

$0.40 UYU 16.21

305.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.70 CA$30.85

$10.33 UYU 415

110.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 CA$1.60

$2.13 UYU 85.7

-46.95%

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

$28.0K CA$39.8K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

3.40%

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

$19.7K CA$28.0K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-45.65%

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

$123 CA$175

$188 UYU 7,570

-34.48%

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

$42.76 CA$60.8

$20.54 UYU 826

108.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 CA$78.8

$44.81 UYU 1,801

23.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.43 CA$63.1

$54.0 UYU 2,169

-17.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.32 CA$28.87

$19.75 UYU 794

2.89%

Cinema Ticket

$10.33 CA$14.69

$11.95 UYU 481

-13.56%

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

$399 CA$567

$634 UYU 25.5K

-37.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K CA$23.7K

$11.1K UYU 444.3K

50.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 CA$76.1

$102 UYU 4,106

-47.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.84 CA$50.9

$57.5 UYU 2,313

-37.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.2 CA$117

$127 UYU 5,088

-35.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 CA$129

$128 UYU 5,139

-29.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 CA$1,631

$719 UYU 28.9K

59.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 CA$1,801

$568 UYU 22.8K

123.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 CA$2,550

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

56.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,470 CA$2,089

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

43.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,187 CA$5,951

$3,392 UYU 136.4K

23.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,561 CA$5,061

$1,949 UYU 78.4K

82.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,970 CA$4,221

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

138.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

5.74

-13.07%

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

Last update for St. Thomas: October 11, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Thomas

$1.3K 52.1%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 55.2% $699

Groceries & Markets

St. Thomas

$387 15.9%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 14.4% $56

Eating Out

St. Thomas

$294 12.1%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 8.6% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Thomas

$222 9.1%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 14.5% $32

Clothing & Footwear

St. Thomas

$118 4.9%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 57.9% $68

Getting Around

St. Thomas

$78 3.2%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 8% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

St. Thomas

$65 2.7%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 19.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,148 in St. Thomas versus $719 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 139% higher in St. Thomas, 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 $63.0 in St. Thomas versus $69.0 in Montevideo. Groceries tell a different story – $387 in St. Thomas vs $332 in Montevideo – so Montevideo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St. Thomas

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

22:15 10:15 PM

1 h ahead of St. Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,909

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.704 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 40.2 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.01 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Thomas Montevideo 9,000 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Thomas
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

St. Thomas vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Thomas is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,648 per month in St. Thomas and $2,656 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.

Kindergarten costs $399 per month in St. Thomas and $634 in Montevideo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 17% more in St. Thomas, 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 $1,771, than in St. Thomas at $2,432. In Montevideo it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Thomas 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, St. Thomas makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.