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 $4,408 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $31,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

213

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

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/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 $4,408 per month in St Thomas vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

St Thomas $4,408
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $7,220 per month in St Thomas vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

St Thomas $7,220
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $10.0K per month in St Thomas vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

St Thomas $10.0K
Montevideo $3,708

St Thomas costs about 149% more than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both St Thomas and Montevideo sit above the global median – St Thomas by 227%, Montevideo by 31%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 $22.30

$15.16 UYU 609

47.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$170 $170

$69.2 UYU 2,776

146.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.55 $13.55

$14.65 UYU 588

-7.51%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$4.46 UYU 179

32.29%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$2.67 UYU 107

47.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$2.00 UYU 80.4

69.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 $5.12

$4.83 UYU 194

6.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$3.80 UYU 152

79.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.36 UYU 54.8

111.76%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$2.87 UYU 115

132.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.54 $18.54

$1.75 UYU 70.2

959.43%

Eggs

$8.87 $8.87

$4.68 UYU 188

89.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 $11.12

$13.88 UYU 557

-19.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.44 $28.44

$11.98 UYU 481

137.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.72 $39.72

$11.97 UYU 480

231.83%

Apples (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$2.78 UYU 111

328.42%

Banana (1kg)

$10.89 $10.89

$2.74 UYU 110

297.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$1.77 UYU 71.2

594.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.99 $19.99

$3.24 UYU 130

516.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.97 UYU 79.2

-1.02%

Onion (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$2.07 UYU 83.1

323.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.18 $8.18

$1.37 UYU 55.1

497.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$1.88 UYU 75.3

186.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

Wine (Bottle)

$24.57 $24.57

$8.78 UYU 352

179.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 $6.18

$2.75 UYU 110

124.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.53 UYU 61.5

29.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 $60.7

$74.3 UYU 2,980

-18.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 $19.61

$1.91 UYU 76.7

926.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 $3.08

$0.40 UYU 16.18

670.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$2.13 UYU 85.6

-34.74%

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

$55.2K $55.2K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

103.56%

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

$49.0K $49.0K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

35.08%

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

$451 $451

$188 UYU 7,557

139.38%

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

$100 $100

$20.54 UYU 824

388.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$151 $151

$44.81 UYU 1,798

237.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$164 $164

$54.0 UYU 2,166

203.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 $10.04

$11.95 UYU 480

-15.98%

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

$1,487 $1,487

$634 UYU 25.5K

134.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K $21.9K

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

97.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$102 UYU 4,099

10.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$148 $148

$57.5 UYU 2,309

156.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$202 $202

$127 UYU 5,079

59.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$128 UYU 5,131

18.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 $1,586

$719 UYU 28.8K

120.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 $1,827

$568 UYU 22.8K

221.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,187 $3,187

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

178.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,229 $4,229

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

313.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 $4,896

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

44.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

459.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 $2,726

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

119.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

5.74

64.63%

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

$1.8K 41.5%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 68.9% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 65.3% $625

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$702 15.9%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 63.9% $449

Eating Out

St Thomas

$358 8.1%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 24.9% $89

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 32.6% $90

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$184 4.2%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 57.7% $106

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 18.6% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,586 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 119% 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 $170 in St Thomas versus $69.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $956 vs $332 – making Montevideo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

13:36 1:36 PM

1 h ahead of St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 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 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.13 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

UYU to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St Thomas Montevideo 5,990 km ≈ 8 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 149%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,612 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 $1,487 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 188% 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 $4,408. 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.