Poverty and living standards in La Plata, Argentina: official figures
37.8% of people in La Plata lived below the poverty line in the first half of 2026 (INDEC EPH), 8th highest of 30 Argentine cities on this site; across the 31 survey areas the rate was 32.3%. That is about 359,000 people.
Is poverty rising in La Plata?
The poverty rate in La Plata was 35.2% in the first half of 2025 and 37.8% in the first half of 2026, up 2.6 percentage points; for all 31 survey areas it moved from 31.6% to 32.3%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in La Plata are poor?
28.0% of households in La Plata were below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, 7th highest of 30 Argentine cities on this site (all 31 survey areas: 24.4%). People in poor households were a larger share of residents (37.8%) than poor households were of households, because poor households are larger.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyWhat is the extreme poverty rate in La Plata?
9.2% of people in La Plata (about 87,000) were below the extreme-poverty line, which only counts food, in the first half of 2026, 6th highest of 30 Argentine cities on this site; the 31-area rate was 7.5%; a year earlier La Plata's rate was 8.0%. INDEC flags this estimate as imprecise (coefficient of variation 29.3%).
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in La Plata are in extreme poverty?
5.8% of households in La Plata were below the extreme-poverty line in the first half of 2026 (all 31 survey areas: 5.6%). INDEC flags this estimate as imprecise (coefficient of variation 24.2%).
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in La Plata live in informal settlements?
0.8% of households in La Plata were in a "villa de emergencia" (informal settlement) in the first quarter of 2026, 11th highest of 30 Argentine cities on this site; across the 31 survey areas the share was 1.1%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many homes in La Plata are overcrowded?
2.6% of households in La Plata had critical overcrowding (more than three people per room) in the first quarter of 2026, 4th highest of 30 Argentine cities on this site (all 31 survey areas: 1.8%).
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many homes in La Plata are near rubbish dumps or flood zones?
3.6% of households in La Plata were within three blocks of a rubbish dump and 6.1% were in a flood-prone area in the first quarter of 2026 (INDEC EPH); the 31-area shares were 5.1% and 7.8%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow La Plata compares with other cities in Argentina
People below the poverty line (H1 2026)
La Plata ranks 8 of 30, highest first.
| Rank | City | People below the poverty line |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Santa Fé | 38.6% |
| 6 | Santiago del Estero-La Banda | 38.5% |
| 7 | La Rioja | 38.4% |
| 8 | La Plata | 37.8% |
| 9 | Catamarca | 37.3% |
| 10 | Comodoro Rivadavia-Rada Tilly | 37.2% |
| 11 | Mendoza | 36.9% |
Change in the poverty rate since H1 2025 (percentage points) (H1 2026 vs H1 2025)
La Plata ranks 15 of 30, highest first.
| Rank | City | Change in the poverty rate since H1 2025 (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Catamarca | +3.3 pts |
| 13 | Bahía Blanca-Cerri | +3.1 pts |
| 14 | Santa Fé | +2.8 pts |
| 15 | La Plata | +2.6 pts |
| 16 | Córdoba | +1.6 pts |
| 17 | Formosa | +1.6 pts |
| 18 | San Nicolás-Villa Constitución | +1.0 pts |
People below the extreme-poverty line (H1 2026)
La Plata ranks 6 of 30, highest first.
| Rank | City | People below the extreme-poverty line |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | San Nicolás-Villa Constitución | 10.3% |
| 4 | Rawson-Trelew-Playa Unión | 10.0% |
| 5 | Santa Fé | 9.8% |
| 6 | La Plata | 9.2% |
| 7 | Corrientes | 8.6% |
| 8 | Buenos Aires | 8.4% |
| 9 | Catamarca | 8.3% |
Households in informal settlements (Q1 2026)
La Plata ranks 11 of 30, highest first.
| Rank | City | Households in informal settlements |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Mendoza | 0.9% |
| 9 | Río Cuarto | 0.9% |
| 10 | Corrientes | 0.8% |
| 11 | La Plata | 0.8% |
| 12 | San Luis - El Chorrillo | 0.5% |
| 13 | Tucumán-Tafí Viejo | 0.5% |
| 14 | San Salvador de Jujuy-Palpalá | 0.4% |
Households with critical overcrowding (Q1 2026)
La Plata ranks 4 of 30, highest first.
| Rank | City | Households with critical overcrowding |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Concordia | 4.2% |
| 2 | Catamarca | 3.4% |
| 3 | Tucumán-Tafí Viejo | 2.7% |
| 4 | La Plata | 2.6% |
| 5 | Córdoba | 2.6% |
| 6 | Formosa | 2.5% |
| 7 | La Rioja | 2.5% |
More on La Plata: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · all cities in Argentina
Sources
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC): Encuesta Permanente de Hogares (EPH): bases de microdatos usuarias, individual y hogar, primer trimestre de 2026 (figures computed with the survey weights), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d9d23945d4b1…)
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC): Incidencia de la pobreza y la indigencia en 31 aglomerados urbanos, primer semestre de 2026 (Tables 4.1 and 4.2), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d944f84c823a…)
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