Poverty and living standards in Buenos Aires City, Argentina: official figures
11.1% of people in Buenos Aires City lived below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, about 334,000 people (coefficient of variation 17.2%: INDEC advises treating it with caution); the lowest of the 32 urban areas INDEC reports (all 31 areas: 32.3%).
Is poverty rising in Buenos Aires City?
Poverty in Buenos Aires City was up 1.5 percentage points on the second half of 2025 (9.6%) and down 4.0 percentage points on the first half of 2025 (15.1%). 8.9% of households were poor in the first half of 2026.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Buenos Aires City cannot afford basic food?
1.5% of people in Buenos Aires City were indigent in the first half of 2026, meaning household income did not cover the basic food basket (INDEC classes estimates with a coefficient of variation above 25% as unreliable; this one is 30.5%); 2nd lowest of the 32 urban areas INDEC reports (all 31 areas: 7.5%).
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Buenos Aires City have unmet basic needs?
185,312 people in Buenos Aires City, 6.0% of those in private homes, lived in households with at least one unmet basic need (NBI) at the 2022 census, 2nd lowest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City (Argentina: 9.4%). In 2010 the share was 7.0%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in Buenos Aires City live in poor housing?
4.8% of households in Buenos Aires City had unmet basic needs in 2022 (66,855 of 1,406,735): 1.0% were critically overcrowded (more than three people per room), 0.2% had no toilet and 3.5% lived in precarious or unsuitable housing. In 1980 the household rate was 7.4%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyMore figures
- When INDEC's current poverty series began in the second half of 2016, 9.5% of people in Buenos Aires City were poor, against 11.1% in the first half of 2026. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copy
How Buenos Aires City compares with other autonomous cities
People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Buenos Aires City ranks 24 of 24, highest first. INDEC measures income poverty in 31 urban areas, not whole provinces; each province is shown by its largest surveyed urban area.
| Rank | Region | People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Jujuy | 27.6% |
| 19 | Tierra del Fuego | 25.9% |
| 20 | Santa Cruz | 25.6% |
| 21 | La Pampa | 25.4% |
| 22 | Santa Fe | 23.1% |
| 23 | Neuquen | 19.6% |
| 24 | Buenos Aires City | 11.1% |
People below the indigence line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Buenos Aires City ranks 23 of 24, highest first. Each province is shown by its largest surveyed urban area.
| Rank | Region | People below the indigence line in the province's largest EPH urban area |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | San Luis | 3.1% |
| 19 | Tierra del Fuego | 3.1% |
| 20 | Neuquen | 2.8% |
| 21 | Santa Cruz | 2.6% |
| 22 | San Juan | 1.6% |
| 23 | Buenos Aires City | 1.5% |
| 24 | Jujuy | 1.4% |
People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) (2022)
Buenos Aires City ranks 23 of 24, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Rio Negro | 8.2% |
| 19 | Santa Cruz | 8.0% |
| 20 | Santa Fe | 7.4% |
| 21 | Chubut | 7.0% |
| 22 | Cordoba | 6.6% |
| 23 | Buenos Aires City | 6.0% |
| 24 | La Pampa | 4.2% |
More on Buenos Aires City: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · government budget · Argentina
Sources
- Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Necesidades Basicas Insatisfechas (NBI): households and people with unmet basic needs by province, censuses 1980-2022 (Cuadros 1-5), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7b03432b63f7…)
- Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Incidencia de la pobreza y la indigencia en 31 aglomerados urbanos, primer semestre de 2026: Cuadros 4.1-4.4 (poverty and indigence by urban area, with coefficients of variation, and the series from the second half of 2016), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d6fe78610628…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.