Poverty and living standards in Mendoza, Argentina: official figures
36.9% of people in the Gran Mendoza urban area lived below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, about 395,000 people; joint 11th highest of the 32 urban areas INDEC reports (all 31 areas: 32.3%). INDEC measures income poverty only in these urban areas, not across whole provinces.
Is poverty rising in Mendoza?
Poverty in the Gran Mendoza area was up 5.0 percentage points on the second half of 2025 (31.9%) and up 3.4 percentage points on the first half of 2025 (33.5%). 27.4% of households were poor in the first half of 2026.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Mendoza cannot afford basic food?
7.3% of people in the Gran Mendoza area were indigent in the first half of 2026, meaning household income did not cover the basic food basket (coefficient of variation 18.9%: INDEC advises treating it with caution); 11th highest 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 Mendoza have unmet basic needs?
187,460 people in Mendoza, 9.2% of those in private homes, lived in households with at least one unmet basic need (NBI) at the 2022 census, 12th highest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City (Argentina: 9.4%). In 2010 the share was 10.4%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in Mendoza live in poor housing?
6.4% of households in Mendoza had unmet basic needs in 2022 (41,825 of 652,184): 3.0% were critically overcrowded (more than three people per room), 0.9% had no toilet and 1.5% lived in precarious or unsuitable housing. In 1980 the household rate was 20.4%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyMore figures
- When INDEC's current poverty series began in the second half of 2016, 33.5% of people in the Gran Mendoza area were poor, against 36.9% in the first half of 2026. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copy
How Mendoza compares with other provinces
People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Mendoza ranks 9 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Catamarca | 37.3% |
| 7 | Chubut | 37.2% |
| 8 | Buenos Aires Province | 36.9% |
| 9 | Mendoza | 36.9% |
| 10 | San Juan | 36.8% |
| 11 | San Luis | 35.7% |
| 12 | Entre Rios | 34.3% |
People below the indigence line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Mendoza ranks 6 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Corrientes | 8.6% |
| 4 | Catamarca | 8.3% |
| 5 | Misiones | 8.2% |
| 6 | Mendoza | 7.3% |
| 7 | Cordoba | 7.0% |
| 8 | Santa Fe | 6.2% |
| 9 | Entre Rios | 6.0% |
People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) (2022)
Mendoza ranks 12 of 24, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | San Juan | 11.2% |
| 10 | Misiones | 11.1% |
| 11 | La Rioja | 10.6% |
| 12 | Mendoza | 9.2% |
| 13 | San Luis | 9.1% |
| 14 | Buenos Aires Province | 9.0% |
| 15 | Neuquen | 8.8% |
More on Mendoza: 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…)
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