The acceleration of Inflation in the city of Buenos, which reached 2.4% in Novemberhit the pockets of households. Above-average increases in items such as transportation, expenses and rent, as well as increases in food prices, raised the statistical threshold for a family of four Officially, she is considered “middle class” and already has $2 million.
Official statistics show that the minimum income that a typical household of two seniors and two minors must receive per month to integrate into this socioeconomic class was reached in November $2,076,905 a month.
This is a figure established by the Institute of Statistics and Censuses of the City of Buenos Aires (Idecba) based on measurements derived from its own monthly price survey in the Buenos Aires area. In this sense, Buenos Aires CPI data released last week suggested November inflation accelerated to 2.4% this month. With this variation, it accumulated by 28.3% in the first 11 months of 2025 and was 32.6% year-on-year.
The statistical office then prepares the report on “Poverty lines and consumption baskets for the city of Buenos Aires“, and defines the different income levels of the population includes the formal definition of “middle class.”
This minimum income takes into account, among other things, the purchase of minimum goods and services for subsistencethe total of expenses related to the purchase or renewal of durable goods for housing, health and other goods such as clothing and transport.
As already mentioned, the income limit is shown graphically for a family group of four – two working adults and two minors – who lives in the city of Buenos Aires. Compared to the previous month recorded a 2% increase, a move that was below the increase in the average cost of living in Capital this month.
In absolute numbers: That’s $40,750 more than the minimum income the same household needed in October Statistically speaking, they are still considered “middle class”. According to official data, an income of at least $2,036,155 was required in the last month.
If you compare the development of the “middle class” basket of goods with prices over the last 12 months, you can see that it also grew below average inflation: the middle class threshold became 28.6% more expensive (four points below average inflation). In absolute numbers: That’s $462,263 more than a year ago. so this household of four can be considered middle class.
However, the official report has a peculiarity in that it is prepared with reference to Family groups that own their homes. That means, does not include rental costs in monthly expenses of an apartment or house, a factor that affects just over a third of families living in the city of Buenos Aires.
In November, the average monthly value of a 70sqm three-bedroom apartment in Capital rose to $987,205 per month. according to the Zonaprop index, which takes into account the values of the rental advertisements published on this online classifieds site. This way, The minimum middle-class income for a family renting rose to about $3,064,110 last month (it topped $3 million for the first time).
The Idecba report also updated the relevant figures Total Basic Basket (CBT), that defines the limit of poverty, and Basic Food Basket (CBA), This marks the threshold below which households are considered homeless.
The latter, which includes a range of basic subsistence items, was located in $703,325 in November. According to the Buenos Aires Statistics Authority, households that did not earn at least this income in the last month were considered statistically needy.
The poverty line, which takes into account non-food goods and services in addition to food (including, but not limited to, transportation, cleaning supplies, expenses, tariffs for public services, clothing, recreation, health, education and communications), was estimated in October at $1,308,061. Those whose income was below this value in the respective month were considered statistically poor.
Households whose income was determined between that number and $1,661,523 were included in the segment “not vulnerable poor.”
Furthermore, the same typical household with four members (two older and two younger), the stratum of “fragile middle sector” corresponded to those who had an income of up to $2,076,904.
The group of “accommodated” corresponded to families that received an income of more than in October $6,646,095.
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