Best cities to live in South America

Overview

Montevideo tops our ranking of best cities to live in south america at 7.0/10, just ahead of Medellin and Florianopolis. "Best cities to live in South America" is one of the most searched relocation questions we track — and most articles answering it are written from a single traveler's memory, not from consistent data across cities. Our global livability score, limited to cities in South America. This narrows our 303-city database down to South America and ranks that regional set by the same equal-weighted livability score used everywhere else on the site. It's worth noting the spread: scores here range from 7.0 down to 5.0, so position #1 and position #30 aren't just marginally different — they represent genuinely different day-to-day experiences. The gap between the #1 and #3 spots is often smaller than it looks: a 0.3-point difference in an aggregate score can come from a single criterion, so it's worth opening a city's full scorecard rather than trusting the headline number alone. This is the right starting point if you know you want to stay in South America but haven't yet decided which single factor matters most. Below is the complete list with every underlying score, plus links through to a full breakdown for each city.

Full ranking

Curious how the top two stack up criterion by criterion? Compare Montevideo vs Medellin directly →

Methodology

Cities are scored equally across all seven criteria — no single factor dominates — then limited to South America so you're comparing regional options directly rather than against cities you may have already ruled out geographically. Want different priorities? Set your own weights in the recommender.

Understanding the criteria

All seven criteria — cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet — count equally here, so a city needs to be solid across the board rather than exceptional at any one thing to rank near the top.

Tips for using this ranking

• →If one criterion clearly matters more to you than the others, the single-criterion regional rankings (linked below) will serve you better than this blended list.
• →Cities in the middle of this ranking are often better value than the top 2-3 once cost of living is factored back in — worth a look before assuming higher is always better.

Who this ranking is for

This ranking is most useful for Budget-conscious movers — movers for whom affordability outweighs every other factor, Safety-first movers — people relocating somewhere unfamiliar who weigh personal safety above all and Balanced movers — people without a single dominant priority, weighing all criteria evenly. If none of those match your situation, the recommender tool lets you set your own weights instead of relying on any preset list.

Strengths & limitations of this ranking

Frequently asked questions

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