Cleanest cities in South America

Overview

Ushuaia tops our ranking of cleanest cities in south america at 8.0/10, just ahead of Punta del Este and Medellin. "Cleanest cities 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. Ranked purely on our environment score: air quality and pollution levels. We isolated every city in South America from the full 303-city database and sorted that regional subset purely by cleanest, so the comparison stays fair within the region instead of getting diluted by cities on other continents. It's worth noting the spread: scores here range from 8.0 down to 4.0, 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. If you've already decided on South America and just need to narrow it down by cleanest, this is the fastest way to do it — for a fuller picture, cross-reference with the overall livability ranking for the same region. 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 Ushuaia vs Punta del Este directly →

Methodology

Same single-criterion method as our worldwide rankings (only cleanest counts), applied only to cities within South America so the comparison isn't skewed by cities on other continents. Want different priorities? Set your own weights in the recommender.

Understanding the criteria

Same logic as our worldwide single-criterion rankings: only cleanest decides the order, just filtered down to one region so you're not comparing across continents you've already ruled out.

Tips for using this ranking

• →Compare the top pick here against the equivalent worldwide ranking — a city that leads its continent can still trail the global top 10 by a wide margin.
• →Use this list to narrow down within South America, then switch to the recommender to weigh in your other priorities before committing.

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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