The context of inflationary accelerationcon increases in food and medicine and strong adjustments in some regulated items, such as private health plans, education or public service rates, It hits the pockets of Argentines and challenges households to maintain their level of consumption. This is reflected in the official numbers that indicate that In March, a typical family needed an income of $1,157,084 to be considered middle class.
The data corresponds to a family group of four members (two major and two minor) and it appears from the report of Poverty lines and consumption baskets for the City of Buenos Aires prepared by the Buenos Aires statistical entity (General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses)which among other things determines the thresholds of indigence and poverty in CABA.
In nominal terms, The number registers an increase of 13.7% compared to the estimated income floor for the middle class in February ($1,017,520). The variation is located tenths above the 13.2% that the same organization estimated as the inflation figure in March (13.2% monthly, and 285.3% interannual inflation).
In absolute terms, it implied that That same family group needed $139,563.95 more in March than in February to be considered middle class.
The report, however, is prepared considering a family group that owns its home and, consequently, does not consider the necessary expenditure on rent. Last month, the average monthly rental price of a three-bedroom apartment in the City of Buenos Aires was $567,747.
In this way, a family group that must rent its home (According to data from the last census, in the City of Buenos Aires only 52.9% of its inhabitants are owners, the district with the lowest proportion in the entire country) required in March an income of at least $1,724,831 to belong to the “middle class” segment.
Compared to a year ago, The increase in the price of this hypothetical basket is 293.7% (compared to a year-on-year inflation of 285.3%). In March 2023, According to the Buenos Aires statistical agency, the income floor to be middle class was $293,925. In other words, That same family group needed to almost quadruple their income to stay within the middle class segment: they are $863,159 more than last year.
The Buenos Aires statistical report also defined the poverty threshold for that family group at $442,239.. It is the theoretical monthly income that a typical household of four members should have received in March, which represents an increase of $39,487 compared to February (9.8%).
While, The income floor was established at $766,146 in March so as not to be considered poor. Es 12% more than in February 2024, which implied an increase of $82,031 in the minimum income to avoid poverty.
While, Those who did not earn at least $925,668 in March were included in the vulnerable “non-poor” segmentwhile the family group that It did not reach $1,157,085 and was part of the “fragile middle sector” stratum.
At the top of the pyramid, according to the categorization of the Buenos Aires statistical entity, are located the “affluent sectors”. In March, those family groups that They earned an income of at least $3.7 million.