Expreso: 60% of Ecuadorian Households Live on $513 a Month or Less

A new income snapshot helps explain why Ecuador's cost-of-living conversations can feel so different depending on the household.

Expreso reports that at least 60% of Ecuadorian households live each month on $513 or less, citing recently published data from El Quantificador based on INEC figures.

The newspaper says INEC's April labor-market report corroborates the number.

The April INEC Picture

According to Expreso, INEC's Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, Desempleo y Subempleo (ENEMDU) for April, published on May 26, put national average labor income at $513 per month.

In urban areas, the average was $563. In rural areas, it was $388.

INEC described those figures as stable.

Expreso reports that the urban global participation rate reached 62.6%.

Adequate employment stood at 34.3%, while subemployment reached 19.5%, both without significant variation compared with April 2025.

The category known as other non-full employment reached 33.9% nationally in April, an increase of 4 percentage points compared with April of the previous year.

What This Means For Expats

For expats, the useful point is perspective. Ecuador can feel affordable to a foreign resident with outside income while still being tight for local households living near the national labor-income average.

That difference matters when local wage, household budget and cost-of-living conversations come up.

Source: Expreso