How much do provincial legislators earn in each of Argentina's 24 districts?

During 2025, many provinces will renew their local legislatures, either fully or partially , as will the Chambers of Deputies and Senators of the Nation.

In this context, we ask ourselves: How much do the members of the country's provincial legislatures earn? A survey conducted by Ruido—a news outlet partnered with Reverso, a project coordinated by Chequeado and AFP—for the Federal Network of Journalism and Innovation (RPI) led to the creation of a ranking of legislators' salaries in the country's 24 provinces .

First of all, it should be clarified that there may be legislators from the same province who earn more or less than the figures reported, as there is a wide range of items that make up total compensation.

According to the survey, Santa Fe's representatives earn $8.5 million net each month (i.e., their out-of-pocket salary, with deductions already made) and are the provincial legislators with the highest incomes.

They are followed by the deputies of Neuquén ($6 million) and the province of Buenos Aires ($5.6 million).

At the other end of the spectrum, representatives from Chaco earn the least for their work: $1 million. They are followed by representatives from La Rioja ($1.5 million) and Formosa ($1.8 million).

Using the minimum living wage as a benchmark, which is $317,800 as of July, a deputy from Santa Fe earns almost 27 minimum wages, while at the other extreme, one from Chaco receives just over 3.

On average, based on all surveyed receipts, provincial legislators earn about $3.9 million, equivalent to 12.4 minimum wages.

To prepare this report, a case study was taken from each province based on the most recent available pay stub (April/May 2025).

To compile the ranking, the net salary (i.e., take-home pay, after deductions) of each legislator was considered as the most accurate measure of what they earn in each province.

The net amount was chosen instead of the "basic" amount, since in many cases that item or the "diet" item represent a symbolic amount, while the bulk of the salary appears under other items such as "representation expenses" or "special additional for function," among other similar terms.

The most notable example is Chaco, where the net "diet" is $1,735, while "Representation Expenses" exceed one million pesos.

If the ranking only includes the "basic" or "diet" (without deductions) allowances, legislators from the City of Buenos Aires top the list with $6.9 million, followed by representatives from the province of Buenos Aires with $6.6 million, and those from Neuquén with $6.1 million.

On the other hand, Chaco ($1,735), Santa Cruz ($282,982) and La Rioja ($658,460) are those with the lowest basic wages.

Juan Krahl, coordinator of Citizenship and Government Institutions at the Legislative Directorate, warned about "the lack of a national standard defining the components of legislators' allowances, or the amount of the module." He explained: "It's very difficult to implement because each legislature is composed differently. Each provincial situation, each economic context, and each political culture are different from province to province."

As already mentioned, the net amount includes additional benefits for seniority, title, area, and other items that vary not only by province but also depending on the personal status of each legislator: whether they hold a title or not, whether they have seniority in the public administration, where they live, etc.

From the information collected, 11 provinces include, for example, the seniority item: Santa Fe, Río Negro, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego, Santa Cruz, Formosa, La Rioja, San Luis, La Pampa, Chaco and Jujuy.

In these cases, the legislator's years of service since entering the public service are considered; that is, not his or her seniority as a legislator, but rather as an employee in the public sector.

Those that included the title as an additional were Chaco, Formosa, La Rioja, La Pampa, Río Negro, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego.

Other items that not all legislatures include on pay stubs are those for "unfavorable area" and "transfers."

Neuquén, Chubut, Salta, La Rioja, Río Negro, and Santa Cruz have them registered, but in other provinces, these concepts appear as "other items" or are received informally outside the diet, such as fuel vouchers or block expenses, among other names.

Ruido was unable to access salary information for provincial senators from Catamarca, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, and Santa Fe (although in all cases there is data for their deputies), nor for the deputies from Mendoza.

Most of those surveyed offered their receipts and agreed to show them in exchange for anonymity. Many others refused to share them, and in some cases, only the data was obtained, without the receipt.

"Access to this type of information is important because it benefits citizens and provides transparency to legislatures and their administrations," said Pablo Secchi, executive director of Poder Ciudadano.

The specialist explained that "the disparity stems from the fact that each province and legislature decides on their budgets," and that "while legislators must be paid according to their responsibilities, the economic context at both the national and provincial levels must always be taken into account. In short, they must be well paid, but taking into account the difficulties our country is facing."

According to Krahl, "the lack of access to information related to this issue is notorious." He urged that "the public eye be focused on how much they earn, without making a value judgment about whether they should be paid more or less, but rather laying the cards on the table. And then that discussion can take place."

It's important to remember that nearly nine out of ten provincial legislatures in Argentina conceal data on staff hiring or fund management, among other key indicators for transparency in the functioning of this branch of government. This was revealed by an investigation by Ruido and Poder Ciudadano conducted last year.

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This article is part of Reverso , the collaborative civic journalism project coordinated by Chequeado and AFP to intensify the fight against misinformation during electoral campaigns in Argentina.

To join, please email [email protected].

Edition 1: Manuel Tarricone (Checked)

Edition 2: Manuela Silva (AFP Factual)