Rio de Janeiro vs Sao Paulo - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 01, 2024

	Rio de Janeiro	Sao Paulo
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1010	$1042
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2648	$2664
🏠 One person rent	$460	$480
🏘️ Family rent	$868	$881
🍽️ Food expenses	$272	$302
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$151
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$359	$460
😷 Air quality	Good	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	94	95
😀 Quality of life	62	64
🏙️ Population	6.78M	12.4M

The cost of living in Rio de Janeiro is 3% less expensive than in Sao Paulo. Cities ranked 5234th and 5031st ($1010 vs $1042) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in Brazil.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.4 months in Rio de Janeiro compared to 0.4 months in Sao Paulo. Ranked 3rd vs 2nd best cities to live in Brazil, and 5089th vs 4799th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Rio de Janeiro vs Sao Paulo infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/rio-de-janeiro/sao-paulo.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Rio de Janeiro vs Sao Paulo infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/rio-de-janeiro/sao-paulo" target="_blank">Rio de Janeiro vs Sao Paulo - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Rio de Janeiro vs Sao Paulo

Prices for goods and services in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Rio de Janeiro	Sao Paulo
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.53	$7.49
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$33.7	$42.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.39	$7.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.16	$2.19
☕ Cappuccino	$2.29	$2.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.21	$1.29
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$497	$560
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$313	$357
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$997	$1043
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$641	$696
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$88.7	$60.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$135	$93.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$21.1	$22.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	10.11%	10.78%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2527	$2704
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1298	$1879
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1	$0.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$55.3	$50.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$9.75	$8.47
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.14	$1.1
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.13	$1.08
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.43	$1.63
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.07	$1.2
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.25	$2.8
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.1	$10.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.65	$4.34
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.52	$8.88
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.21	$2.29
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.64	$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.25	$1.23
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.76	$1.79
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.16	$1.28
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$1.15
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.39	$0.55
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.77	$2.01
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.35	$9.65
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.23	$1.44
🚬 Cigarette pack	$1.93	$2.42
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.96	$5.04
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.07	$3.81
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.27	$1.83
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.01	$1.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$27.3	$28.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.06	$7.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$72.7	$60.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$10.5	$12.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.8	$57.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$87	$89.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$588	$464
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$10845	$12031

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Rio de Janeiro

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.9 km or 6.2 mi	Niteroi	$778
18 km or 11 mi	Duque de Caxias	$688
21 km or 13 mi	Sao Joao de Meriti	$710
26 km or 16 mi	Belford Roxo	$887
31 km or 19 mi	Nova Iguacu	$640
45 km or 28 mi	Petropolis	$645
60 km or 37 mi	Teresopolis	$619
70 km or 44 mi	Saquarema	$717
98 km or 61 mi	Nova Friburgo	$531
102 km or 64 mi	Volta Redonda	$593
108 km or 67 mi	Barra Mansa	$606
112 km or 70 mi	Sao Pedro da Aldeia	$691
115 km or 72 mi	Angra dos Reis	$702
121 km or 75 mi	Cabo Frio	$711
130 km or 81 mi	Juiz de Fora	$496
135 km or 84 mi	Rio das Ostras	$560
137 km or 85 mi	Resende	$633
157 km or 97 mi	Macae	$681
184 km or 115 mi	Cruzeiro	$638
196 km or 122 mi	Barbacena	$568
199 km or 123 mi	Lorena	$647
200 km or 124 mi	Ubatuba	$685
201 km or 125 mi	Uba	$616
208 km or 129 mi	Guaratingueta	$653
215 km or 134 mi	Muriae	$617
226 km or 140 mi	Sao Joao del-Rei	$465
231 km or 144 mi	Campos dos Goytacazes	$582
232 km or 144 mi	Pindamonhangaba	$679
238 km or 148 mi	Itajuba	$554
240 km or 149 mi	Caraguatatuba	$701
241 km or 150 mi	Taubate	$669
242 km or 150 mi	Vicosa	$631
245 km or 152 mi	Sao Sebastiao	$681
251 km or 156 mi	Tres Coracoes	$591
257 km or 160 mi	Conselheiro Lafaiete	$680
258 km or 160 mi	Cacapava	$674
264 km or 164 mi	Lavras	$579
275 km or 171 mi	Varginha	$541
277 km or 172 mi	Sao Jose dos Campos	$775
279 km or 173 mi	Ponte Nova	$620

Cities near Sao Paulo

Distance	City	Cost of living
12 km or 7.3 mi	Sao Caetano do Sul	$768
13 km or 8.3 mi	Taboao da Serra	$695
14 km or 8.6 mi	Guarulhos	$733
15 km or 9.4 mi	Diadema	$744
16 km or 9.7 mi	Santo Andre	$680
16 km or 10 mi	Osasco	$690
17 km or 11 mi	Sao Bernardo do Campo	$766
21 km or 13 mi	Carapicuiba	$600
22 km or 14 mi	Maua	$711
23 km or 15 mi	Caieiras	$668
25 km or 15 mi	Embu das Artes	$661
25 km or 16 mi	Barueri	$669
26 km or 16 mi	Mairipora	$674
26 km or 16 mi	Franco da Rocha	$669
27 km or 17 mi	Ferraz de Vasconcelos	$695
28 km or 17 mi	Jandira	$645
29 km or 18 mi	Ribeirao Pires	$682
29 km or 18 mi	Itapecerica da Serra	$663
30 km or 18 mi	Poa	$680
30 km or 18 mi	Cotia	$651
30 km or 19 mi	Itaquaquecetuba	$699
31 km or 19 mi	Itapevi	$652
31 km or 19 mi	Santana de Parnaiba	$652
32 km or 20 mi	Francisco Morato	$675
33 km or 20 mi	Itanhaem	$680
33 km or 20 mi	Cajamar	$662
36 km or 22 mi	Embu-Guacu	$670
36 km or 22 mi	Aruja	$677
41 km or 26 mi	Campo Limpo Paulista	$687
43 km or 26 mi	Varzea Paulista	$700
44 km or 27 mi	Cubatao	$678
45 km or 28 mi	Mogi das Cruzes	$761
48 km or 30 mi	Jundiai	$763
49 km or 30 mi	Atibaia	$662
51 km or 32 mi	Sao Roque	$657
52 km or 32 mi	Sao Vicente	$558
55 km or 34 mi	Santos	$813
56 km or 35 mi	Praia Grande	$649
61 km or 38 mi	Bertioga	$678
61 km or 38 mi	Ibiuna	$659