Sao Paulo vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Sao Paulo	Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1052	$3328
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2682	$7867
🏠 One person rent	$496	$2171
🏘️ Family rent	$872	$3805
🍽️ Food expenses	$302	$759
🚐 Transport expenses	$143	$156
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$701	$6208
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	5 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	95	100
😀 Quality of life	69	96
🏙️ Population	11.5M	690K

The cost of living in Sao Paulo is 68% less expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 5192nd and 73rd ($1052 vs $3328) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 58th in Brazil and the United States, respectively. Check Brazil vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Sao Paulo compared to 1.9 months in Washington. Sao Paulo ranked 1st best city to live in Brazil vs Washington ranked 4th in the United States, while ranked 4142nd and 26th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Sao Paulo vs Washington infographic

Share this infographic!

Use the link below to embed the infographic from our site and automatically keep the data layer up to date.

If you prefer to download the image, please credit us as a source.

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

Prices in Sao Paulo vs Washington

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

	Sao Paulo	Washington
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$7.6	$21.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$34	$100
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.12	$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.3	$8.68
☕ Cappuccino	$2.55	$6.08
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.19	$3.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$622	$2374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$380	$1874
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1124	$4381
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$691	$3331
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$48.7	$127
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$75	$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.7	$70.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.27%	6.47%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2855	$6387
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1938	$4905
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.96	$2.75
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$48.5	$98.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.53	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.11	$0.9
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.04	$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.56	$3.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$5.04
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.66	$4.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.5	$18.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.68	$16.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.54	$19.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.7	$5.55
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.84	$2.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.61	$4.89
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$6.42
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.26	$3.61
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.48	$1.7
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.98	$3.58
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.72	$16.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.3	$4.27
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.55	$13.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.16	$9.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.2	$4.82
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.52	$4.34
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.39	$2.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$27.9	$108
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.81	$16.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$65.2	$196
💇 Haircut, simple	$12.8	$35
👖 Brand Jeans	$55.2	$72.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$92.9	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$475	$2676
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15428	$24065

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Sao Paulo

Distance	City	Cost of living
12 km or 7.3 mi	Sao Caetano do Sul	$737
13 km or 8.3 mi	Taboao da Serra	$701
14 km or 8.6 mi	Guarulhos	$697
15 km or 9.4 mi	Diadema	$698
16 km or 9.7 mi	Santo Andre	$690
16 km or 10 mi	Osasco	$712
17 km or 11 mi	Sao Bernardo do Campo	$656
21 km or 13 mi	Carapicuiba	$605
22 km or 14 mi	Maua	$691
23 km or 15 mi	Caieiras	$687
25 km or 15 mi	Embu das Artes	$704
25 km or 16 mi	Barueri	$830
26 km or 16 mi	Mairipora	$671
26 km or 16 mi	Franco da Rocha	$699
27 km or 17 mi	Ferraz de Vasconcelos	$643
28 km or 17 mi	Jandira	$699
29 km or 18 mi	Ribeirao Pires	$665
29 km or 18 mi	Itapecerica da Serra	$706
30 km or 18 mi	Poa	$639
30 km or 18 mi	Cotia	$780
30 km or 19 mi	Itaquaquecetuba	$671
31 km or 19 mi	Itapevi	$654
31 km or 19 mi	Santana de Parnaiba	$689
32 km or 20 mi	Francisco Morato	$702
33 km or 20 mi	Itanhaem	$666
33 km or 20 mi	Cajamar	$693
36 km or 22 mi	Embu-Guacu	$678
36 km or 22 mi	Aruja	$664
41 km or 26 mi	Campo Limpo Paulista	$685
43 km or 26 mi	Varzea Paulista	$687
44 km or 27 mi	Cubatao	$657
45 km or 28 mi	Mogi das Cruzes	$741
48 km or 30 mi	Jundiai	$737
49 km or 30 mi	Atibaia	$618
51 km or 32 mi	Sao Roque	$673
52 km or 32 mi	Sao Vicente	$648
55 km or 34 mi	Santos	$816
56 km or 35 mi	Praia Grande	$638
61 km or 38 mi	Bertioga	$659
61 km or 38 mi	Ibiuna	$666

Cities near Washington

Distance	City	Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi	Georgetown	$3054
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2576
10 km or 6.3 mi	Alexandria	$2919
11 km or 6.8 mi	Bethesda	$2710
12 km or 7.5 mi	Silver Spring	$2287
15 km or 9.2 mi	College Park	$2563
17 km or 11 mi	Springfield	$2355
17 km or 11 mi	Greenbelt	$2482
23 km or 14 mi	Rockville	$2612
24 km or 15 mi	Fairfax	$2791
26 km or 16 mi	Bowie	$2495
27 km or 17 mi	Laurel	$2338
28 km or 17 mi	Reston	$2697
30 km or 19 mi	Waldorf	$2509
31 km or 19 mi	Gaithersburg	$2522
32 km or 20 mi	Herndon	$2773
34 km or 21 mi	Woodbridge	$2582
34 km or 21 mi	Marumsco	$2506
36 km or 22 mi	Centreville	$3275
37 km or 23 mi	Germantown	$2601
38 km or 23 mi	Columbia	$2788
41 km or 26 mi	Manassas	$2693
42 km or 26 mi	Ashburn	$2755
47 km or 29 mi	Annapolis	$2940
49 km or 31 mi	Catonsville	$2450
51 km or 32 mi	Leesburg	$2288
57 km or 35 mi	Eldersburg	$2494
57 km or 35 mi	Baltimore	$2323
61 km or 38 mi	Owings Mills	$2581
68 km or 42 mi	Frederick	$2339
76 km or 47 mi	Fredericksburg	$2347
83 km or 52 mi	Charles Town	$1845
87 km or 54 mi	Edgewood	$3069
92 km or 57 mi	Bel Air South	$2824
93 km or 58 mi	Bel Air North	$2699
102 km or 63 mi	Hanover	$2255
102 km or 63 mi	Hagerstown	$2066
103 km or 64 mi	Winchester	$2400
106 km or 66 mi	Waynesboro	$1935
122 km or 76 mi	York	$1949