Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Augusta, ME and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,182 a month against $2,388 in Augusta, ME, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Augusta, ME
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Augusta, ME Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Augusta, ME

🇺🇸 United States

$2,388

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Augusta, ME and in Rio de Janeiro

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Augusta, ME and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,388 in Augusta, ME versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro.

Augusta, ME $2,388
Rio de Janeiro $1,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,317 in Augusta, ME versus $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro.

Augusta, ME $3,317
Rio de Janeiro $1,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,246 in Augusta, ME versus $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro.

Augusta, ME $4,246
Rio de Janeiro $2,318

Living in Augusta, ME is roughly 102% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Augusta, ME is 75% above, Rio de Janeiro is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.90 $19.90

$9.08 R$48.54

119.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.1 $53.1

$37.25 R$199

42.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 $10.39

$8.02 R$42.87

29.55%

Cappuccino

$5.40 $5.40

$2.19 R$11.71

146.58%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 $2.36

$1.46 R$7.82

61.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 $1.59

$0.99 R$5.27

60.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 $5.02

$2.03 R$10.84

147.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.72 $7.72

$3.45 R$18.43

123.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.06 R$5.66

7.55%

White Bread (500g)

$4.56 $4.56

$1.98 R$10.61

130.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.17 R$6.27

23.93%

Eggs

$3.96 $3.96

$2.21 R$11.80

79.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 $15.09

$10.11 R$54.1

49.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.12 $14.12

$4.12 R$22.00

242.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.52 $19.52

$9.17 R$49.04

112.87%

Apples (1kg)

$7.48 $7.48

$2.72 R$14.54

175.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.71 R$9.15

-23.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 $3.09

$1.53 R$8.18

101.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.59 $4.59

$1.66 R$8.89

176.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 $2.33

$1.14 R$6.09

104.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.86 $2.86

$0.99 R$5.32

188.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.08 $2.08

$0.65 R$3.46

220.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 $1.81

$0.60 R$3.20

201.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.98 $11.98

$2.79 R$14.94

329.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 $12.99

$7.48 R$39.99

73.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.09 R$5.83

43.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 $1.55

$2.33 R$12.48

-33.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 R$4.79

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$283

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$1.17 R$6.24

117.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.27 $1.27

$0.78 R$4.17

62.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.55 $28.55

$8.37 R$44.75

241.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 $0.90

$1.21 R$6.48

-25.62%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$29.6K $29.6K

$21.5K R$114.8K

37.78%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$24.3K $24.3K

$31.1K R$166.5K

-22.04%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$243 $243

$124 R$665

95.20%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$45.59 $45.59

$10.03 R$53.7

354.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.0 $61.0

$20.88 R$112

191.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.60 $22.60

$28.35 R$152

-20.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$157

Cinema Ticket

$14.13 $14.13

$7.62 R$40.72

85.43%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,656 $2,656

$563 R$3,010

371.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.6K $36.6K

$12.0K R$64.4K

203.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.5 $73.5

$39.25 R$210

87.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 $50.9

$46.36 R$248

9.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 $113

$68.4 R$366

65.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 $154

$63.4 R$339

143.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 $1,200

$776 R$4,150

54.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 $1,078

$473 R$2,530

127.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,602 $1,602

$1,391 R$7,437

15.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,473 $1,473

$739 R$3,951

99.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,386 $2,386

$3,393 R$18.1K

-29.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,378 $2,378

$1,570 R$8,396

51.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,948 $1,948

$597 R$3,192

226.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.3

11.93

-47.19%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Augusta, ME: October 24, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Augusta, ME

$1.1K 45.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40% 56.1% $605

Groceries & Markets

Augusta, ME

$413 17.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17% 51.4% $212

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Augusta, ME

$349 14.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1% 55.5% $194

Eating Out

Augusta, ME

$312 13%

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7% 51.9% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Augusta, ME

$176 7.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3% 44.5% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Augusta, ME

$51 2.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7% 14.3% $7.3

Getting Around

Augusta, ME

$8.9 * 0.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2% 594% $53

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,200 in Augusta, ME and $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Augusta, ME pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $53 in Augusta, ME vs $37 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $413 vs $201 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Augusta, ME

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

16:18 4:18 PM

17:18 5:18 PM

1 h ahead of Augusta, ME

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

194,343

6,211,223

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

BRL to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Augusta, ME Rio de Janeiro 7,950 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Augusta, ME
Rio de Janeiro

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Augusta, ME vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,388 in Augusta, ME and $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, so Rio de Janeiro is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Augusta, ME is about 3.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,200 in Augusta, ME versus $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,656 in Augusta, ME versus $563 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $37 versus $53 in Augusta, ME. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,388 in Augusta, ME, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Augusta, ME. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Rio de Janeiro wins on affordability, Augusta, ME on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.