Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cabo Rojo and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living costs are similar in Cabo Rojo and in Rio de Janeiro: $1,233 and $1,289 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Cabo Rojo
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Cabo Rojo Living Index
63

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

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Cabo Rojo

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,233

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cabo Rojo 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 Cabo Rojo and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,233 per month in Cabo Rojo vs $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Cabo Rojo $1,233
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

A couple spends around $1,944 per month in Cabo Rojo vs $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Cabo Rojo $1,944
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

A family of three spends $2,655 per month in Cabo Rojo vs $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Cabo Rojo $2,655
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Cabo Rojo is about 4% cheaper than Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cabo Rojo and Rio de Janeiro are more affordable than the global median – Cabo Rojo 9% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.13 $10.13

$10.06 R$51.0

0.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.8 $82.8

$40.44 R$205

104.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.98 $8.98

$8.55 R$43.35

5.03%

Cappuccino

$3.56 $3.56

$2.38 R$12.04

49.58%

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

$1.84 $1.84

$1.61 R$8.18

14.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 $1.47

$1.03 R$5.22

42.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.49 $1.49

$2.47 R$12.54

-39.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.55 $3.55

$3.70 R$18.77

-4.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 $2.22

$1.19 R$6.05

86.55%

White Bread (500g)

$3.56 $3.56

$2.05 R$10.38

73.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 $2.45

$1.28 R$6.49

91.41%

Eggs

$7.42 $7.42

$2.29 R$11.60

224.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.58 $12.58

$10.76 R$54.5

16.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.54 $9.54

$4.41 R$22.36

116.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.49 $13.49

$9.84 R$49.86

37.09%

Apples (1kg)

$5.02 $5.02

$2.81 R$14.25

78.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.78 R$9.03

47.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 $4.89

$1.60 R$8.13

205.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.91 $4.91

$1.80 R$9.11

172.78%

Potato (1kg)

$3.87 $3.87

$1.22 R$6.17

217.21%

Onion (1kg)

$3.89 $3.89

$1.04 R$5.26

274.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.54 $3.54

$0.77 R$3.92

359.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 $1.60

$0.67 R$3.38

138.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.98 $11.98

$3.01 R$15.27

298.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.45 $15.45

$8.08 R$40.94

91.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 $3.07

$1.19 R$6.03

157.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 $4.10

$2.51 R$12.73

63.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 $2.51

$1.22 R$6.20

105.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 $1.48

$0.92 R$4.66

60.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.21 $41.21

$8.97 R$45.45

359.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 $0.80

$1.30 R$6.57

-38.46%

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

$40.1K $40.1K

$23.9K R$121.0K

68.04%

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

$28.2K $28.2K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-14.16%

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

$322 $322

$133 R$676

141.17%

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

$65.3 $65.3

$10.82 R$54.8

503.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.2 $69.2

$22.90 R$116

202.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$10.35 $10.35

$8.05 R$40.83

28.57%

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

$817 $817

$598 R$3,029

36.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K $12.7K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-5.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.3 $57.3

$42.04 R$213

36.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.5 $60.5

$49.68 R$252

21.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 $109

$74.5 R$378

45.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 $112

$68.7 R$348

63.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,204 $4,204

$640 R$3,242

557.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

11.93

-45.10%

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

Last update for Cabo Rojo: October 13, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cabo Rojo

$456 37%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 63.4% $289

Groceries & Markets

Cabo Rojo

$415 33.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 48.3% $201

Eating Out

Cabo Rojo

$178 14.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 7.6% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Cabo Rojo

$152 12.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 30.6% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Cabo Rojo

$21 * 1.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 127% $26

Getting Around

Cabo Rojo

$9.9 * 0.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 503% $50

Accommodation & Living

Cabo Rojo

- * 0%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 557% higher in Cabo Rojo, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $83.0 in Cabo Rojo versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $415 vs $215 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Cabo Rojo

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

21:08 9:08 PM

22:08 10:08 PM

1 h ahead of Cabo Rojo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,000

6,211,223

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

BRL to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cabo Rojo Rio de Janeiro 5,250 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cabo Rojo
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

Cabo Rojo vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro costs about 5% more than Cabo Rojo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,849 per month in Cabo Rojo and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,233 in Cabo Rojo and $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro. That's a gap of about 5%.

Kindergarten costs $817 per month in Cabo Rojo and $598 in Rio de Janeiro. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cabo Rojo, where all-in costs run around $1,233, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In Cabo Rojo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cabo Rojo costs $1,233 versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Cabo Rojo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Rio de Janeiro makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.