Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Casablanca and Santa Maria

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Maria: $743 a month against $984 in Casablanca, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Casablanca
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Casablanca Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Santa Maria
Learn more

Santa Maria Living Index

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Casablanca

🇲🇦 Morocco

$984

/mo nomad

Santa Maria

🇧🇷 Brazil

$743

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Casablanca and in Santa Maria

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $984 in Casablanca versus $743 in Santa Maria.

Casablanca $984
Santa Maria $743

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,534 in Casablanca versus $1,242 in Santa Maria.

Casablanca $1,534
Santa Maria $1,242

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,084 in Casablanca versus $1,742 in Santa Maria.

Casablanca $2,084
Santa Maria $1,742

Living in Casablanca is roughly 33% more expensive than in Santa Maria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Casablanca 27% lower, Santa Maria 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.63 MAD 45.13

$5.45 R$27.65

-15.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.69 MAD 319

$36.62 R$186

-10.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 MAD 79.4

$6.82 R$34.57

19.35%

Cappuccino

$2.04 MAD 19.86

$1.85 R$9.36

10.27%

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

$1.09 MAD 10.62

$1.07 R$5.40

1.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 MAD 5.99

$0.68 R$3.46

-10.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 MAD 39.99

$1.63 R$8.29

151.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 MAD 55.5

$3.07 R$15.55

85.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 MAD 8.87

$1.04 R$5.27

-12.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 MAD 8.67

$1.64 R$8.31

-45.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.91 MAD 18.61

$1.08 R$5.48

76.85%

Eggs

$1.85 MAD 18.06

$2.10 R$10.64

-11.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.93 MAD 107

$9.43 R$47.80

15.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 MAD 71.0

$3.96 R$20.07

83.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.25 MAD 119

$8.20 R$41.58

49.39%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 MAD 15.75

$2.48 R$12.57

-34.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 MAD 15.44

$1.50 R$7.61

5.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.85 MAD 8.26

$1.36 R$6.91

-37.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.70 MAD 6.80

$1.53 R$7.75

-54.25%

Potato (1kg)

$0.61 MAD 5.92

$1.16 R$5.88

-47.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 MAD 6.73

$1.13 R$5.71

-38.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 MAD 4.46

$0.86 R$4.37

-46.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MAD 5.35

$0.81 R$4.12

-32.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.01 MAD 39.12

$2.38 R$12.07

68.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 MAD 83.0

$8.18 R$41.44

4.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 MAD 22.37

$1.14 R$5.77

100.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 MAD 29.69

$2.19 R$11.09

38.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 MAD 7.85

$1.01 R$5.13

-19.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.88 MAD 252

$30.52 R$155

-15.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 MAD 7.95

$1.32 R$6.70

-37.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 MAD 2.91

$0.87 R$4.39

-65.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.71 MAD 45.95

$8.16 R$41.36

-42.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MAD 14.83

$1.23 R$6.21

23.58%

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

$30.5K MAD 297.5K

$23.9K R$121.2K

27.58%

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

$30.4K MAD 296.7K

$32.6K R$165.3K

-6.66%

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

$52.2 MAD 509

$53.4 R$271

-2.34%

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

$10.17 MAD 99.1

$12.65 R$64.1

-19.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.61 MAD 406

$16.66 R$84.5

149.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.20 MAD 314

$23.82 R$121

35.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.37 MAD 208

$12.05 R$61.1

77.34%

Cinema Ticket

$7.63 MAD 74.4

$5.66 R$28.68

34.81%

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

$589 MAD 5,744

$163 R$828

260.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,573 MAD 54.3K

$3,049 R$15.5K

82.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 MAD 576

$51.2 R$260

15.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 MAD 450

$43.38 R$220

6.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 MAD 922

$95.9 R$486

-1.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.3 MAD 598

$62.3 R$316

-1.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 MAD 6,031

$293 R$1,486

111.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$350 MAD 3,411

$172 R$870

103.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 MAD 11.0K

$648 R$3,285

73.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 MAD 6,306

$391 R$1,982

65.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,238 MAD 21.8K

$2,029 R$10.3K

10.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,266 MAD 12.3K

$674 R$3,416

87.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$676 MAD 6,595

$637 R$3,227

6.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.83

-51.70%

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

Last update for Casablanca: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Maria: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Casablanca

$350 35.5%

Santa Maria

$172 23.1% 51% $178

Groceries & Markets

Casablanca

$210 21.3%

Santa Maria

$192 25.9% 8.4% $18

Eating Out

Casablanca

$125 12.7%

Santa Maria

$108 14.5% 13.7% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Casablanca

$118 11.9%

Santa Maria

$114 15.3% 3.2% $3.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Casablanca

$104 10.6%

Santa Maria

$83 11.1% 20.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Casablanca

$47 4.8%

Santa Maria

$35 4.7% 26% $12

Getting Around

Casablanca

$31 3.2%

Santa Maria

$40 5.4% 28% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $619 in Casablanca and $293 in Santa Maria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Casablanca pays 6% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $33.00 in Casablanca vs $37.00 in Santa Maria. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $192, with Santa Maria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Casablanca

🇧🇷 Santa Maria

🕒 Local time

12:15 12:15 PM

08:15 8:15 AM

4 h behind Casablanca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,215,935

271,735

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 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).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Casablanca Santa Maria 8,550 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Casablanca
Santa Maria

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

Casablanca vs Santa Maria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Maria is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 33% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 6% higher in Casablanca, 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: $619 in Casablanca versus $293 in Santa Maria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Maria – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $33.00 in Casablanca. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $984 per month in Casablanca versus $743 in Santa Maria – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $743 in Santa Maria versus $984 in Casablanca, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Maria but tight or insufficient in Casablanca. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Maria 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.

Safety-wise, Casablanca and Santa Maria are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Santa Maria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Casablanca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.