Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cerro de Pasco and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Cerro de Pasco: $555 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Cerro de Pasco
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Cerro de Pasco Living Index
63

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

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Cerro de Pasco

🇵🇪 Peru

$555

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $555 per month in Cerro de Pasco vs $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Cerro de Pasco $555
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

A couple spends around $891 per month in Cerro de Pasco vs $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Cerro de Pasco $891
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

A family of three spends $1,227 per month in Cerro de Pasco vs $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Cerro de Pasco $1,227
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Cerro de Pasco is about 57% cheaper than Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cerro de Pasco and Rio de Janeiro are more affordable than the global median – Cerro de Pasco 59% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.83 PEN 9.70

$10.06 R$51.0

-71.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.34 PEN 101

$40.44 R$205

-27.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.74 PEN 23.16

$8.55 R$43.35

-21.17%

Cappuccino

$2.05 PEN 7.03

$2.38 R$12.04

-13.87%

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

$0.76 PEN 2.61

$1.61 R$8.18

-52.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 PEN 1.55

$1.03 R$5.22

-56.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.69 PEN 9.22

$2.47 R$12.54

8.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 PEN 15.27

$3.70 R$18.77

20.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 PEN 5.23

$1.19 R$6.05

27.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 PEN 8.07

$2.05 R$10.38

14.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.26 PEN 4.34

$1.28 R$6.49

-1.56%

Eggs

$2.47 PEN 8.47

$2.29 R$11.60

7.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.18 PEN 31.53

$10.76 R$54.5

-14.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.04 PEN 20.74

$4.41 R$22.36

36.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.92 PEN 27.20

$9.84 R$49.86

-19.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 PEN 6.86

$2.81 R$14.25

-28.83%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 PEN 2.61

$1.78 R$9.03

-57.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.43 PEN 1.46

$1.60 R$8.13

-73.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 PEN 3.91

$1.80 R$9.11

-36.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 PEN 2.41

$1.22 R$6.17

-42.62%

Onion (1kg)

$0.54 PEN 1.87

$1.04 R$5.26

-48.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.83 PEN 2.85

$0.77 R$3.92

7.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 PEN 2.88

$0.67 R$3.38

25.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.78 PEN 19.84

$3.01 R$15.27

92.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.19 PEN 24.68

$8.08 R$40.94

-11.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.60

$1.19 R$6.03

61.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 PEN 9.11

$2.51 R$12.73

5.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 PEN 13.68

$1.22 R$6.20

226.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.99 PEN 6.84

$0.92 R$4.66

116.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.46 PEN 25.62

$8.97 R$45.45

-16.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 PEN 5.74

$1.30 R$6.57

28.46%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.4K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-6.81%

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

$26.2K PEN 89.9K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-20.36%

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

$72.8 PEN 250

$133 R$676

-45.40%

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

$16.46 PEN 56.5

$10.82 R$54.8

52.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.53 PEN 94.6

$22.90 R$116

20.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 PEN 24.56

$8.05 R$40.83

-11.18%

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

$176 PEN 606

$598 R$3,029

-70.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.4K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-3.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 PEN 183

$42.04 R$213

26.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.36 PEN 121

$49.68 R$252

-28.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.2 PEN 286

$74.5 R$378

11.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.6 PEN 267

$68.7 R$348

13.00%

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)

$408 PEN 1,400

$1,326 R$6,724

-69.27%

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)

$470 PEN 1,616

$640 R$3,242

-26.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.93

-25.06%

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

Last update for Cerro de Pasco: October 12, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cerro de Pasco

$203 36.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 5.8% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cerro de Pasco

$117 21.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 43% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Cerro de Pasco

$112 20.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 5.8% $6.5

Eating Out

Cerro de Pasco

$95 17%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 74.5% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cerro de Pasco

$14 * 2.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 228% $33

Getting Around

Cerro de Pasco

$14 * 2.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 329% $46

Accommodation & Living

Cerro de Pasco

- * 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 36% higher in Rio de Janeiro, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $29.00 in Cerro de Pasco versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $203 vs $215 – making Cerro de Pasco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cerro de Pasco

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

13:36 1:36 PM

15:36 3:36 PM

2 h ahead of Cerro de Pasco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,899

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 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 PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cerro de Pasco Rio de Janeiro 3,760 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cerro de Pasco
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

Cerro de Pasco vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Rio de Janeiro is pricier by about 132%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $832 per month in Cerro de Pasco and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $29.00 in Cerro de Pasco and $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Rio de Janeiro, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cerro de Pasco, where all-in costs run around $555, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In Cerro de Pasco it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cerro de Pasco – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cerro de Pasco. 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.