Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colima and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Colima: $952 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Colima
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Colima Living Index
63

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

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Colima

🇲🇽 Mexico

$952

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $952 in Colima versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Colima $952
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,562 in Colima versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Colima $1,562
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,173 in Colima versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Colima $2,173
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Colima costs roughly 26% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colima 29% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.58 MX$140

$10.06 R$51.0

-24.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.52 MX$619

$40.44 R$205

-17.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 MX$132

$8.55 R$43.35

-16.26%

Cappuccino

$2.24 MX$41.33

$2.38 R$12.04

-5.88%

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

$1.00 MX$18.48

$1.61 R$8.18

-37.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.45

$1.03 R$5.22

-18.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 MX$41.16

$2.47 R$12.54

-9.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 MX$45.24

$3.70 R$18.77

-33.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.57

$1.19 R$6.05

30.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 MX$48.76

$2.05 R$10.38

28.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 MX$22.40

$1.28 R$6.49

-5.47%

Eggs

$2.76 MX$51.0

$2.29 R$11.60

20.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.01 MX$148

$10.76 R$54.5

-25.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.35 MX$154

$4.41 R$22.36

89.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.86 MX$182

$9.84 R$49.86

0.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 MX$52.7

$2.81 R$14.25

1.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.63

$1.78 R$9.03

-19.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.82

$1.60 R$8.13

11.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.70

$1.80 R$9.11

25.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.50

$1.22 R$6.17

88.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.58

$1.04 R$5.26

121.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.36

$0.77 R$3.92

85.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.09

$0.67 R$3.38

62.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.61 MX$66.8

$3.01 R$15.27

19.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 MX$125

$8.08 R$40.94

-16.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 MX$28.83

$1.19 R$6.03

31.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 MX$32.64

$2.51 R$12.73

-29.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.73

$0.99 R$5.00

-36.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.51 MX$361

$50.1 R$254

-61.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.40 MX$44.35

$1.22 R$6.20

96.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.82 MX$52.1

$0.92 R$4.66

206.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.41 MX$174

$8.97 R$45.45

4.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.45

$1.30 R$6.57

10.00%

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

$20.9K MX$386.3K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-12.45%

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

$22.7K MX$419.1K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-30.98%

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

$64.9 MX$1,198

$133 R$676

-51.38%

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

$20.24 MX$374

$10.82 R$54.8

87.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.71 MX$549

$22.90 R$116

29.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.28 MX$652

$30.79 R$156

14.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.72 MX$401

$31.85 R$161

-31.81%

Cinema Ticket

$4.63 MX$85.6

$8.05 R$40.83

-42.48%

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

$147 MX$2,712

$598 R$3,029

-75.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,496 MX$46.1K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-81.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.09 MX$833

$42.04 R$213

7.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.11 MX$464

$49.68 R$252

-49.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.1 MX$1,369

$74.5 R$378

-0.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 MX$1,884

$68.7 R$348

48.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 MX$4,849

$903 R$4,578

-70.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$261 MX$4,831

$529 R$2,684

-50.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$369 MX$6,826

$1,326 R$6,724

-72.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 MX$10.9K

$756 R$3,831

-22.08%

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)

$287 MX$5,301

$640 R$3,242

-55.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.93

-5.28%

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

Last update for Colima: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Colima

$261 27.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 103% $268

Groceries & Markets

Colima

$250 26.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 14% $35

Eating Out

Colima

$132 13.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 24.7% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colima

$115 12.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 45.6% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Colima

$111 11.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 4.6% $5.1

Sport & Entertainment

Colima

$45 4.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 5.3% $2.3

Getting Around

Colima

$39 4.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 55.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Colima and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 123% 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: $34.00 in Colima vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $250 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Colima

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

22:11 10:11 PM

01:11 1:11 AM

3 h ahead of Colima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

146,965

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 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 MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Colima Rio de Janeiro 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Colima
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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

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

Colima and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($952 vs $1,289 including rent). Colima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 123% lower in Rio de Janeiro. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $262 in Colima versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Colima runs roughly 157% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $147 in Colima versus $598 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $952 in Colima versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Colima but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Colima 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, Colima and Rio de Janeiro 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 Colima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.