Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hearst and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,222 a month against $2,210 in Hearst, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Hearst
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Hearst Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Hearst

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,210

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hearst and in Sao Paulo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Hearst versus $1,222 in Sao Paulo.

Hearst $2,210
Sao Paulo $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,203 in Hearst versus $2,044 in Sao Paulo.

Hearst $3,203
Sao Paulo $2,044

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,197 in Hearst versus $2,867 in Sao Paulo.

Hearst $4,197
Sao Paulo $2,867

Living in Hearst is roughly 81% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hearst is 63% above, Sao Paulo is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.35 CA$24.53

$8.71 R$44.15

99.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 CA$93.4

$48.61 R$246

35.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.67 CA$15.09

$9.03 R$45.77

18.16%

Cappuccino

$3.60 CA$5.09

$2.55 R$12.94

41.18%

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

$2.01 CA$2.83

$1.35 R$6.83

48.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.20

$0.91 R$4.63

70.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.18 CA$7.32

$3.07 R$15.55

68.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.58 CA$7.88

$4.38 R$22.21

27.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.09 CA$2.95

$1.19 R$6.05

75.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 CA$3.60

$1.80 R$9.14

41.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.29 CA$4.65

$1.48 R$7.51

122.30%

Eggs

$3.34 CA$4.73

$2.82 R$14.31

18.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.67 CA$13.67

$12.61 R$63.9

-23.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.53 CA$16.30

$5.40 R$27.36

113.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.25 CA$20.15

$10.76 R$54.6

32.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.78 CA$5.35

$2.82 R$14.28

34.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 CA$1.78

$1.82 R$9.25

-30.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 CA$5.13

$1.60 R$8.14

126.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.67 CA$5.18

$2.03 R$10.28

80.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.49 CA$3.52

$1.46 R$7.40

70.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 CA$3.06

$1.25 R$6.35

73.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 CA$3.51

$1.25 R$6.32

98.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 CA$2.22

$0.98 R$4.98

60.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.89 CA$19.63

$3.00 R$15.18

363.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.84 CA$18.15

$9.71 R$49.22

32.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.61 CA$3.70

$1.84 R$9.32

41.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 CA$4.37

$2.52 R$12.80

22.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 CA$3.17

$1.07 R$5.41

109.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.3 CA$88.0

$47.26 R$240

31.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.79 CA$3.95

$1.81 R$9.16

54.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 CA$1.98

$1.01 R$5.14

38.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.95 CA$32.44

$10.24 R$51.9

124.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 CA$1.61

$1.29 R$6.52

-11.63%

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

$27.9K CA$39.4K

$23.5K R$119.3K

18.37%

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

$18.9K CA$26.7K

$34.5K R$174.9K

-45.30%

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

$132 CA$186

$104 R$527

26.52%

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

$38.55 CA$54.5

$16.60 R$84.1

132.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.4 CA$77.0

$22.04 R$112

147.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.47 CA$57.2

$36.43 R$185

11.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.81 CA$25.18

$47.29 R$240

-62.34%

Cinema Ticket

$11.12 CA$15.72

$9.69 R$49.12

14.76%

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

$748 CA$1,057

$573 R$2,906

30.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K CA$18.5K

$16.9K R$85.8K

-22.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 CA$75.9

$66.3 R$336

-18.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.42 CA$54.3

$61.1 R$310

-37.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.4 CA$118

$98.8 R$501

-15.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 CA$145

$91.4 R$463

12.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,220 CA$1,724

$654 R$3,316

86.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 CA$1,560

$418 R$2,120

163.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,918 CA$2,711

$1,524 R$7,724

25.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,687 CA$2,384

$992 R$5,028

70.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,145 CA$5,860

$2,670 R$13.5K

55.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,557 CA$5,028

$2,019 R$10.2K

76.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,120 CA$4,410

$900 R$4,563

246.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.66

11.68

-60.10%

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

Last update for Hearst: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hearst

$1.1K 49.9%

Sao Paulo

$418 34.2% 62.1% $685

Groceries & Markets

Hearst

$347 15.7%

Sao Paulo

$243 19.9% 29.9% $104

Eating Out

Hearst

$265 12%

Sao Paulo

$161 13.1% 39.5% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hearst

$225 10.2%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7% 36.5% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Hearst

$125 5.7%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7% 14.2% $18

Getting Around

Hearst

$81 3.7%

Sao Paulo

$58 4.8% 27.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Hearst

$63 2.8%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6% 11% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,220 in Hearst and $654 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hearst pays 247% 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: $66.0 in Hearst vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $347 vs $243 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Hearst

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

10:54 10:54 AM

11:54 11:54 AM

1 h ahead of Hearst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Hearst Sao Paulo 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Hearst
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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

Hearst vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hearst and Sao Paulo differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,222 including rent). Sao Paulo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 247% higher in Hearst, 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: $1,220 in Hearst versus $654 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $748 in Hearst versus $573 in Sao Paulo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Hearst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,222 in Sao Paulo versus $2,210 in Hearst, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Hearst. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Paulo 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.

Expats usually find Sao Paulo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 81% less than in Hearst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.