Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Higuey and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Higuey: $912 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in Higuey
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Higuey Living Index
57

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

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Higuey

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$912

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $912 in Higuey versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro.

Higuey $912
Rio de Janeiro $1,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,495 in Higuey versus $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro.

Higuey $1,495
Rio de Janeiro $1,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,078 in Higuey versus $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro.

Higuey $2,078
Rio de Janeiro $2,318

Living in Higuey costs roughly 23% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Higuey 33% lower, Rio de Janeiro 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.75 DOP 597

$9.08 R$48.54

7.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.0 DOP 3,064

$37.25 R$199

34.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 DOP 457

$8.02 R$42.87

-6.98%

Cappuccino

$1.99 DOP 122

$2.19 R$11.71

-9.13%

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

$1.04 DOP 63.9

$1.46 R$7.82

-28.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 DOP 31.17

$0.99 R$5.27

-48.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 DOP 154

$2.03 R$10.84

23.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 DOP 194

$3.45 R$18.43

-8.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 DOP 73.1

$1.06 R$5.66

12.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 DOP 96.2

$1.98 R$10.61

-20.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 DOP 82.8

$1.17 R$6.27

15.38%

Eggs

$1.95 DOP 119

$2.21 R$11.80

-11.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 DOP 447

$10.11 R$54.1

-27.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.29 DOP 324

$4.12 R$22.00

28.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.56 DOP 402

$9.17 R$49.04

-28.46%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 DOP 183

$2.72 R$14.54

10.29%

Banana (1kg)

$0.70 DOP 43.08

$1.71 R$9.15

-59.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 DOP 89.1

$1.53 R$8.18

-4.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 DOP 79.0

$1.66 R$8.89

-22.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 DOP 71.0

$1.14 R$6.09

1.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 DOP 68.2

$0.99 R$5.32

12.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 DOP 36.00

$0.65 R$3.46

-9.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 DOP 28.95

$0.60 R$3.20

-21.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.38 DOP 330

$2.79 R$14.94

92.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.11 DOP 619

$7.48 R$39.99

35.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 DOP 148

$1.09 R$5.83

122.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 DOP 176

$2.33 R$12.48

23.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 DOP 49.35

$0.90 R$4.79

-10.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.72 DOP 3,045

$53.0 R$283

-6.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 DOP 203

$1.17 R$6.24

183.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.26 DOP 139

$0.78 R$4.17

189.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 DOP 358

$8.37 R$44.75

-30.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 DOP 83.5

$1.21 R$6.48

12.40%

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

$24.8K DOP 1.5M

$21.5K R$114.8K

15.49%

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

$30.7K DOP 1.9M

$31.1K R$166.5K

-1.37%

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

$90.5 DOP 5,540

$124 R$665

-27.31%

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

$16.40 DOP 1,004

$10.03 R$53.7

63.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.65 DOP 2,000

$20.88 R$112

56.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.74 DOP 1,515

$28.35 R$152

-12.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$65.4 DOP 4,003

$29.33 R$157

122.88%

Cinema Ticket

$7.38 DOP 452

$7.62 R$40.72

-3.15%

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

$98.6 DOP 6,039

$563 R$3,010

-82.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,173 DOP 133.1K

$12.0K R$64.4K

-81.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.71 DOP 2,738

$39.25 R$210

13.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.17 DOP 2,766

$46.36 R$248

-2.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.2 DOP 5,279

$68.4 R$366

25.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 DOP 4,873

$63.4 R$339

25.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$289 DOP 17.7K

$776 R$4,150

-62.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 DOP 12.8K

$473 R$2,530

-55.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$566 DOP 34.6K

$1,391 R$7,437

-59.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 DOP 24.6K

$739 R$3,951

-45.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,809 DOP 110.8K

$3,393 R$18.1K

-46.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,240 DOP 75.9K

$1,570 R$8,396

-21.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$434 DOP 26.6K

$597 R$3,192

-27.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

11.93

-3.60%

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

Last update for Higuey: October 24, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Higuey

$209 22.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40% 126% $264

Groceries & Markets

Higuey

$192 21.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17% 4.6% $8.8

Eating Out

Higuey

$149 16.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7% 0.3% $0.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Higuey

$140 15.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1% 11.4% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Higuey

$115 12.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3% 15% $17

Getting Around

Higuey

$68 7.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2% 8.8% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Higuey

$40 4.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7% 10.3% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $289 in Higuey and $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 38% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $50 in Higuey vs $37 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $192 vs $201, with Higuey cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Higuey

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

18:24 6:24 PM

19:24 7:24 PM

1 h ahead of Higuey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,787

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Higuey Rio de Janeiro 5,380 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Higuey
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

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

Higuey is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in Higuey. 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: $289 in Higuey versus $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $912 per month in Higuey versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro – Higuey is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Higuey runs roughly 6% less than in Rio de Janeiro. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

For families, Higuey is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Rio de Janeiro, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Higuey wins on affordability, Rio de Janeiro on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.