Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jacksonville, NC and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,235 a month against $2,454 in Jacksonville, NC, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Jacksonville, NC
Learn more

Jacksonville, NC Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
Learn more

Sao Paulo Living Index

Jump to prices

Jacksonville, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,454

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jacksonville, NC 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 Jacksonville, NC and in Sao Paulo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,454 in Jacksonville, NC versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo.

Jacksonville, NC $2,454
Sao Paulo $1,235

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,505 in Jacksonville, NC versus $2,073 in Sao Paulo.

Jacksonville, NC $3,505
Sao Paulo $2,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,555 in Jacksonville, NC versus $2,911 in Sao Paulo.

Jacksonville, NC $4,555
Sao Paulo $2,911

Living in Jacksonville, NC is roughly 99% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Jacksonville, NC is 82% above, Sao Paulo is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.47 $15.47

$8.81 R$44.68

75.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.0 $59.0

$49.37 R$250

19.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.87 $9.87

$8.80 R$44.63

12.16%

Cappuccino

$4.70 $4.70

$2.49 R$12.63

88.76%

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

$2.54 $2.54

$1.42 R$7.19

78.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.85 R$4.31

141.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.10 $5.10

$2.98 R$15.11

71.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.82 $6.82

$4.34 R$22.02

57.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.24 R$6.28

-4.84%

White Bread (500g)

$4.31 $4.31

$1.91 R$9.66

125.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$11.06 $11.06

$1.43 R$7.25

673.43%

Eggs

$5.89 $5.89

$2.81 R$14.23

109.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.43 $19.43

$12.74 R$64.6

52.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.09 $17.09

$5.41 R$27.44

215.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.81 $23.81

$10.64 R$54.0

123.78%

Apples (1kg)

$5.69 $5.69

$2.75 R$13.95

106.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.81 R$9.19

-2.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.30 $8.30

$1.63 R$8.27

409.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.93 $5.93

$2.00 R$10.16

196.50%

Potato (1kg)

$7.05 $7.05

$1.40 R$7.10

403.57%

Onion (1kg)

$4.02 $4.02

$1.27 R$6.43

216.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.78 $2.78

$1.28 R$6.47

117.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 $1.98

$0.95 R$4.83

108.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.06 $8.06

$2.99 R$15.15

169.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.86 $14.86

$9.96 R$50.5

49.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 $1.69

$1.85 R$9.37

-8.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.85 $3.85

$2.54 R$12.90

51.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 R$5.50

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.52 $2.52

$1.85 R$9.39

36.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.99

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.29 R$52.2

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.85 $0.85

$1.34 R$6.78

-36.57%

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

$35.3K $35.3K

$24.4K R$123.8K

44.43%

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

$25.1K $25.1K

$33.9K R$172.1K

-25.95%

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

$172 $172

$104 R$529

64.82%

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

$75.7 $75.7

$16.71 R$84.7

352.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.6 $69.6

$22.18 R$112

213.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.21 $37.21

$35.82 R$182

3.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$1.64 $1.64

$47.28 R$240

-96.53%

Cinema Ticket

$13.04 $13.04

$10.06 R$51.0

29.62%

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

$719 $719

$579 R$2,936

24.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K R$86.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.2 $59.2

$65.7 R$333

-9.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.93 $39.93

$61.0 R$309

-34.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 $102

$100 R$509

1.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 $136

$92.1 R$467

47.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 $1,328

$659 R$3,341

101.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,102 $1,102

$428 R$2,170

157.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,923 $1,923

$1,515 R$7,678

26.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 $1,590

$1,026 R$5,201

54.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,910 $1,910

$2,773 R$14.1K

-31.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,745 $6,745

$2,007 R$10.2K

236.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,207 $2,207

$909 R$4,609

142.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.37

11.68

-45.46%

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

Last update for Jacksonville, NC: October 13, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jacksonville, NC

$1.1K 44.9%

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7% 61.2% $674

Groceries & Markets

Jacksonville, NC

$550 22.4%

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8% 55.6% $305

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jacksonville, NC

$317 12.9%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 54.8% $174

Eating Out

Jacksonville, NC

$267 10.9%

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9% 40.3% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Jacksonville, NC

$152 6.2%

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6% 5.2% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Jacksonville, NC

$63 2.6%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5% 11.6% $7.4

Getting Around

Jacksonville, NC

$2.5 * 0.1%

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9% 2277% $57

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,328 in Jacksonville, NC and $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jacksonville, NC pays 143% 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: $59.0 in Jacksonville, NC vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $550 vs $244 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Jacksonville, NC

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

04:01 4:01 AM

05:01 5:01 AM

1 h ahead of Jacksonville, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

949,611

11,451,999

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

BRL to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jacksonville, NC Sao Paulo 7,250 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Jacksonville, NC
Sao Paulo

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

Jacksonville, NC vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jacksonville, NC and Sao Paulo differ by about 99% in total monthly costs ($2,454 vs $1,235 including rent). Sao Paulo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 143% higher in Jacksonville, NC, 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: $1,328 in Jacksonville, NC versus $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $719 in Jacksonville, NC versus $579 in Sao Paulo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sao Paulo – a meal for two runs $49.00 versus $59.0 in Jacksonville, NC. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $2,454 in Jacksonville, NC, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Jacksonville, NC. 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 99% less than in Jacksonville, NC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.