Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between La Romana and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in La Romana: $631 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in La Romana
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La Romana Living Index
63

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

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La Romana

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$631

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $631 per month in La Romana vs $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

La Romana $631
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

A couple spends around $1,014 per month in La Romana vs $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

La Romana $1,014
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

A family of three spends $1,398 per month in La Romana vs $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

La Romana $1,398
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

La Romana is about 51% cheaper than Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both La Romana and Rio de Janeiro are more affordable than the global median – La Romana 53% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.43 DOP 516

$10.06 R$51.0

-16.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.80 DOP 2,499

$40.44 R$205

0.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 DOP 439

$8.55 R$43.35

-16.26%

Cappuccino

$1.75 DOP 107

$2.38 R$12.04

-26.47%

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

$0.71 DOP 43.32

$1.61 R$8.18

-55.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 DOP 19.33

$1.03 R$5.22

-68.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.43 DOP 149

$2.47 R$12.54

-1.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 DOP 244

$3.70 R$18.77

7.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 DOP 64.1

$1.19 R$6.05

-11.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 DOP 110

$2.05 R$10.38

-12.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 DOP 92.3

$1.28 R$6.49

17.97%

Eggs

$1.48 DOP 91.0

$2.29 R$11.60

-35.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.28 DOP 384

$10.76 R$54.5

-41.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.53 DOP 216

$4.41 R$22.36

-19.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.62 DOP 283

$9.84 R$49.86

-53.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.61 DOP 221

$2.81 R$14.25

28.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 DOP 84.3

$1.78 R$9.03

-22.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.23 DOP 198

$1.60 R$8.13

101.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 DOP 131

$1.80 R$9.11

18.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.58 DOP 220

$1.22 R$6.17

193.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.87 DOP 176

$1.04 R$5.26

175.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 DOP 53.9

$0.77 R$3.92

14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 DOP 98.2

$0.67 R$3.38

138.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.66 DOP 285

$3.01 R$15.27

54.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.45 DOP 1,007

$8.08 R$40.94

103.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 DOP 184

$1.19 R$6.03

152.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 DOP 213

$2.51 R$12.73

38.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 DOP 153

$1.22 R$6.20

104.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.23 DOP 198

$0.92 R$4.66

251.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 DOP 85.1

$1.30 R$6.57

6.92%

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

$15.1K DOP 922.4K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-36.93%

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

$25.5K DOP 1.6M

$32.9K R$166.6K

-22.45%

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

$95.3 DOP 5,837

$133 R$676

-28.58%

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

$9.68 DOP 593

$10.82 R$54.8

-10.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.12 DOP 2,397

$22.90 R$116

70.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$4.97 DOP 305

$8.05 R$40.83

-38.26%

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

$146 DOP 8,946

$598 R$3,029

-75.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,480 DOP 335.7K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-59.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.84 DOP 1,644

$42.04 R$213

-36.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.24 DOP 2,772

$49.68 R$252

-8.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.6 DOP 3,713

$74.5 R$378

-18.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.0 DOP 4,104

$68.7 R$348

-2.46%

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)

$1,326 R$6,724

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)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

-7.80%

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

Last update for La Romana: October 11, 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

La Romana

$235 37.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 8.6% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

La Romana

$144 22.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 16% $23

Eating Out

La Romana

$134 21.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 23.1% $31

Clothing & Footwear

La Romana

$90 14.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 17.6% $16

Getting Around

La Romana

$19 * 3%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 221% $41

Sport & Entertainment

La Romana

$9.9 * 1.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 372% $37

Accommodation & Living

La Romana

- * 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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41.00 in La Romana versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $235 vs $215 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇴 La Romana

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

10:07 10:07 AM

11:07 11:07 AM

1 h ahead of La Romana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

567,431

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.45 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 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 DOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

La Romana
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

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

Yes – Rio de Janeiro is pricier by about 104%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $947 per month in La Romana and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $631 in La Romana and $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro. That's a gap of about 104%.

Kindergarten costs $146 per month in La Romana and $598 in Rio de Janeiro. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in La Romana, where all-in costs run around $631, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In La Romana it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward La Romana – 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 La Romana. 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.