Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lazaro Cardenas and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas: $1,141 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Lazaro Cardenas
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Lazaro Cardenas Living Index
62

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

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Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,141

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,141
Rio de Janeiro $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,839 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,839
Rio de Janeiro $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,537 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro.

Lazaro Cardenas $2,537
Rio de Janeiro $2,409

Living in Lazaro Cardenas costs roughly 10% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lazaro Cardenas 16% lower, Rio de Janeiro 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 MX$203

$9.38 R$46.86

15.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.66 MX$817

$40.00 R$200

9.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 MX$163

$8.34 R$41.68

4.32%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$67.6

$2.29 R$11.45

57.64%

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

$1.42 MX$26.59

$1.59 R$7.93

-10.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.24

$1.01 R$5.03

1.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 MX$46.92

$2.14 R$10.69

17.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 MX$74.7

$3.66 R$18.28

9.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.06

$1.13 R$5.63

46.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 MX$47.41

$2.09 R$10.45

21.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MX$31.19

$1.25 R$6.27

33.60%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$45.51

$2.25 R$11.23

8.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$153

$10.92 R$54.5

-25.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.49 MX$159

$4.36 R$21.79

94.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.33 MX$212

$9.60 R$47.96

18.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.98

$2.85 R$14.26

-6.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.74

$1.81 R$9.03

-12.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.65

$1.58 R$7.91

20.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$34.27

$1.83 R$9.15

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.05

$1.20 R$6.01

60.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.61

$1.06 R$5.28

69.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$0.75 R$3.76

97.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.23

$0.68 R$3.40

58.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$80.8

$2.94 R$14.68

46.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$193

$7.98 R$39.85

29.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 MX$32.88

$1.18 R$5.89

49.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$2.42 R$12.09

32.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.92

$0.94 R$4.71

-26.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$251

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$47.26

$1.20 R$6.01

110.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 MX$35.92

$0.83 R$4.14

131.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.01 MX$206

$8.97 R$44.83

22.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.62

$1.29 R$6.44

14.73%

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

$21.1K MX$395.7K

$22.8K R$113.8K

-7.18%

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

$23.8K MX$445.7K

$34.0K R$169.7K

-29.88%

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

$58.7 MX$1,099

$134 R$671

-56.28%

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

$22.31 MX$417

$10.73 R$53.6

107.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.94 MX$560

$22.84 R$114

31.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.30 MX$642

$30.16 R$151

13.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.49 MX$384

$31.49 R$157

-34.93%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 MX$95.7

$7.73 R$38.60

-33.89%

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

$221 MX$4,141

$584 R$2,917

-62.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,553 MX$85.2K

$12.8K R$64.0K

-64.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 MX$1,035

$41.12 R$205

34.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.96 MX$748

$49.26 R$246

-18.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 MX$1,867

$73.7 R$368

35.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 MX$1,687

$65.9 R$329

36.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 MX$11.3K

$900 R$4,495

-33.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$393 MX$7,352

$527 R$2,634

-25.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 MX$19.8K

$1,332 R$6,657

-20.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 MX$14.6K

$748 R$3,736

4.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,921 MX$36.0K

$3,990 R$19.9K

-51.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 MX$21.9K

$1,560 R$7,794

-25.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$552 MX$10.3K

$640 R$3,200

-13.83%

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 Lazaro Cardenas: October 19, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lazaro Cardenas

$393 34.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4% 34.2% $134

Groceries & Markets

Lazaro Cardenas

$263 23.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8% 18.8% $49

Eating Out

Lazaro Cardenas

$186 16.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3% 16.3% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Lazaro Cardenas

$128 11.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1% 19.3% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lazaro Cardenas

$111 9.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2% 51.3% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Lazaro Cardenas

$45 3.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6% 2.4% $1.1

Getting Around

Lazaro Cardenas

$15 * 1.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7% 300% $45

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 $602 in Lazaro Cardenas and $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 16% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Lazaro Cardenas vs $40 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $214 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

04:04 4:04 AM

07:04 7:04 AM

3 h ahead of Lazaro Cardenas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,637

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 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 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.61 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lazaro Cardenas Rio de Janeiro 7,860 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lazaro Cardenas
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

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

Lazaro Cardenas wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Rio de Janeiro. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lazaro Cardenas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Lazaro Cardenas. 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: $602 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $221 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $584 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40 versus $44 in Lazaro Cardenas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lazaro Cardenas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Lazaro Cardenas 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.