Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Leon and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Leon: $1,223 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $790 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Leon
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Leon Living Index
63

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

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Leon

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,223

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,223 per month in Leon vs $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Leon $1,223
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

A couple spends around $1,985 per month in Leon vs $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Leon $1,985
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

A family of three spends $2,747 per month in Leon vs $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Leon $2,747
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Leon is about 5% cheaper than Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Leon and Rio de Janeiro are more affordable than the global median – Leon 9% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.17 MX$206

$10.06 R$51.0

11.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.2 MX$1,020

$40.44 R$205

36.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 MX$163

$8.55 R$43.35

2.92%

Cappuccino

$4.03 MX$74.5

$2.38 R$12.04

69.33%

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

$1.56 MX$28.84

$1.61 R$8.18

-3.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.04

$1.03 R$5.22

21.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 MX$56.8

$2.47 R$12.54

24.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 MX$72.6

$3.70 R$18.77

6.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 MX$31.67

$1.19 R$6.05

43.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 MX$49.51

$2.05 R$10.38

30.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.31

$1.28 R$6.49

40.63%

Eggs

$3.27 MX$60.4

$2.29 R$11.60

42.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.21 MX$133

$10.76 R$54.5

-32.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.58 MX$140

$4.41 R$22.36

71.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.81 MX$200

$9.84 R$49.86

9.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.03

$2.81 R$14.25

-11.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.59

$1.78 R$9.03

-22.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 MX$33.76

$1.60 R$8.13

14.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.42

$1.80 R$9.11

-14.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.75

$1.22 R$6.17

63.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.09 MX$38.60

$1.04 R$5.26

100.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 MX$25.56

$0.77 R$3.92

79.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 MX$12.89

$0.67 R$3.38

4.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 MX$129

$3.01 R$15.27

131.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.63 MX$252

$8.08 R$40.94

68.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 MX$43.71

$1.19 R$6.03

99.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.61 MX$66.7

$2.51 R$12.73

43.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$13.93

$0.99 R$5.00

-24.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.67 MX$659

$50.1 R$254

-28.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.77 MX$51.1

$1.22 R$6.20

127.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 MX$50.2

$0.92 R$4.66

195.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.96 MX$276

$8.97 R$45.45

66.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.97

$1.30 R$6.57

12.31%

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

$21.2K MX$392.0K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-11.15%

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

$24.2K MX$446.3K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-26.50%

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

$21.60 MX$399

$133 R$676

-83.81%

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

$40.70 MX$752

$10.82 R$54.8

276.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.3 MX$1,077

$22.90 R$116

154.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.7 MX$1,121

$30.79 R$156

97.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.51 MX$638

$31.85 R$161

8.35%

Cinema Ticket

$6.47 MX$120

$8.05 R$40.83

-19.63%

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

$183 MX$3,386

$598 R$3,029

-69.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,826 MX$70.7K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-71.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.8 MX$1,049

$42.04 R$213

35.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.0 MX$1,219

$49.68 R$252

32.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MX$1,868

$74.5 R$378

35.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,122

$68.7 R$348

67.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 MX$9,681

$903 R$4,578

-41.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 MX$6,653

$529 R$2,684

-32.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$761 MX$14.1K

$1,326 R$6,724

-42.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$683 MX$12.6K

$756 R$3,831

-9.68%

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)

$532 MX$9,839

$640 R$3,242

-16.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

11.93

-2.77%

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

Last update for Leon: October 12, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Leon

$360 29.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 47% $169

Groceries & Markets

Leon

$262 21.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 18.2% $48

Eating Out

Leon

$199 16.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 16.9% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Leon

$152 12.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 30.6% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Leon

$121 9.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 38.6% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Leon

$74 6%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 36.3% $27

Getting Around

Leon

$55 4.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 8.8% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $524 in Leon versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 20% higher in Rio de Janeiro, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55.0 in Leon versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $262 vs $215 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Leon

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

20:41 8:41 PM

23:41 11:41 PM

3 h ahead of Leon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,579,803

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 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 MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Leon Rio de Janeiro 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Leon
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

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

Rio de Janeiro costs about 5% more than Leon, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,834 per month in Leon and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Leon, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 22% cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55.0 in Leon and $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Leon, where all-in costs run around $1,223, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In Leon it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Leon costs $1,223 versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Leon. 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.