Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Merrillville, IN and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,222 a month against $2,597 in Merrillville, IN, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Merrillville, IN
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Merrillville, IN Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Merrillville, IN

🇺🇸 United States

$2,597

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,597 in Merrillville, IN versus $1,222 in Sao Paulo.

Merrillville, IN $2,597
Sao Paulo $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,672 in Merrillville, IN versus $2,044 in Sao Paulo.

Merrillville, IN $3,672
Sao Paulo $2,044

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,748 in Merrillville, IN versus $2,867 in Sao Paulo.

Merrillville, IN $4,748
Sao Paulo $2,867

Living in Merrillville, IN is roughly 113% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Merrillville, IN is 92% above, Sao Paulo is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.93 $14.93

$8.71 R$44.15

71.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.9 $55.9

$48.61 R$246

15.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.88 $9.88

$9.03 R$45.77

9.41%

Cappuccino

$4.63 $4.63

$2.55 R$12.94

81.57%

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

$2.19 $2.19

$1.35 R$6.83

62.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 $2.24

$0.91 R$4.63

146.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.54 $4.54

$3.07 R$15.55

47.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.90 $5.90

$4.38 R$22.21

34.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.74 $0.74

$1.19 R$6.05

-37.82%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 $3.19

$1.80 R$9.14

77.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.54 $4.54

$1.48 R$7.51

206.76%

Eggs

$4.63 $4.63

$2.82 R$14.31

64.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 $11.10

$12.61 R$63.9

-11.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 $9.61

$5.40 R$27.36

77.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.94 $21.94

$10.76 R$54.6

103.90%

Apples (1kg)

$5.75 $5.75

$2.82 R$14.28

103.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.82 R$9.25

-38.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.39 $4.39

$1.60 R$8.14

174.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.49 $5.49

$2.03 R$10.28

170.44%

Potato (1kg)

$3.68 $3.68

$1.46 R$7.40

152.05%

Onion (1kg)

$4.40 $4.40

$1.25 R$6.35

252.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 $2.45

$1.25 R$6.32

96.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 $1.27

$0.98 R$4.98

29.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.36 $11.36

$3.00 R$15.18

278.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.22 $12.22

$9.71 R$49.22

25.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.08 $2.08

$1.84 R$9.32

13.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 $3.43

$2.52 R$12.80

36.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.07 R$5.41

88.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.26 R$240

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.95 $4.95

$1.81 R$9.16

173.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 $1.87

$1.01 R$5.14

85.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.3 $50.3

$10.24 R$51.9

390.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.29 R$6.52

-27.91%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$23.5K R$119.3K

18.42%

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

$27.0K $27.0K

$34.5K R$174.9K

-21.68%

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

$233 $233

$104 R$527

123.48%

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

$50.9 $50.9

$16.60 R$84.1

206.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 $59.0

$22.04 R$112

167.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.50 $47.50

$36.43 R$185

30.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.29 R$240

Cinema Ticket

$14.98 $14.98

$9.69 R$49.12

54.59%

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

$1,397 $1,397

$573 R$2,906

143.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.4K $20.4K

$16.9K R$85.8K

20.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 $53.3

$66.3 R$336

-19.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.39 $40.39

$61.1 R$310

-33.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 $106

$98.8 R$501

7.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.7 $95.7

$91.4 R$463

4.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 $1,510

$654 R$3,316

130.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,374 $1,374

$418 R$2,120

228.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,410 $2,410

$1,524 R$7,724

58.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,148 $2,148

$992 R$5,028

116.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,523 $2,523

$2,670 R$13.5K

-5.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 $2,195

$2,019 R$10.2K

8.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$900 R$4,563

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

11.68

-44.09%

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

Last update for Merrillville, IN: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Merrillville, IN

$1.4K 52.9%

Sao Paulo

$418 34.2% 69.6% $956

Groceries & Markets

Merrillville, IN

$390 15%

Sao Paulo

$243 19.9% 37.7% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Merrillville, IN

$342 13.2%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7% 58.3% $200

Eating Out

Merrillville, IN

$257 9.9%

Sao Paulo

$161 13.1% 37.5% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Merrillville, IN

$133 5.1%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7% 7.3% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Merrillville, IN

$77 3%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6% 28% $22

Getting Around

Merrillville, IN

$22 * 0.9%

Sao Paulo

$58 4.8% 161% $36

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 $1,510 in Merrillville, IN and $654 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $56.0 in Merrillville, IN vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $390 vs $243 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Merrillville, IN

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

16:36 4:36 PM

18:36 6:36 PM

2 h ahead of Merrillville, IN

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,444

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 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 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

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Between locations

Merrillville, IN Sao Paulo 8,360 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Merrillville, IN
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

Merrillville, IN vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Merrillville, IN and Sao Paulo differ by about 113% in total monthly costs ($2,597 vs $1,222 including rent). Sao Paulo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,895 in Merrillville, IN and $1,833 in Sao Paulo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,510 in Merrillville, IN versus $654 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Merrillville, IN. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,597 per month in Merrillville, IN versus $1,222 in Sao Paulo – a 113% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,222 in Sao Paulo versus $2,597 in Merrillville, IN, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Merrillville, IN. 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 113% less than in Merrillville, IN. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.