Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oaxaca de Juarez and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez: $1,154 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Oaxaca de Juarez
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,154
/mo nomad
Rio de Janeiro
🇧🇷 Brazil
$1,289
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

  • Oaxaca de Juarez $1,154
  • Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,781 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

  • Oaxaca de Juarez $1,781
  • Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,408 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

  • Oaxaca de Juarez $2,408
  • Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Oaxaca de Juarez 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: Oaxaca de Juarez 15% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$6.48 MX$120
$10.06 R$51.0
-35.59%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.81 MX$606
$40.44 R$205
-18.87%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.33 MX$154
$8.55 R$43.35
-2.57%
Cappuccino
$2.82 MX$52.1
$2.38 R$12.04
18.49%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.51 MX$27.83
$1.61 R$8.18
-6.21%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.79 MX$14.59
$1.03 R$5.22
-23.30%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.48 MX$45.90
$2.47 R$12.54
0.40%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.79 MX$70.0
$3.70 R$18.77
2.43%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.33 MX$24.59
$1.19 R$6.05
11.76%
White Bread (500g)
$3.13 MX$57.8
$2.05 R$10.38
52.68%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.12 MX$20.62
$1.28 R$6.49
-12.50%
Eggs
$1.74 MX$32.21
$2.29 R$11.60
-24.02%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.44 MX$119
$10.76 R$54.5
-40.15%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.49 MX$101
$4.41 R$22.36
24.49%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.27 MX$208
$9.84 R$49.86
14.53%
Apples (1kg)
$2.14 MX$39.46
$2.81 R$14.25
-23.84%
Banana (1kg)
$1.23 MX$22.80
$1.78 R$9.03
-30.90%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.90 MX$35.14
$1.60 R$8.13
18.75%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.53 MX$9.81
$1.80 R$9.11
-70.56%
Potato (1kg)
$2.01 MX$37.18
$1.22 R$6.17
64.75%
Onion (1kg)
$2.00 MX$36.93
$1.04 R$5.26
92.31%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.11 MX$20.58
$0.77 R$3.92
44.16%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 MX$17.46
$0.67 R$3.38
40.30%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.24 MX$78.3
$3.01 R$15.27
40.86%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.40 MX$174
$8.08 R$40.94
16.34%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.47 MX$27.11
$1.19 R$6.03
23.53%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.63 MX$48.64
$2.51 R$12.73
4.78%
🚌 Getting Around
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.53 MX$9.81
$0.99 R$5.00
-46.46%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$50.1 R$254
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.89 MX$71.9
$1.22 R$6.20
218.85%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.95 MX$36.12
$0.92 R$4.66
111.96%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.89 MX$201
$8.97 R$45.45
21.40%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.36 MX$25.17
$1.30 R$6.57
4.62%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.4K MX$396.0K
$23.9K R$121.0K
-10.25%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.4K MX$450.4K
$32.9K R$166.6K
-25.83%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$62.5 MX$1,155
$133 R$676
-53.13%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.03 MX$204
$10.82 R$54.8
1.94%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$24.19 MX$447
$22.90 R$116
5.63%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$44.34 MX$819
$30.79 R$156
44.01%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$31.85 R$161
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.58 MX$103
$8.05 R$40.83
-30.68%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$422 MX$7,795
$598 R$3,029
-29.41%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$20.0K MX$369.3K
$13.4K R$68.0K
48.95%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.5 MX$988
$42.04 R$213
27.19%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$61.6 MX$1,138
$49.68 R$252
23.99%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$102 MX$1,887
$74.5 R$378
37.06%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$98.3 MX$1,816
$68.7 R$348
43.06%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$696 MX$12.9K
$903 R$4,578
-22.91%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$481 MX$8,885
$529 R$2,684
-9.18%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,208 MX$22.3K
$1,326 R$6,724
-8.90%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$892 MX$16.5K
$756 R$3,831
18.04%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$4,010 R$20.3K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,560 R$7,910
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Oaxaca de Juarez
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$640 R$3,242
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.96
11.93
-8.13%

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

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: 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
Oaxaca de Juarez
$481
Rio de Janeiro
$529 10.1% $49
Groceries & Markets
Oaxaca de Juarez
$222
Rio de Janeiro
$215 3.4% $7.6
Clothing & Footwear
Oaxaca de Juarez
$142
Rio de Janeiro
$106 25.5% $36
Eating Out
Oaxaca de Juarez
$140
Rio de Janeiro
$165 17.9% $25
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Oaxaca de Juarez
$98
Rio de Janeiro
$167 71% $69
Sport & Entertainment
Oaxaca de Juarez
$56
Rio de Janeiro
$47 15.5% $8.6
Getting Around
Oaxaca de Juarez
$16 *
Rio de Janeiro
$60 279% $44

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 $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $33.00 in Oaxaca de Juarez vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $222 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro
🕒 Local time
05:31 5:31 AM
08:31 8:31 AM
3 h ahead of Oaxaca de Juarez
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
258,913
6,211,223
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Oaxaca de Juarez Rio de Janeiro 7,320 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Oaxaca de Juarez
  • 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
Oaxaca de Juarez vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Oaxaca de Juarez or Rio de Janeiro?
Oaxaca de Juarez wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Rio de Janeiro. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Oaxaca de Juarez the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Oaxaca de Juarez and in Rio de Janeiro?
You'd need roughly $1,731 in Oaxaca de Juarez and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro 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.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Oaxaca de Juarez compared to Rio de Janeiro?
Rent for a central apartment: $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Are groceries more expensive in Oaxaca de Juarez or in Rio de Janeiro?
Shoppers in Rio de Janeiro pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
How much does it cost to live in Oaxaca de Juarez compared to Rio de Janeiro?
All in, you'll spend $1,154 per month in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Oaxaca de Juarez or in Rio de Janeiro?
At $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Oaxaca de Juarez but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Oaxaca de Juarez the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Oaxaca de Juarez or Rio de Janeiro?
Both work as nomad bases, but Oaxaca de Juarez delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,154 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Oaxaca de Juarez hard to pass up.
How safe is Oaxaca de Juarez compared to Rio de Janeiro?
Safety-wise, Oaxaca de Juarez and Rio de Janeiro are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Oaxaca de Juarez gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Oaxaca de Juarez vs other spots: cost of living compared

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