Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Reynosa and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Reynosa: $1,183 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Reynosa
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Reynosa Living Index
63

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

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Reynosa

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,183

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,183 in Reynosa versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Reynosa $1,183
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,784 in Reynosa versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Reynosa $1,784
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,386 in Reynosa versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Reynosa $2,386
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Reynosa costs roughly 8% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Reynosa 12% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.82 MX$200

$10.06 R$51.0

7.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.95 MX$627

$40.44 R$205

-16.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.72 MX$106

$8.55 R$43.35

-33.10%

Cappuccino

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.38 R$12.04

47.06%

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

$0.96 MX$17.75

$1.61 R$8.18

-40.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 MX$10.52

$1.03 R$5.22

-44.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.37 MX$25.31

$2.47 R$12.54

-44.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.20

$3.70 R$18.77

-47.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.23

$1.19 R$6.05

28.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.24 MX$41.37

$2.05 R$10.38

9.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 MX$21.85

$1.28 R$6.49

-7.81%

Eggs

$1.84 MX$34.00

$2.29 R$11.60

-19.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.89 MX$164

$10.76 R$54.5

-17.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.28 MX$116

$4.41 R$22.36

42.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.90 MX$183

$9.84 R$49.86

0.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 MX$41.50

$2.81 R$14.25

-19.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.14 MX$21.13

$1.78 R$9.03

-35.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.40

$1.60 R$8.13

66.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.34 MX$24.84

$1.80 R$9.11

-25.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 MX$31.97

$1.22 R$6.17

41.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 MX$46.86

$1.04 R$5.26

144.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.49

$0.77 R$3.92

85.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 MX$18.67

$0.67 R$3.38

50.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.95 MX$73.1

$3.01 R$15.27

31.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.38 MX$192

$8.08 R$40.94

28.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 MX$32.17

$1.19 R$6.03

46.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 MX$29.71

$2.51 R$12.73

-35.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.73

$0.99 R$5.00

-30.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 MX$47.19

$1.22 R$6.20

109.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.94 MX$35.87

$0.92 R$4.66

110.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.76 MX$199

$8.97 R$45.45

19.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$23.28

$1.30 R$6.57

-3.08%

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

$19.0K MX$352.0K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-20.22%

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

$23.4K MX$431.7K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-28.92%

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

$48.27 MX$892

$133 R$676

-63.82%

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

$11.00 MX$203

$10.82 R$54.8

1.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.64 MX$548

$22.90 R$116

29.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.79 MX$624

$30.79 R$156

9.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.47 MX$397

$31.85 R$161

-32.59%

Cinema Ticket

$4.95 MX$91.5

$8.05 R$40.83

-38.51%

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

$163 MX$3,012

$598 R$3,029

-72.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,612 MX$48.3K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-80.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.0 MX$1,034

$42.04 R$213

33.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.6 MX$1,064

$49.68 R$252

15.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.5 MX$1,562

$74.5 R$378

13.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 MX$2,330

$68.7 R$348

83.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$608 MX$11.2K

$903 R$4,578

-32.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$493 MX$9,109

$529 R$2,684

-6.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 MX$19.0K

$1,326 R$6,724

-22.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 MX$14.4K

$756 R$3,831

3.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,885 MX$34.8K

$4,010 R$20.3K

-52.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,033 MX$19.1K

$1,560 R$7,910

-33.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$607 MX$11.2K

$640 R$3,242

-5.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.53

11.93

-11.74%

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

Last update for Reynosa: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Reynosa

$493 41.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 7.4% $37

Groceries & Markets

Reynosa

$234 19.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 8.2% $19

Eating Out

Reynosa

$163 13.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 1.5% $2.4

Clothing & Footwear

Reynosa

$146 12.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 27.5% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Reynosa

$89 7.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 88% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Reynosa

$44 3.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 7.3% $3.2

Getting Around

Reynosa

$15 * 1.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 299% $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 $608 in Reynosa and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 5% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $34.00 in Reynosa vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Reynosa

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

23:59 11:59 PM

01:59 1:59 AM

2 h ahead of Reynosa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

691,557

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 19, 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 19, 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

Reynosa Rio de Janeiro 8,050 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Reynosa
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

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

Reynosa is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and transport. The 9% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Rio de Janeiro. 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: $608 in Reynosa versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Rio de Janeiro pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,183 per month in Reynosa versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,183 in Reynosa versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Reynosa but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Reynosa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Reynosa is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Rio de Janeiro, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Reynosa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.