Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Aguascalientes

For one person, living is cheaper in Aguascalientes: $1,113 a month against $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Aguascalientes
Learn more

Aguascalientes Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Aguascalientes

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,113

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Aguascalientes

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rio de Janeiro and in Aguascalientes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,113 in Aguascalientes.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Aguascalientes $1,113

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,744 in Aguascalientes.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Aguascalientes $1,744

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,375 in Aguascalientes.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Aguascalientes $2,375

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 15% more expensive than in Aguascalientes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 4% lower, Aguascalientes 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$12.50 MX$229

-20.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$44.72 MX$821

-9.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$7.00 MX$129

21.14%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$3.86 MX$70.9

-38.86%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.64 MX$30.09

-0.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$1.21 MX$22.21

-16.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$2.18 MX$40.03

11.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$3.26 MX$59.8

13.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$1.47 MX$26.98

-21.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$2.22 MX$40.72

-6.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$1.56 MX$28.69

-17.31%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$2.45 MX$45.02

-7.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$8.03 MX$147

36.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$8.61 MX$158

-49.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$11.47 MX$211

-15.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$2.32 MX$42.51

21.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.33 MX$24.38

38.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$1.54 MX$28.29

3.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$1.76 MX$32.37

2.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$1.62 MX$29.66

-22.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$1.36 MX$25.03

-21.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$0.99 MX$18.21

-24.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$0.83 MX$15.18

-20.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$4.38 MX$80.4

-30.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$8.88 MX$163

-7.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$1.81 MX$33.32

-34.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$3.42 MX$62.8

-30.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$0.59 MX$10.78

71.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$24.33 MX$447

106.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$1.22 MX$22.36

4.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

$1.16 MX$21.37

-22.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

$10.96 MX$201

-13.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

$1.54 MX$28.21

-13.64%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$21.7K MX$397.6K

8.21%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$23.9K MX$438.9K

40.45%

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

$134 R$666

$55.6 MX$1,021

140.15%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$24.71 MX$454

-50.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$24.50 MX$450

-7.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$31.42 MX$577

0.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$22.39 MX$411

37.87%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$5.16 MX$94.7

59.50%

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

$603 R$3,011

$220 MX$4,039

174.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$2,916 MX$53.5K

354.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$55.6 MX$1,021

-25.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$37.98 MX$697

31.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$104 MX$1,916

-28.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$69.9 MX$1,284

-2.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$516 MX$9,475

75.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$361 MX$6,620

46.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$810 MX$14.9K

66.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$642 MX$11.8K

20.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$1,183 MX$21.7K

236.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$1,176 MX$21.6K

32.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$884 MX$16.2K

-27.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.2

6.52%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Last update for Aguascalientes: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Aguascalientes

$361 32.7% 31.6% $167

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Aguascalientes

$244 22.2% 13.8% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Aguascalientes

$105 9.5% 37.8% $64

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Aguascalientes

$196 17.8% 19.7% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Aguascalientes

$121 10.9% 14% $15

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Aguascalientes

$34 3.1% 43.8% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Aguascalientes

$42 3.8% 13.1% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $516 in Aguascalientes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aguascalientes pays 38% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $45.00 in Aguascalientes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $244 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 Aguascalientes

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

23:07 11:07 PM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

863,893

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Aguascalientes 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Aguascalientes

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

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

Aguascalientes is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 15% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 38% lower in Aguascalientes. 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: $905 in Rio de Janeiro versus $516 in Aguascalientes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Aguascalientes runs roughly 106% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $220 in Aguascalientes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,113 in Aguascalientes versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Aguascalientes but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Aguascalientes the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Aguascalientes 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.

Safety-wise, Rio de Janeiro and Aguascalientes are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Aguascalientes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.