Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Atotonilco el Alto

For one person, living costs are similar in Rio de Janeiro and in Atotonilco el Alto: $1,289 and $1,253 a month, rent and utilities included.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Atotonilco el Alto
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Atotonilco el Alto Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Atotonilco el Alto

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,253

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Atotonilco el Alto

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 Atotonilco el Alto actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,253 in Atotonilco el Alto.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Atotonilco el Alto $1,253

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,011 in Atotonilco el Alto.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Atotonilco el Alto $2,011

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,770 in Atotonilco el Alto.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Atotonilco el Alto $2,770

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 3% more expensive than in Atotonilco el Alto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Atotonilco el Alto 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$11.18 MX$207

-10.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$63.0 MX$1,164

-35.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$9.61 MX$178

-11.03%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$3.67 MX$67.9

-35.15%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.62 MX$29.99

-0.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.04 MX$19.18

-0.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$3.22 MX$59.5

-23.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$5.42 MX$100

-31.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.93 MX$35.71

-38.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$2.79 MX$51.6

-26.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$2.00 MX$37.00

-36.00%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.64 MX$48.75

-13.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$8.82 MX$163

22.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$8.89 MX$164

-50.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$13.93 MX$257

-29.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$3.37 MX$62.3

-16.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.59 MX$29.31

11.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$2.16 MX$39.90

-25.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.95 MX$36.07

-7.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.77 MX$32.76

-31.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.76 MX$32.44

-40.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.48 MX$27.36

-47.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.19 MX$21.94

-43.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$4.69 MX$86.7

-35.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$17.90 MX$331

-54.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$2.18 MX$40.27

-45.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$4.00 MX$73.8

-37.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$0.64 MX$11.75

54.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$3.39 MX$62.6

-64.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$2.67 MX$49.41

-65.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$11.15 MX$206

-19.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.58 MX$29.15

-17.72%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$21.6K MX$398.3K

10.78%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$24.0K MX$443.1K

37.07%

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

$133 R$676

$57.6 MX$1,065

131.52%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$26.59 MX$491

-59.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$24.26 MX$448

-5.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$31.31 MX$579

-1.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

$21.29 MX$393

49.60%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$7.32 MX$135

9.97%

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

$598 R$3,029

$270 MX$4,997

120.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$4,971 MX$91.9K

169.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$53.6 MX$990

-21.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$44.97 MX$831

10.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$100.0 MX$1,848

-25.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$98.8 MX$1,826

-30.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$565 MX$10.4K

59.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$438 MX$8,100

20.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$923 MX$17.1K

43.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$775 MX$14.3K

-2.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$1,790 MX$33.1K

124.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$1,018 MX$18.8K

53.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.99

-0.50%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Last update for Atotonilco el Alto: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Atotonilco el Alto

$438 35% 17.2% $91

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Atotonilco el Alto

$307 24.5% 43% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Atotonilco el Alto

$108 8.7% 35.1% $59

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Atotonilco el Alto

$200 16% 21.2% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Atotonilco el Alto

$134 10.7% 26.6% $28

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Atotonilco el Alto

$19 * 1.5% 67.8% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Atotonilco el Alto

$46 3.7% 2% $0.9

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 $903 in Rio de Janeiro and $565 in Atotonilco el Alto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $63.0 in Atotonilco el Alto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $307 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 Atotonilco el Alto

🕒 Local time

23:44 11:44 PM

20:44 8:44 PM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

26,874

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

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).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Rio de Janeiro Atotonilco el Alto 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Atotonilco el Alto

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 Atotonilco el Alto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Atotonilco el Alto is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,879 in Atotonilco el Alto 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: $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $565 in Atotonilco el Alto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $270 in Atotonilco el Alto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Atotonilco el Alto – a meal for two runs $63.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,253 in Atotonilco el Alto versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Atotonilco el Alto but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Atotonilco el Alto the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Atotonilco el Alto 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 Atotonilco el Alto 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 Atotonilco el Alto gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.