Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Barbacena

For one person, living is cheaper in Barbacena: $798 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Barbacena
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Barbacena Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Barbacena

🇧🇷 Brazil

$798

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Barbacena actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro versus $798 in Barbacena.

Rio de Janeiro $1,182
Barbacena $798

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,216 in Barbacena.

Rio de Janeiro $1,750
Barbacena $1,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,634 in Barbacena.

Rio de Janeiro $2,318
Barbacena $1,634

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 48% more expensive than in Barbacena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 13% lower, Barbacena 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.08 R$48.54

$5.08 R$27.15

78.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.25 R$199

$19.42 R$104

91.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.02 R$42.87

$5.72 R$30.56

40.21%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R$11.70

$1.55 R$8.29

41.29%

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

$1.46 R$7.82

$1.42 R$7.59

2.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R$5.27

$0.80 R$4.29

23.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 R$10.84

$1.22 R$6.55

66.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 R$18.43

$2.00 R$10.70

72.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.66

$1.07 R$5.70

-0.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.61

$1.99 R$10.62

-0.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.27

$1.17 R$6.28

Eggs

$2.21 R$11.80

$2.21 R$11.82

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 R$54.1

$10.04 R$53.7

0.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 R$22.00

$4.25 R$22.71

-3.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.17 R$49.04

$8.98 R$48.00

2.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 R$14.54

$2.72 R$14.55

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 R$9.15

$1.62 R$8.66

5.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 R$8.18

$1.47 R$7.88

4.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R$8.88

$1.76 R$9.41

-5.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.09

$1.18 R$6.30

-3.39%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 R$5.32

$1.01 R$5.39

-1.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 R$3.46

$0.70 R$3.77

-7.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 R$3.20

$0.62 R$3.30

-3.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.79 R$14.94

$2.72 R$14.53

2.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 R$39.99

$7.51 R$40.12

-0.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R$5.83

$1.09 R$5.84

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 R$12.48

$2.32 R$12.39

0.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 R$4.79

$0.94 R$5.00

-4.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$283

$40.71 R$218

30.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 R$6.24

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R$4.17

$0.80 R$4.26

-2.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 R$44.75

$8.52 R$45.56

-1.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.48

$1.21 R$6.49

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

$21.5K R$114.8K

$21.9K R$116.8K

-1.77%

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

$31.1K R$166.4K

$32.1K R$171.3K

-2.86%

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

$124 R$665

$125 R$668

-0.34%

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

$10.03 R$53.6

$10.19 R$54.5

-1.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.88 R$112

$21.67 R$116

-3.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.35 R$152

$22.66 R$121

25.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$157

$28.16 R$151

4.15%

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 R$40.72

$7.61 R$40.70

0.13%

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

$563 R$3,009

$552 R$2,952

1.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$64.4K

$12.1K R$64.5K

-0.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.25 R$210

$39.68 R$212

-1.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.36 R$248

$45.40 R$243

2.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.4 R$366

$69.3 R$370

-1.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.4 R$339

$61.9 R$331

2.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$776 R$4,149

$218 R$1,167

255.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 R$2,530

$159 R$852

196.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 R$7,436

$401 R$2,145

246.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 R$3,951

$293 R$1,568

152.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,393 R$18.1K

$1,641 R$8,774

106.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R$8,394

$1,139 R$6,087

37.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 R$3,191

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barbacena: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40%

Barbacena

$159 20% 66.3% $314

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17%

Barbacena

$201 25.2% 0.2% $0.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1%

Barbacena

$157 19.7% 0.9% $1.4

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7%

Barbacena

$95 12% 36.3% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3%

Barbacena

$97 12.2% 0.5% $0.5

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2%

Barbacena

$50 6.2% 19.5% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7%

Barbacena

$38 4.8% 13.1% $5.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $776 in Rio de Janeiro and $218 in Barbacena. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $19 in Barbacena. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $201, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Barbacena

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

Same time as Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

125,317

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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 Barbacena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro and $798 in Barbacena, so Barbacena is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,774 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,196 in Barbacena 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: $776 in Rio de Janeiro versus $218 in Barbacena. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $563 in Rio de Janeiro versus $552 in Barbacena. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barbacena – a meal for two runs $19 versus $37 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.