Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Cape Girardeau, MO

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $2,129 in Cape Girardeau, MO, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Cape Girardeau, MO
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Cape Girardeau, MO Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Cape Girardeau, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,129

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Cape Girardeau, MO

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 Cape Girardeau, MO actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,129 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Cape Girardeau, MO $2,129

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,277 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Cape Girardeau, MO $3,277

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,424 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Cape Girardeau, MO $4,424

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 39% less than in Cape Girardeau, MO, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 5% below, Cape Girardeau, MO is 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$17.76 $17.76

-43.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$58.6 $58.6

-31.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$7.12 $7.12

20.08%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$6.02 $6.02

-60.47%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$2.68 $2.68

-39.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.87 $1.87

-44.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$2.99 $2.99

-17.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$7.71 $7.71

-52.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.03 $1.03

15.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$2.23 $2.23

-8.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$7.44 $7.44

-82.80%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$3.06 $3.06

-25.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$15.14 $15.14

-28.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$18.63 $18.63

-76.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$25.29 $25.29

-61.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$3.36 $3.36

-16.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.93 $1.93

-7.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$11.43 $11.43

-86.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$8.88 $8.88

-79.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$2.14 $2.14

-42.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$6.00 $6.00

-82.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$2.89 $2.89

-73.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$2.47 $2.47

-72.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$7.34 $7.34

-58.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$12.06 $12.06

-33.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.77 $1.77

-32.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$8.09 $8.09

-68.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$0.80 $0.80

62.50%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$30.6K $30.6K

-21.91%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$24.8K $24.8K

32.60%

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

$133 R$676

$201 $201

-33.53%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$42.29 $42.29

-74.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$80.7 $80.7

-71.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$20.39 $20.39

51.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$14.98 $14.98

-46.26%

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

$598 R$3,029

$818 $818

-26.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$45.40 $45.40

-7.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$39.35 $39.35

26.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$84.4 $84.4

-11.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$39.98 $39.98

71.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$777 $777

16.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$861 $861

-38.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$1,572 $1,572

-15.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$1,672 $1,672

-54.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$1,444 $1,444

177.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$1,438 $1,438

8.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

$2,408 $2,408

-73.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

6.45

84.96%

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 Cape Girardeau, MO: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$861 40.4% 62.6% $331

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$516 24.3% 141% $302

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$324 15.2% 93.7% $157

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$284 13.4% 72.3% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$94 4.4% 11% $12

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Cape Girardeau, MO

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Cape Girardeau, MO

$50 2.4% 7.4% $3.5

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 $777 in Cape Girardeau, MO. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Girardeau, MO pays 277% 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: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $59.0 in Cape Girardeau, MO for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $516 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇺🇸 Cape Girardeau, MO

🕒 Local time

01:09 1:09 AM

23:09 11:09 PM

2 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

37,941

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

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).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Cape Girardeau, MO 8,260 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Cape Girardeau, MO

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 Cape Girardeau, MO: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 65% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 277% lower in Cape Girardeau, MO. 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: $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $777 in Cape Girardeau, MO. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 141% higher in Cape Girardeau, MO. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,289 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,129 in Cape Girardeau, MO – a 65% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,129 in Cape Girardeau, MO, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Cape Girardeau, MO. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Cape Girardeau, MO. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.