Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Cuauhtémoc

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuauhtémoc: $1,133 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Cuauhtémoc
Learn more

Cuauhtémoc Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Cuauhtémoc

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,133

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,273 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $1,133 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
Cuauhtémoc $1,133

A couple spends around $1,841 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $1,825 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
Cuauhtémoc $1,825

A family of three spends $2,409 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $2,517 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
Cuauhtémoc $2,517

Rio de Janeiro costs about 12% more than Cuauhtémoc, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Rio de Janeiro and Cuauhtémoc are more affordable than the global median – Rio de Janeiro 6% lower, Cuauhtémoc 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$11.03 MX$204

-14.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$44.20 MX$817

-9.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$8.32 MX$154

0.24%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$3.51 MX$64.9

-34.76%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$1.40 MX$25.79

13.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$1.06 MX$19.65

-4.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$2.49 MX$45.98

-14.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$3.91 MX$72.3

-6.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$1.58 MX$29.15

-28.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$2.67 MX$49.41

-21.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$1.65 MX$30.58

-24.24%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$2.42 MX$44.72

-7.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$8.06 MX$149

35.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$8.23 MX$152

-47.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$11.42 MX$211

-15.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$2.81 MX$51.8

1.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$1.51 MX$27.90

19.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$1.93 MX$35.75

-18.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$1.83 MX$33.84

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.01 MX$37.06

-40.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$1.81 MX$33.47

-41.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$1.42 MX$26.20

-47.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$1.09 MX$20.14

-37.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$4.47 MX$82.6

-34.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$10.53 MX$195

-24.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$1.82 MX$33.71

-35.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$3.09 MX$57.0

-21.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$0.67 MX$12.46

40.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.67 MX$49.30

-55.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$1.93 MX$35.58

-56.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$10.95 MX$202

-18.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$1.45 MX$26.74

-11.03%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$21.5K MX$397.0K

6.01%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$24.5K MX$453.0K

38.52%

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

$134 R$681

$58.5 MX$1,080

129.80%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$22.66 MX$419

-52.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$29.34 MX$542

-22.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$33.58 MX$621

-10.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

$19.88 MX$367

58.40%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$5.24 MX$96.8

47.52%

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

$584 R$2,960

$218 MX$4,023

168.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$4,546 MX$84.0K

181.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$55.4 MX$1,023

-25.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$41.12 MX$760

19.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$102 MX$1,876

-27.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$90.0 MX$1,664

-26.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$601 MX$11.1K

49.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$385 MX$7,114

36.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$1,056 MX$19.5K

26.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$758 MX$14.0K

-1.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$1,904 MX$35.2K

109.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$1,153 MX$21.3K

35.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.3

5.58%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Last update for Cuauhtémoc: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

Cuauhtémoc

$385 34% 27% $142

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

Cuauhtémoc

$263 23.2% 23.1% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

Cuauhtémoc

$110 9.8% 34.2% $57

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

Cuauhtémoc

$185 16.4% 18.9% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

Cuauhtémoc

$130 11.4% 25.2% $26

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

Cuauhtémoc

$15 * 1.3% 74.8% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

Cuauhtémoc

$44 3.9% 3.4% $1.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $601 in Cuauhtémoc. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro versus $44.00 in Cuauhtémoc. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $214 vs $263 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 Cuauhtémoc

🕒 Local time

12:25 12:25 PM

09:25 9:25 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

545,884

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Cuauhtémoc 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Cuauhtémoc

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 Cuauhtémoc: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Rio de Janeiro is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,910 per month in Rio de Janeiro and $1,699 in Cuauhtémoc. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cuauhtémoc, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro and $44.00 in Cuauhtémoc. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 23% cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cuauhtémoc, where all-in costs run around $1,133, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,273. In Cuauhtémoc it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cuauhtémoc – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cuauhtémoc. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Rio de Janeiro makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.