Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Cuautitlan Izcalli

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuautitlan Izcalli: $1,069 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Cuautitlan Izcalli
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Cuautitlan Izcalli Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Cuautitlan Izcalli

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,069

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Cuautitlan Izcalli

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,069 in Cuautitlan Izcalli.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Cuautitlan Izcalli $1,069

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,673 in Cuautitlan Izcalli.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Cuautitlan Izcalli $1,673

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,276 in Cuautitlan Izcalli.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Cuautitlan Izcalli $2,276

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 20% more expensive than in Cuautitlan Izcalli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Cuautitlan Izcalli 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$10.87 MX$201

-7.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$26.47 MX$489

52.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$8.24 MX$152

3.76%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$3.38 MX$62.5

-29.59%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.60 MX$29.49

0.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.30 MX$24.00

-20.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$2.43 MX$44.82

1.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$4.86 MX$89.9

-23.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.66 MX$30.71

-28.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$2.70 MX$49.86

-24.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.34 MX$24.74

-4.48%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.85 MX$52.6

-19.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$2.71 MX$50.1

297.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$5.27 MX$97.4

-16.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$7.29 MX$135

34.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$2.50 MX$46.13

12.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.57 MX$29.04

13.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$1.39 MX$25.77

15.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$2.23 MX$41.23

-19.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.95 MX$36.10

-37.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.81 MX$33.47

-42.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.52 MX$28.10

-49.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.08 MX$19.92

-37.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$4.14 MX$76.6

-27.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$10.02 MX$185

-19.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.64 MX$30.25

-27.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$4.42 MX$81.7

-43.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$0.77 MX$14.19

28.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$0.84 MX$15.47

45.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$0.58 MX$10.63

58.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$5.64 MX$104

59.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.38 MX$25.44

-5.80%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$21.5K MX$397.5K

10.99%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$24.5K MX$453.4K

33.95%

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

$133 R$676

$62.1 MX$1,148

114.68%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$28.21 MX$521

-61.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$19.08 MX$353

20.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$33.66 MX$622

-8.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

$19.06 MX$352

67.10%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$4.44 MX$82.0

81.31%

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

$598 R$3,029

$430 MX$7,943

39.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$4,547 MX$84.0K

195.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$54.6 MX$1,010

-23.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$26.84 MX$496

85.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$108 MX$1,997

-31.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$53.9 MX$996

27.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$611 MX$11.3K

47.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$395 MX$7,291

34.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$1,055 MX$19.5K

25.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$768 MX$14.2K

-1.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$1,929 MX$35.7K

107.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$1,203 MX$22.2K

29.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

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 10, 2026

Last update for Cuautitlan Izcalli: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Cuautitlan Izcalli

$395 36.9% 25.5% $135

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Cuautitlan Izcalli

$221 20.7% 2.9% $6.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Cuautitlan Izcalli

$109 10.2% 34.5% $58

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Cuautitlan Izcalli

$186 17.4% 12.5% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Cuautitlan Izcalli

$110 10.2% 3.6% $3.8

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Cuautitlan Izcalli

$6.8 * 0.6% 88.7% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Cuautitlan Izcalli

$43 4% 9.3% $4.4

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 $611 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $26.00 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $221, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 Cuautitlan Izcalli

🕒 Local time

09:43 9:43 AM

06:43 6:43 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

484,573

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Cuautitlan Izcalli 7,700 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Cuautitlan Izcalli

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 Cuautitlan Izcalli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuautitlan Izcalli is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,604 in Cuautitlan Izcalli 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 $611 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $430 in Cuautitlan Izcalli. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuautitlan Izcalli – a meal for two runs $26.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,069 in Cuautitlan Izcalli versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuautitlan Izcalli but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Cuautitlan Izcalli the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cuautitlan Izcalli 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 Cuautitlan Izcalli 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 Cuautitlan Izcalli gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.