Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Elgin, IL

For one person, living is cheaper in Elgin, IL: $1,035 a month against $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Elgin, IL
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Elgin, IL Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Elgin, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Elgin, IL

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,035 in Elgin, IL.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Elgin, IL $1,035

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,614 in Elgin, IL.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Elgin, IL $2,614

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,192 in Elgin, IL.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Elgin, IL $4,192

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 24% more expensive than in Elgin, IL, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 4% lower, Elgin, IL 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.69

$19.93 $19.93

-49.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$59.5 $59.5

-32.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.23

$10.07 $10.07

-15.79%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.77

$3.90 $3.90

-39.49%

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

$1.63 R$8.11

$3.03 $3.03

-46.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.05

$2.05 $2.05

-50.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.15

$5.96 $5.96

-59.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.38

$4.92 $4.92

-25.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.70

$0.89 $0.89

29.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.31

$3.54 $3.54

-41.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.40

$4.34 $4.34

-70.28%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.29

$3.73 $3.73

-39.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.7

$11.35 $11.35

-3.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.44

$13.45 $13.45

-67.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.49

$11.71 $11.71

-16.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.07

$4.49 $4.49

-36.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.14

$1.27 $1.27

44.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.94

$2.57 $2.57

-37.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$8.97

$4.22 $4.22

-57.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.26

$1.99 $1.99

-36.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.32

$2.08 $2.08

-48.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.74

$1.84 $1.84

-59.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.28

$2.37 $2.37

-72.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.16

$10.79 $10.79

-71.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.72

$15.56 $15.56

-47.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.90

$2.62 $2.62

-54.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.88

$3.49 $3.49

-31.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.04

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.31

$4.06 $4.06

-68.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.50

$2.02 $2.02

-55.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$46.99

$28.28 $28.28

-66.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.63

$1.04 $1.04

27.88%

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

$23.4K R$116.6K

$36.5K $36.5K

-35.85%

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

$33.6K R$167.1K

$24.9K $24.9K

34.67%

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

$134 R$664

$99.4 $99.4

34.36%

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

$12.23 R$60.9

$52.2 $52.2

-76.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$49.61 $49.61

-54.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$157

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$40.95

$14.76 $14.76

-44.24%

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

$603 R$3,002

$1,690 $1,690

-64.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$65.9K

$23.2K $23.2K

-42.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$207

$39.27 $39.27

5.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$50.2 $50.2

-0.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$373

$100 $100

-25.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$340

$122 $122

-44.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,506

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,625

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,700

$2,175 $2,175

-38.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,854

$1,811 $1,811

-57.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.8K

$2,192 $2,192

81.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,775

$2,211 $2,211

-29.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,200

$3,971 $3,971

-83.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

6.69

78.33%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Last update for Elgin, IL: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Elgin, IL

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Elgin, IL

$371 35.3% 73.1% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Elgin, IL

$201 19.1% 19.5% $33

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Elgin, IL

$296 28.1% 80.9% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Elgin, IL

$141 13.3% 32.9% $35

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Elgin, IL

$14 * 1.4% 76.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Elgin, IL

$30 * 2.8% 38.5% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

Elgin, IL pays 517% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $59.0 in Elgin, IL for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $371 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇺🇸 Elgin, IL

🕒 Local time

22:34 10:34 PM

20:34 8:34 PM

2 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

112,603

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.201 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 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 11, 2026: 1 USD = 4.98 BRL (1 BRL = 0.201 USD). 1 EUR = 5.58 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 11, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Elgin, IL 8,580 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Elgin, IL

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 Elgin, IL: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elgin, IL is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 24% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 517% lower in Elgin, IL. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,690 in Elgin, IL. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Elgin, IL – a meal for two runs $59.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,035 in Elgin, IL versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elgin, IL but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Elgin, IL the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Elgin, IL 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 Elgin, IL 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 Elgin, IL gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.