Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Hato Mayor del Rey

For one person, living is cheaper in Hato Mayor del Rey: $626 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Hato Mayor del Rey
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Hato Mayor del Rey Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Hato Mayor del Rey

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Hato Mayor del Rey

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 Hato Mayor del Rey actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,289 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $626 in Hato Mayor del Rey, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Hato Mayor del Rey $626

A couple spends around $1,868 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $1,009 in Hato Mayor del Rey, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Hato Mayor del Rey $1,009

A family of three spends $2,448 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $1,392 in Hato Mayor del Rey, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Hato Mayor del Rey $1,392

Rio de Janeiro costs about 106% more than Hato Mayor del Rey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Rio de Janeiro and Hato Mayor del Rey are more affordable than the global median – Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Hato Mayor del Rey 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$50.6

$8.40 DOP 513

19.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$203

$41.18 DOP 2,515

-1.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$42.99

$6.96 DOP 425

22.84%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$11.95

$1.81 DOP 111

31.49%

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

$1.61 R$8.11

$0.70 DOP 42.85

130.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.18

$0.41 DOP 24.98

151.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.44

$2.53 DOP 155

-2.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.62

$4.06 DOP 248

-8.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.00

$1.15 DOP 70.4

3.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.30

$1.73 DOP 105

18.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.44

$1.49 DOP 90.8

-14.09%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.50

$1.44 DOP 87.8

59.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.1

$6.09 DOP 372

76.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.18

$3.61 DOP 220

22.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.46

$3.88 DOP 237

153.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.14

$3.63 DOP 222

-22.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$8.96

$1.44 DOP 87.9

23.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.07

$3.29 DOP 201

-51.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.03

$0.93 DOP 56.9

93.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.12

$3.44 DOP 210

-64.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.22

$2.94 DOP 180

-64.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.88

$0.87 DOP 53.1

-11.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.35

$0.78 DOP 47.72

-14.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.15

$4.81 DOP 294

-37.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.61

$16.33 DOP 997

-50.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.98

$2.87 DOP 175

-58.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.62

$3.35 DOP 205

-25.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$4.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$252

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.15

$2.44 DOP 149

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.62

$3.23 DOP 197

-71.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.08

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.52

$1.44 DOP 87.7

-9.72%

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

$23.9K R$120.0K

$14.9K DOP 909.9K

60.24%

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

$32.9K R$165.2K

$25.4K DOP 1.5M

29.54%

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

$133 R$671

$92.5 DOP 5,650

44.19%

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

$10.82 R$54.4

$27.15 DOP 1,658

-60.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$115

$37.87 DOP 2,313

-39.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$155

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$160

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.50

$4.91 DOP 300

63.95%

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

$598 R$3,005

$146 DOP 8,906

309.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$67.5K

$5,387 DOP 329.0K

149.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$211

$26.37 DOP 1,610

59.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$250

$45.30 DOP 2,767

9.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$375

$62.5 DOP 3,819

19.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$345

$64.6 DOP 3,947

6.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,541

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,662

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,669

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,800

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,845

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,216

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

8.45%

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 Hato Mayor del Rey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Hato Mayor del Rey

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Hato Mayor del Rey

$216 34.5% 0.5% $1.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Hato Mayor del Rey

$158 25.2% 5.7% $9.6

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Hato Mayor del Rey

$135 21.6% 18.1% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Hato Mayor del Rey

$89 14.3% 15.4% $16

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Hato Mayor del Rey

$19 * 3% 68.9% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Hato Mayor del Rey

$9.8 * 1.6% 79% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro versus $41.00 in Hato Mayor del Rey. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $215 vs $216 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇩🇴 Hato Mayor del Rey

🕒 Local time

17:40 5:40 PM

16:40 4:40 PM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

61,517

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.46 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 61.07 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.39 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Hato Mayor del Rey 5,430 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Hato Mayor del Rey

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 Hato Mayor del Rey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Rio de Janeiro is pricier by about 106%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,933 per month in Rio de Janeiro and $939 in Hato Mayor del Rey. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro and $41.00 in Hato Mayor del Rey. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 1% 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 Hato Mayor del Rey, where all-in costs run around $626, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In Hato Mayor del Rey it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hato Mayor del Rey – 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 Hato Mayor del Rey. 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.