Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Hearst

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,273 a month against $2,210 in Hearst, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
108

Cost of Living Index in Hearst
Learn more

Hearst Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Hearst

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,210 in Hearst.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
Hearst $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,203 in Hearst.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
Hearst $3,203

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,197 in Hearst.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
Hearst $4,197

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 42% less than in Hearst, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 6% below, Hearst is 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$17.35 CA$24.53

-45.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$66.0 CA$93.4

-39.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$10.67 CA$15.09

-21.84%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$3.60 CA$5.09

-36.39%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$2.01 CA$2.83

-20.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$1.55 CA$2.20

-34.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$5.18 CA$7.32

-58.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$5.58 CA$7.88

-34.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$2.09 CA$2.95

-45.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$2.55 CA$3.60

-18.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$3.29 CA$4.65

-62.01%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$3.34 CA$4.73

-32.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$9.67 CA$13.67

12.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$11.53 CA$16.30

-62.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$14.25 CA$20.15

-32.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$3.78 CA$5.35

-24.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$1.26 CA$1.78

43.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$3.63 CA$5.13

-56.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$3.67 CA$5.18

-50.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.49 CA$3.52

-51.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$2.17 CA$3.06

-51.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$2.48 CA$3.51

-69.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$1.57 CA$2.22

-56.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$13.89 CA$19.63

-78.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$12.84 CA$18.15

-37.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$2.61 CA$3.70

-54.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$3.09 CA$4.37

-21.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$2.24 CA$3.17

-58.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

$62.3 CA$88.0

-19.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.79 CA$3.95

-56.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$1.40 CA$1.98

-40.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$22.95 CA$32.44

-60.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$1.14 CA$1.61

13.16%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$27.9K CA$39.4K

-18.24%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$18.9K CA$26.7K

79.90%

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

$134 R$681

$132 CA$186

2.04%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$38.55 CA$54.5

-72.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$54.4 CA$77.0

-58.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$40.47 CA$57.2

-25.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

$17.81 CA$25.18

76.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$11.12 CA$15.72

-30.49%

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

$584 R$2,960

$748 CA$1,057

-21.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$13.1K CA$18.5K

-1.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$53.7 CA$75.9

-23.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$38.42 CA$54.3

28.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$83.4 CA$118

-11.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$103 CA$145

-35.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$1,220 CA$1,724

-26.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$1,104 CA$1,560

-52.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$1,918 CA$2,711

-30.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$1,687 CA$2,384

-55.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$4,145 CA$5,860

-3.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$3,557 CA$5,028

-56.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

$3,120 CA$4,410

-79.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

4.66

156.01%

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 Hearst: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

Hearst

$1.1K 49.9% 109% $576

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

Hearst

$347 15.7% 62.4% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

Hearst

$225 10.2% 33.8% $57

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

Hearst

$265 12% 70.2% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

Hearst

$125 5.7% 20.9% $22

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

Hearst

$81 3.7% 36.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

Hearst

$63 2.8% 37.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $900 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,220 in Hearst. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hearst pays 387% 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 $66.0 in Hearst for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $347 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇦 Hearst

🕒 Local time

13:20 1:20 PM

12:20 12:20 PM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

5,000

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Hearst 9,010 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Hearst

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 Hearst: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Hearst differ by about 74% in total monthly costs ($1,273 vs $2,210 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 387% lower in Hearst. 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: $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,220 in Hearst. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $584 in Rio de Janeiro versus $748 in Hearst. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Hearst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,210 in Hearst, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Hearst. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Hearst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.