Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Higuey

For one person, living is cheaper in Higuey: $912 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Higuey
Learn more

Higuey Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Higuey

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$912

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro versus $912 in Higuey.

Rio de Janeiro $1,182
Higuey $912

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,495 in Higuey.

Rio de Janeiro $1,750
Higuey $1,495

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,078 in Higuey.

Rio de Janeiro $2,318
Higuey $2,078

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 30% more expensive than in Higuey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 13% lower, Higuey 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.08 R$48.54

$9.75 DOP 597

-6.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.25 R$199

$50.0 DOP 3,064

-25.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.02 R$42.87

$7.46 DOP 457

7.51%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R$11.71

$1.99 DOP 122

10.05%

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

$1.46 R$7.82

$1.04 DOP 63.9

40.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R$5.27

$0.51 DOP 31.17

94.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 R$10.84

$2.51 DOP 154

-19.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 R$18.43

$3.17 DOP 194

8.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.66

$1.19 DOP 73.1

-10.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.61

$1.57 DOP 96.2

26.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.27

$1.35 DOP 82.8

-13.33%

Eggs

$2.21 R$11.80

$1.95 DOP 119

13.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 R$54.1

$7.30 DOP 447

38.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 R$22.00

$5.29 DOP 324

-22.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.17 R$49.04

$6.56 DOP 402

39.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 R$14.54

$3.00 DOP 183

-9.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 R$9.15

$0.70 DOP 43.08

144.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 R$8.18

$1.46 DOP 89.1

4.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R$8.89

$1.29 DOP 79.0

28.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.09

$1.16 DOP 71.0

-1.72%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 R$5.32

$1.11 DOP 68.2

-10.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 R$3.46

$0.59 DOP 36.00

10.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 R$3.20

$0.47 DOP 28.95

27.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.79 R$14.94

$5.38 DOP 330

-48.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 R$39.99

$10.11 DOP 619

-26.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R$5.83

$2.42 DOP 148

-54.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 R$12.48

$2.87 DOP 176

-18.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 R$4.79

$0.81 DOP 49.35

11.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$283

$49.72 DOP 3,045

6.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 R$6.24

$3.32 DOP 203

-64.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R$4.17

$2.26 DOP 139

-65.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 R$44.75

$5.84 DOP 358

43.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.48

$1.36 DOP 83.5

-11.03%

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

$21.5K R$114.8K

$24.8K DOP 1.5M

-13.42%

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

$31.1K R$166.5K

$30.7K DOP 1.9M

1.39%

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

$124 R$665

$90.5 DOP 5,540

37.57%

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

$10.03 R$53.7

$16.40 DOP 1,004

-38.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.88 R$112

$32.65 DOP 2,000

-36.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.35 R$152

$24.74 DOP 1,515

14.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$157

$65.4 DOP 4,003

-55.13%

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 R$40.72

$7.38 DOP 452

3.25%

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

$563 R$3,010

$98.6 DOP 6,039

470.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$64.4K

$2,173 DOP 133.1K

454.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.25 R$210

$44.71 DOP 2,738

-12.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.36 R$248

$45.17 DOP 2,766

2.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.4 R$366

$86.2 DOP 5,279

-20.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.4 R$339

$79.6 DOP 4,873

-20.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$776 R$4,150

$289 DOP 17.7K

168.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 R$2,530

$209 DOP 12.8K

126.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 R$7,437

$566 DOP 34.6K

145.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 R$3,951

$401 DOP 24.6K

84.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,393 R$18.1K

$1,809 DOP 110.8K

87.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R$8,396

$1,240 DOP 75.9K

26.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 R$3,192

$434 DOP 26.6K

37.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.5

3.74%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Last update for Higuey: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40%

Higuey

$209 22.9% 55.8% $264

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17%

Higuey

$192 21.1% 4.4% $8.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1%

Higuey

$140 15.3% 10.2% $16

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7%

Higuey

$149 16.4% 0.3% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3%

Higuey

$115 12.6% 17.6% $17

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2%

Higuey

$68 7.4% 9.6% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7%

Higuey

$40 4.3% 9.4% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $776 in Rio de Janeiro and $289 in Higuey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 38% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $50 in Higuey. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $192, with Higuey cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇩🇴 Higuey

🕒 Local time

20:10 8:10 PM

19:10 7:10 PM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

123,787

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Higuey 5,380 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Higuey

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 Higuey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Higuey is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 38% higher in Rio de Janeiro, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $776 in Rio de Janeiro versus $289 in Higuey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,182 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $912 in Higuey – Higuey is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Higuey runs roughly 6% less than in Rio de Janeiro. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

For families, Higuey 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.

It comes down to priorities – Higuey wins on affordability, Rio de Janeiro on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.