Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Merrillville, IN

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,273 a month against $2,597 in Merrillville, IN, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 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
122

Cost of Living Index in Merrillville, IN
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Merrillville, IN Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Merrillville, IN

🇺🇸 United States

$2,597

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Merrillville, IN

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,597 in Merrillville, IN.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
Merrillville, IN $2,597

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,672 in Merrillville, IN.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
Merrillville, IN $3,672

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,748 in Merrillville, IN.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
Merrillville, IN $4,748

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 51% less than in Merrillville, IN, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 6% below, Merrillville, IN is 92% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$14.93 $14.93

-37.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$55.9 $55.9

-28.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$9.88 $9.88

-15.59%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$4.63 $4.63

-50.54%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$2.19 $2.19

-27.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$2.24 $2.24

-54.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$4.54 $4.54

-52.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$5.90 $5.90

-37.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$0.74 $0.74

52.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$3.19 $3.19

-34.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$4.54 $4.54

-72.47%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$4.63 $4.63

-51.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$11.10 $11.10

-1.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$9.61 $9.61

-54.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$21.94 $21.94

-56.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$5.75 $5.75

-50.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$1.12 $1.12

61.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$4.39 $4.39

-64.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$5.49 $5.49

-66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$3.68 $3.68

-67.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$4.40 $4.40

-75.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$2.45 $2.45

-69.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$1.27 $1.27

-46.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$11.36 $11.36

-74.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$12.22 $12.22

-34.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$2.08 $2.08

-43.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$3.43 $3.43

-29.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$2.02 $2.02

-53.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$4.95 $4.95

-75.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$1.87 $1.87

-55.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$50.3 $50.3

-82.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$0.93 $0.93

38.71%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$27.9K $27.9K

-18.28%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$27.0K $27.0K

25.64%

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

$134 R$681

$233 $233

-42.23%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$50.9 $50.9

-78.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$59.0 $59.0

-61.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$47.50 $47.50

-36.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$14.98 $14.98

-48.40%

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

$584 R$2,960

$1,397 $1,397

-58.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$20.4K $20.4K

-37.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$53.3 $53.3

-22.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$40.39 $40.39

21.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$106 $106

-30.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$95.7 $95.7

-31.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$1,510 $1,510

-40.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$1,374 $1,374

-61.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$2,410 $2,410

-44.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$2,148 $2,148

-65.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$2,523 $2,523

58.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$2,195 $2,195

-28.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

6.53

82.70%

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 Merrillville, IN: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

Merrillville, IN

$1.4K 52.9% 161% $847

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

Merrillville, IN

$390 15% 82.6% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

Merrillville, IN

$342 13.2% 104% $175

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

Merrillville, IN

$257 9.9% 64.7% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

Merrillville, IN

$133 5.1% 28.6% $30

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

Merrillville, IN

$22 * 0.9% 62.3% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

Merrillville, IN

$77 3% 69.9% $32

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 $900 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,510 in Merrillville, IN. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $56.0 in Merrillville, IN for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $390 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇺🇸 Merrillville, IN

🕒 Local time

19:19 7:19 PM

17:19 5:19 PM

2 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

36,444

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Merrillville, IN 8,480 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Merrillville, IN

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 Merrillville, IN: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Merrillville, IN differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($1,273 vs $2,597 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,910 in Rio de Janeiro and $3,895 in Merrillville, IN 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: $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,510 in Merrillville, IN. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 83% higher in Merrillville, IN. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,273 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,597 in Merrillville, IN – a 104% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,597 in Merrillville, IN, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Merrillville, IN. 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 104% less than in Merrillville, IN. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.