Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Miguel Hidalgo

For one person, living is cheaper in Miguel Hidalgo: $1,149 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Miguel Hidalgo
Learn more

Miguel Hidalgo Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Miguel Hidalgo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Miguel Hidalgo

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

A single person spends $1,289 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $1,149 in Miguel Hidalgo, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Miguel Hidalgo $1,149

A couple spends around $1,868 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $1,960 in Miguel Hidalgo, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Miguel Hidalgo $1,960

A family of three spends $2,448 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $2,771 in Miguel Hidalgo, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Miguel Hidalgo $2,771

Rio de Janeiro costs about 12% more than Miguel Hidalgo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Rio de Janeiro and Miguel Hidalgo are more affordable than the global median – Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Miguel Hidalgo 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$10.97 MX$203

-8.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$86.1 MX$1,590

-53.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$8.69 MX$161

-1.61%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$3.58 MX$66.1

-33.52%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.33 MX$24.51

21.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.06 MX$19.54

-2.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$2.39 MX$44.15

3.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$6.15 MX$114

-39.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.67 MX$30.83

-28.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$2.58 MX$47.72

-20.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.71 MX$31.51

-25.15%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.41 MX$44.61

-4.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$8.30 MX$153

29.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$9.23 MX$171

-52.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$11.37 MX$210

-13.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$2.81 MX$51.9

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.51 MX$27.94

17.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$1.88 MX$34.83

-14.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.84 MX$34.00

-2.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$2.03 MX$37.55

-39.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.89 MX$34.99

-44.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.42 MX$26.33

-45.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.14 MX$21.12

-41.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$4.28 MX$79.2

-29.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$10.69 MX$198

-24.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.80 MX$33.23

-33.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$3.20 MX$59.0

-21.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$0.64 MX$11.75

54.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$2.73 MX$50.4

-55.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$2.01 MX$37.22

-54.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$11.79 MX$218

-23.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.50 MX$27.66

-13.33%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$20.8K MX$384.6K

14.71%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$24.4K MX$450.7K

34.74%

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

$133 R$676

$30.58 MX$565

336.23%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$22.81 MX$421

-52.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$31.86 MX$589

-28.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$46.90 MX$867

-34.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

$20.10 MX$371

58.46%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$5.13 MX$94.8

56.92%

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

$598 R$3,029

$215 MX$3,975

177.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$4,122 MX$76.2K

225.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$73.8 MX$1,363

-43.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$41.32 MX$763

20.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$94.8 MX$1,752

-21.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$89.5 MX$1,653

-23.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$603 MX$11.1K

49.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$396 MX$7,309

33.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$1,034 MX$19.1K

28.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$763 MX$14.1K

-0.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$1,950 MX$36.0K

105.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$1,157 MX$21.4K

34.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

$541 MX$9,994

18.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.3

5.58%

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 Miguel Hidalgo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Miguel Hidalgo

$396 34.4% 25.3% $134

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Miguel Hidalgo

$270 23.5% 25.8% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Miguel Hidalgo

$85 7.4% 49% $82

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Miguel Hidalgo

$191 16.6% 15.5% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Miguel Hidalgo

$135 11.7% 27.4% $29

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Miguel Hidalgo

$15 * 1.3% 74.4% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Miguel Hidalgo

$57 5% 21.9% $10

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $603 in Miguel Hidalgo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 18% higher in Rio de Janeiro, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro versus $86.0 in Miguel Hidalgo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $215 vs $270 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 Miguel Hidalgo

🕒 Local time

10:30 10:30 AM

07:30 7:30 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

414,470

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Miguel Hidalgo 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Miguel Hidalgo

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 Miguel Hidalgo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Rio de Janeiro is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,933 per month in Rio de Janeiro and $1,723 in Miguel Hidalgo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Miguel Hidalgo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro and $86.0 in Miguel Hidalgo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 26% 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 Miguel Hidalgo, where all-in costs run around $1,149, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In Miguel Hidalgo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Miguel Hidalgo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Miguel Hidalgo. 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.