Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Salt Lake City, UT

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $2,740 in Salt Lake City, UT, rent and utilities included – about $17,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
131

Cost of Living Index in Salt Lake City, UT
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Salt Lake City, UT Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Salt Lake City, UT

🇺🇸 United States

$2,740

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Salt Lake City, UT

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 Salt Lake City, UT actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,740 in Salt Lake City, UT.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Salt Lake City, UT $2,740

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,899 in Salt Lake City, UT.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Salt Lake City, UT $3,899

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $5,058 in Salt Lake City, UT.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Salt Lake City, UT $5,058

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 53% less than in Salt Lake City, UT, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Salt Lake City, UT is 104% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$50.1

$17.91 $17.91

-44.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$202

$73.3 $73.3

-44.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.57

$10.16 $10.16

-16.54%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.86

$5.12 $5.12

-53.91%

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

$1.63 R$8.18

$2.28 $2.28

-28.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.09

$1.72 $1.72

-41.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.25

$6.06 $6.06

-59.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.53

$7.97 $7.97

-53.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.75

$0.89 $0.89

29.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.40

$3.92 $3.92

-47.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.45

$4.20 $4.20

-69.29%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.38

$4.14 $4.14

-45.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$55.2

$12.04 $12.04

-8.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.62

$12.45 $12.45

-65.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.88

$17.55 $17.55

-44.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.19

$3.98 $3.98

-28.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.21

$1.43 $1.43

28.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.01

$3.58 $3.58

-55.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.04

$4.07 $4.07

-55.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.31

$2.22 $2.22

-43.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.37

$2.49 $2.49

-57.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.77

$1.93 $1.93

-61.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.31

$1.86 $1.86

-64.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.29

$10.06 $10.06

-69.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$41.05

$14.72 $14.72

-44.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.95

$2.69 $2.69

-55.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.98

$3.40 $3.40

-29.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.08

$2.43 $2.43

-58.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$252

$83.7 $83.7

-40.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.37

$2.44 $2.44

-47.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.53

$2.28 $2.28

-60.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.37

$25.47 $25.47

-62.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.69

$1.17 $1.17

13.68%

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

$23.4K R$117.6K

$37.3K $37.3K

-37.16%

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

$33.6K R$168.5K

$25.5K $25.5K

31.84%

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

$134 R$670

$191 $191

-30.16%

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

$12.23 R$61.4

$48.41 $48.41

-74.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$114

$78.2 $78.2

-71.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$34.17 $34.17

-7.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$155

$27.04 $27.04

14.16%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.29

$15.09 $15.09

-45.46%

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

$603 R$3,027

$1,316 $1,316

-54.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.4K

$20.6K $20.6K

-35.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$209

$70.7 $70.7

-41.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$251

$45.22 $45.22

10.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$377

$110 $110

-31.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$343

$107 $107

-36.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,543

$1,632 $1,632

-44.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,647

$1,371 $1,371

-61.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,755

$2,889 $2,889

-53.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,885

$2,141 $2,141

-63.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$20.0K

$4,154 $4,154

-4.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,838

$2,972 $2,972

-47.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,227

$4,304 $4,304

-85.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

6.46

84.67%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Last update for Salt Lake City, UT: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Salt Lake City, UT

$1.4K 50.9% 160% $843

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Salt Lake City, UT

$387 14.4% 80.3% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Salt Lake City, UT

$318 11.8% 88.7% $149

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Salt Lake City, UT

$297 11% 81.5% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Salt Lake City, UT

$150 5.6% 41.9% $44

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Salt Lake City, UT

$107 4% 78.8% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Salt Lake City, UT

$64 2.4% 34% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,632 in Salt Lake City, UT. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Salt Lake City, UT pays 569% 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 $73.0 in Salt Lake City, UT for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $387 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, UT

🕒 Local time

03:01 3:01 AM

00:01 12:01 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

200,133

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Salt Lake City, UT 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Salt Lake City, UT

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 Salt Lake City, UT: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Salt Lake City, UT differ by about 113% in total monthly costs ($1,285 vs $2,740 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 569% lower in Salt Lake City, UT. 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: $905 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,632 in Salt Lake City, UT. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $73.0 in Salt Lake City, UT. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,285 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,740 in Salt Lake City, UT – a 113% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,740 in Salt Lake City, UT, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Salt Lake City, UT. 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.

Safety-wise, Rio de Janeiro and Salt Lake City, UT are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 113% less than in Salt Lake City, UT. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.