Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and San Andres Tuxtla

For one person, living is cheaper in San Andres Tuxtla: $1,127 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in San Andres Tuxtla
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San Andres Tuxtla Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

San Andres Tuxtla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,127

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in San Andres Tuxtla

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 San Andres Tuxtla actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,127 in San Andres Tuxtla.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
San Andres Tuxtla $1,127

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,824 in San Andres Tuxtla.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
San Andres Tuxtla $1,824

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,520 in San Andres Tuxtla.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
San Andres Tuxtla $2,520

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 13% more expensive than in San Andres Tuxtla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 6% lower, San Andres Tuxtla 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$10.92 MX$202

-14.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$44.29 MX$818

-9.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$8.41 MX$155

-0.83%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$3.49 MX$64.5

-34.38%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$1.35 MX$24.97

17.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$1.01 MX$18.67

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$2.50 MX$46.20

-14.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$4.06 MX$75.1

-9.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$1.60 MX$29.63

-29.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$2.55 MX$47.07

-18.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$1.65 MX$30.52

-24.24%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$2.43 MX$44.96

-7.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$8.15 MX$151

33.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$8.45 MX$156

-48.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$11.40 MX$211

-15.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$2.66 MX$49.19

7.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$1.53 MX$28.28

18.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$1.94 MX$35.83

-18.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$1.82 MX$33.65

0.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$1.94 MX$35.77

-38.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$1.89 MX$34.85

-43.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$1.41 MX$26.08

-46.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$1.10 MX$20.27

-38.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$4.26 MX$78.7

-30.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$10.39 MX$192

-23.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$1.81 MX$33.36

-34.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$3.07 MX$56.7

-21.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$0.63 MX$11.69

49.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.57 MX$47.55

-53.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$2.01 MX$37.20

-58.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$10.99 MX$203

-18.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$1.43 MX$26.35

-9.79%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$21.2K MX$392.4K

7.26%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$24.4K MX$450.1K

39.42%

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

$134 R$681

$58.0 MX$1,071

131.71%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$22.77 MX$421

-52.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$29.98 MX$554

-23.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$33.68 MX$622

-10.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

$20.16 MX$373

56.20%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$5.18 MX$95.8

49.23%

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

$584 R$2,960

$220 MX$4,062

165.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$4,549 MX$84.1K

181.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$55.6 MX$1,028

-26.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$40.46 MX$748

21.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$101 MX$1,871

-27.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$89.6 MX$1,655

-26.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$598 MX$11.0K

50.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$381 MX$7,049

38.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$1,033 MX$19.1K

28.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$763 MX$14.1K

-2.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$1,951 MX$36.1K

104.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$1,163 MX$21.5K

34.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

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 18, 2026

Last update for San Andres Tuxtla: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

San Andres Tuxtla

$381 33.8% 27.6% $146

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

San Andres Tuxtla

$262 23.3% 22.8% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

San Andres Tuxtla

$111 9.8% 34% $57

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

San Andres Tuxtla

$184 16.4% 18.3% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

San Andres Tuxtla

$129 11.5% 24.8% $26

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

San Andres Tuxtla

$15 * 1.4% 74.5% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

San Andres Tuxtla

$44 3.9% 3.4% $1.6

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 $598 in San Andres Tuxtla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $44.00 in San Andres Tuxtla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $262 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 San Andres Tuxtla

🕒 Local time

23:30 11:30 PM

20:30 8:30 PM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

61,719

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro San Andres Tuxtla 7,280 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
San Andres Tuxtla

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 San Andres Tuxtla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and San Andres Tuxtla differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,273 vs $1,127 including rent). San Andres Tuxtla 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 $1,691 in San Andres Tuxtla 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 $598 in San Andres Tuxtla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $584 in Rio de Janeiro versus $220 in San Andres Tuxtla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Andres Tuxtla – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,127 in San Andres Tuxtla versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Andres Tuxtla but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Andres Tuxtla 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 San Andres Tuxtla 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 San Andres Tuxtla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.