Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Santa Fe, NM

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $2,916 in Santa Fe, NM, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 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
142

Cost of Living Index in Santa Fe, NM
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Santa Fe, NM Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Santa Fe, NM

🇺🇸 United States

$2,916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Santa Fe, NM

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 Santa Fe, NM actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,916 in Santa Fe, NM.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Santa Fe, NM $2,916

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,885 in Santa Fe, NM.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Santa Fe, NM $3,885

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,854 in Santa Fe, NM.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Santa Fe, NM $4,854

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 56% less than in Santa Fe, NM, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Santa Fe, NM is 118% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.69

$16.87 $16.87

-40.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$69.1 $69.1

-41.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.23

$10.05 $10.05

-15.62%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.77

$4.91 $4.91

-51.93%

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

$1.63 R$8.11

$2.94 $2.94

-44.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.05

$2.33 $2.33

-56.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.15

$5.91 $5.91

-58.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.38

$6.91 $6.91

-46.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.70

$0.92 $0.92

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.31

$3.25 $3.25

-36.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.40

$4.40 $4.40

-70.68%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.29

$4.31 $4.31

-47.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.7

$11.88 $11.88

-7.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.44

$9.42 $9.42

-54.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.49

$16.87 $16.87

-42.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.07

$4.74 $4.74

-40.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.14

$1.47 $1.47

25.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.94

$3.95 $3.95

-59.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$8.97

$4.27 $4.27

-57.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.26

$3.10 $3.10

-59.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.32

$2.05 $2.05

-47.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.74

$1.95 $1.95

-61.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.28

$2.56 $2.56

-74.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.16

$10.37 $10.37

-70.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.72

$15.89 $15.89

-48.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.90

$2.04 $2.04

-41.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.88

$3.65 $3.65

-34.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.04

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.31

$3.54 $3.54

-64.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.50

$2.03 $2.03

-55.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$46.99

$32.54 $32.54

-70.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.63

$0.96 $0.96

38.54%

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

$23.4K R$116.6K

$31.0K $31.0K

-24.37%

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

$33.6K R$167.1K

$24.8K $24.8K

35.58%

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

$134 R$664

$158 $158

-15.45%

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

$12.23 R$60.9

$44.76 $44.76

-72.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$73.8 $73.8

-69.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$157

$87.9 $87.9

-64.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$40.95

$13.17 $13.17

-37.51%

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

$603 R$3,002

$1,326 $1,326

-54.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$65.9K

$15.2K $15.2K

-12.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$207

$54.5 $54.5

-23.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$43.46 $43.46

14.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$373

$78.9 $78.9

-4.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$340

$120 $120

-43.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,506

$2,307 $2,307

-60.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,625

$1,700 $1,700

-68.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,700

$3,584 $3,584

-62.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,854

$2,241 $2,241

-65.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.8K

$6,631 $6,631

-39.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,775

$4,202 $4,202

-62.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,200

$3,757 $3,757

-82.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

6.57

81.58%

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 Santa Fe, NM: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Santa Fe, NM

$1.7K 58.5% 222% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Santa Fe, NM

$381 13.1% 77.4% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Santa Fe, NM

$276 9.5% 64.2% $108

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Santa Fe, NM

$289 9.9% 76.1% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Santa Fe, NM

$134 4.6% 26.5% $28

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Santa Fe, NM

$14 * 0.5% 77.1% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Santa Fe, NM

$114 3.9% 138% $66

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 $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $2,307 in Santa Fe, NM. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Fe, NM pays 484% 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 $69.0 in Santa Fe, NM for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $381 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇺🇸 Santa Fe, NM

🕒 Local time

02:45 2:45 AM

23:45 11:45 PM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

87,505

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.201 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 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 12, 2026: 1 USD = 4.98 BRL (1 BRL = 0.201 USD). 1 EUR = 5.58 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 12, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Santa Fe, NM 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Santa Fe, NM

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 Santa Fe, NM: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Santa Fe, NM differ by about 127% in total monthly costs ($1,285 vs $2,916 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 484% lower in Santa Fe, NM. 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 $2,307 in Santa Fe, NM. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,326 in Santa Fe, NM. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $69.0 in Santa Fe, NM. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,916 in Santa Fe, NM, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Santa Fe, NM. 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 127% less than in Santa Fe, NM. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.