Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rutherford, NJ and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $2,576 in Rutherford, NJ, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

126

Cost of Living Index in Rutherford, NJ
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Rutherford, NJ Living Index
63

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

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Rutherford, NJ

🇺🇸 United States

$2,576

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rutherford, NJ and in Rio de Janeiro

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rutherford, NJ and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,576 in Rutherford, NJ versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Rutherford, NJ $2,576
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,860 in Rutherford, NJ versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Rutherford, NJ $3,860
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,143 in Rutherford, NJ versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Rutherford, NJ $5,143
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Rutherford, NJ is roughly 101% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rutherford, NJ is 92% above, Rio de Janeiro is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.84 $18.84

$9.98 R$49.69

88.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.8 $78.8

$40.34 R$201

95.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.20 $12.20

$8.48 R$42.23

43.87%

Cappuccino

$5.43 $5.43

$2.36 R$11.77

130.08%

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

$2.53 $2.53

$1.63 R$8.11

55.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 $1.49

$1.01 R$5.05

47.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.19 $8.19

$2.44 R$12.15

235.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.10 $7.10

$3.69 R$18.38

92.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.15 R$5.70

13.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.63 $3.63

$2.07 R$10.31

75.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.03 $6.03

$1.29 R$6.40

367.44%

Eggs

$6.25 $6.25

$2.27 R$11.29

175.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 $13.92

$11.00 R$54.7

26.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.38 $10.38

$4.31 R$21.44

140.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.65 $19.65

$9.74 R$48.49

101.75%

Apples (1kg)

$6.19 $6.19

$2.83 R$14.07

118.73%

Banana (1kg)

$3.61 $3.61

$1.84 R$9.14

96.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.18 $4.18

$1.60 R$7.94

161.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.24 $5.24

$1.80 R$8.97

191.11%

Potato (1kg)

$3.07 $3.07

$1.26 R$6.26

143.65%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 $3.05

$1.07 R$5.32

185.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.54 $2.54

$0.75 R$3.74

238.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 $2.54

$0.66 R$3.28

284.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.09 $15.09

$3.05 R$15.16

394.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.18 $15.18

$8.18 R$40.72

85.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 $1.79

$1.19 R$5.90

50.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 $3.30

$2.39 R$11.88

38.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.86 $1.86

$1.01 R$5.04

84.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 $2.91

$1.27 R$6.31

129.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.20 $2.20

$0.90 R$4.50

144.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.18 $42.18

$9.44 R$46.99

346.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.33 R$6.63

-14.29%

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

$35.2K $35.2K

$23.4K R$116.6K

50.39%

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

$24.7K $24.7K

$33.6K R$167.1K

-26.46%

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

$172 $172

$134 R$664

28.78%

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

$51.4 $51.4

$12.23 R$60.9

320.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.5 $50.5

$22.65 R$113

123.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.09 $37.09

$31.56 R$157

17.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

Cinema Ticket

$19.79 $19.79

$8.23 R$40.95

140.46%

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

$2,001 $2,001

$603 R$3,002

231.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.7K $15.7K

$13.2K R$65.9K

18.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.2 $50.2

$41.62 R$207

20.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$76.0 $76.0

$49.94 R$249

52.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.8 $87.8

$75.0 R$373

17.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 $104

$68.3 R$340

52.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 $1,609

$905 R$4,506

77.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,274 $1,274

$527 R$2,625

141.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,860 $2,860

$1,346 R$6,700

112.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,935 $1,935

$774 R$3,854

149.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,110 $3,110

$3,981 R$19.8K

-21.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,214 $2,214

$1,562 R$7,775

41.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,200

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.7

11.93

-43.84%

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

Last update for Rutherford, NJ: October 4, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rutherford, NJ

$1.3K 49.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 58.6% $746

Groceries & Markets

Rutherford, NJ

$448 17.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 52.1% $234

Eating Out

Rutherford, NJ

$324 12.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 49.4% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rutherford, NJ

$274 10.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 38.5% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Rutherford, NJ

$143 5.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 26.1% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Rutherford, NJ

$77 3%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 37.4% $29

Getting Around

Rutherford, NJ

$21 * 0.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 181% $39

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 $1,609 in Rutherford, NJ and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $79.0 in Rutherford, NJ vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $448 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Rutherford, NJ

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

00:47 12:47 AM

01:47 1:47 AM

1 h ahead of Rutherford, NJ

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,871

6,211,223

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 BRL = 0.201 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

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

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).

BRL to USD in detail →

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Rutherford, NJ Rio de Janeiro 7,770 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rutherford, NJ
Rio de Janeiro

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

Rutherford, NJ vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rutherford, NJ and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 101% in total monthly costs ($2,576 vs $1,285 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 $3,864 in Rutherford, NJ and $1,927 in Rio de Janeiro 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: $1,609 in Rutherford, NJ versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,001 in Rutherford, NJ versus $603 in Rio de Janeiro. 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 $79.0 in Rutherford, NJ. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,576 in Rutherford, NJ, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Rutherford, NJ. 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 101% less than in Rutherford, NJ. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.