Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Fernando and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,130 a month against $1,273 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.

55

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index
62

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

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San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,130

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Fernando 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 San Fernando and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,130 in San Fernando versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Fernando $1,130
Rio de Janeiro $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,832 in San Fernando versus $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Fernando $1,832
Rio de Janeiro $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,534 in San Fernando versus $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Fernando $2,534
Rio de Janeiro $2,409

Living in San Fernando costs roughly 11% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$9.38 R$47.54

14.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.30 MX$800

$40.00 R$203

8.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 MX$156

$8.34 R$42.28

0.96%

Cappuccino

$3.63 MX$67.0

$2.29 R$11.62

58.52%

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

$1.42 MX$26.21

$1.59 R$8.05

-10.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 MX$19.52

$1.01 R$5.10

4.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 MX$44.65

$2.14 R$10.85

13.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 MX$76.7

$3.66 R$18.55

13.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 MX$29.59

$1.13 R$5.72

41.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 MX$49.57

$2.09 R$10.60

28.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.53

$1.25 R$6.36

36.80%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.78

$2.25 R$11.39

12.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$151

$10.92 R$55.3

-25.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.27 MX$153

$4.36 R$22.10

89.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.60 MX$214

$9.60 R$48.66

20.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.25

$2.85 R$14.46

-6.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 MX$29.50

$1.81 R$9.16

-11.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.32

$1.58 R$8.02

24.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 MX$33.96

$1.83 R$9.28

0.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.36

$1.20 R$6.10

64.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.57

$1.06 R$5.35

71.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.41

$0.75 R$3.81

90.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MX$21.00

$0.68 R$3.45

67.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$79.9

$2.94 R$14.90

46.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 MX$194

$7.98 R$40.43

31.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 MX$33.11

$1.18 R$5.98

51.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.2

$2.42 R$12.26

32.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.85

$0.94 R$4.78

-31.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 MX$47.39

$1.20 R$6.10

113.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.15

$0.83 R$4.20

142.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$200

$8.97 R$45.48

20.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.45

$1.29 R$6.53

15.50%

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

$21.0K MX$387.5K

$22.8K R$115.5K

-7.92%

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

$23.7K MX$438.6K

$34.0K R$172.1K

-30.10%

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

$57.0 MX$1,054

$134 R$681

-57.55%

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

$22.91 MX$423

$10.73 R$54.4

113.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.54 MX$546

$22.84 R$116

29.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.60 MX$621

$30.16 R$153

11.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.12 MX$372

$31.49 R$160

-36.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$7.73 R$39.17

-32.34%

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

$220 MX$4,060

$584 R$2,960

-62.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,534 MX$83.8K

$12.8K R$64.9K

-64.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 MX$1,003

$41.12 R$208

31.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.69 MX$752

$49.26 R$250

-17.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 MX$1,825

$73.7 R$373

34.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.3 MX$1,669

$65.9 R$334

36.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 MX$11.3K

$900 R$4,561

-31.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$383 MX$7,076

$527 R$2,673

-27.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 MX$19.0K

$1,332 R$6,754

-22.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 MX$14.4K

$748 R$3,790

4.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,910 MX$35.3K

$3,990 R$20.2K

-52.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,160 MX$21.4K

$1,560 R$7,908

-25.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.93

-5.28%

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

Last update for San Fernando: October 17, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Fernando

$383 33.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4% 37.7% $144

Groceries & Markets

San Fernando

$266 23.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8% 19.6% $52

Eating Out

San Fernando

$185 16.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3% 15.7% $29

Clothing & Footwear

San Fernando

$128 11.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1% 19% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Fernando

$109 9.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2% 53.3% $58

Sport & Entertainment

San Fernando

$44 3.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6% 3.5% $1.6

Getting Around

San Fernando

$15 * 1.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7% 292% $44

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 $612 in San Fernando and $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43.00 in San Fernando vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $214 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

07:21 7:21 AM

3 h ahead of San Fernando

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,867

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

San Fernando Rio de Janeiro 7,010 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

San Fernando
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

San Fernando vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Fernando and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,130 vs $1,273 including rent). San Fernando is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,695 in San Fernando and $1,910 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: $612 in San Fernando versus $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $220 in San Fernando versus $584 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 San Fernando – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,130 in San Fernando versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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 San Fernando 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.