Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas: $745 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

32

Cost of Living Index in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
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Santa Lucía Milpas Altas Living Index
63

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

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Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$745

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas 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 Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $745 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $745
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,244 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $1,244
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,742 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $1,742
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas costs roughly 42% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Lucía Milpas Altas 45% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.87 Q 52.6

$10.06 R$51.0

-31.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.85 Q 381

$40.44 R$205

23.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.01 Q 61.3

$8.55 R$43.35

-6.32%

Cappuccino

$3.42 Q 26.11

$2.38 R$12.04

43.70%

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

$1.11 Q 8.45

$1.61 R$8.18

-31.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 Q 7.38

$1.03 R$5.22

-6.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 Q 24.68

$2.47 R$12.54

30.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.63 Q 35.41

$3.70 R$18.77

25.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 Q 15.40

$1.19 R$6.05

68.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.09 Q 23.61

$2.05 R$10.38

50.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 Q 15.39

$1.28 R$6.49

57.03%

Eggs

$2.58 Q 19.72

$2.29 R$11.60

12.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.49 Q 49.62

$10.76 R$54.5

-39.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.20 Q 70.3

$4.41 R$22.36

108.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.01 Q 99.5

$9.84 R$49.86

32.22%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 Q 30.40

$2.81 R$14.25

41.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 Q 13.13

$1.78 R$9.03

-3.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 Q 21.23

$1.60 R$8.13

73.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 Q 12.63

$1.80 R$9.11

-8.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 Q 11.23

$1.22 R$6.17

20.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 Q 16.69

$1.04 R$5.26

109.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 Q 5.59

$0.77 R$3.92

-5.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 Q 8.84

$0.67 R$3.38

73.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 Q 31.31

$3.01 R$15.27

36.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.29 Q 63.4

$8.08 R$40.94

2.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 Q 13.84

$1.19 R$6.03

52.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 Q 20.48

$2.51 R$12.73

6.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 Q 39.68

$1.22 R$6.20

325.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.41 Q 79.6

$8.97 R$45.45

16.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 Q 10.27

$1.30 R$6.57

3.08%

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

$26.9K Q 206.0K

$23.9K R$121.0K

12.85%

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

$25.2K Q 192.4K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-23.41%

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

$72.3 Q 553

$133 R$676

-45.79%

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

$28.68 Q 219

$10.82 R$54.8

165.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.93 Q 351

$22.90 R$116

100.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$6.30 Q 48.15

$8.05 R$40.83

-21.74%

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

$344 Q 2,631

$598 R$3,029

-42.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,648 Q 50.8K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-50.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.3 Q 385

$42.04 R$213

19.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.72 Q 357

$49.68 R$252

-5.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 Q 900

$74.5 R$378

57.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 Q 857

$68.7 R$348

63.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

11.93

-2.60%

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

Last update for Santa Lucía Milpas Altas: October 13, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$280 37.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 23.3% $65

Eating Out

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$154 20.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 7.3% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$147 19.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 28.1% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$147 19.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 13.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$13 * 1.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 272% $34

Getting Around

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

$5.2 * 0.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 1054% $55

Accommodation & Living

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

- * 0%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $50.0 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $280 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

04:44 4:44 AM

07:44 7:44 AM

3 h ahead of Santa Lucía Milpas Altas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,234

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas Rio de Janeiro 6,640 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
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

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($745 vs $1,289 including rent). Santa Lucía Milpas Altas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,118 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and $1,933 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.

Childcare runs $344 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas versus $598 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 Santa Lucía Milpas Altas – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $745 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Lucía Milpas Altas 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, Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and Rio de Janeiro 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 Santa Lucía Milpas Altas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.