Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Caetano do Sul and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Caetano do Sul: $1,058 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Sao Caetano do Sul
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Sao Caetano do Sul Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Sao Caetano do Sul

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,058

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Caetano do Sul and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sao Caetano do Sul and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,058 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Sao Caetano do Sul $1,058
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,822 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Sao Caetano do Sul $1,822
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,586 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Sao Caetano do Sul $2,586
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Sao Caetano do Sul costs roughly 32% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Caetano do Sul is 22% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.89 R$45.06

$10.75 MX$199

-17.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$50.3 MX$929

-20.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.77 R$44.46

$11.10 MX$205

-20.99%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.09

$3.68 MX$68.1

-35.33%

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

$1.33 R$6.73

$1.65 MX$30.42

-19.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 R$4.71

$1.30 MX$24.08

-28.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 R$11.94

$3.32 MX$61.3

-28.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 R$20.27

$5.54 MX$102

-27.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.01

$1.77 MX$32.68

-32.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.40

$3.05 MX$56.4

-32.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 R$7.31

$2.01 MX$37.20

-28.36%

Eggs

$2.48 R$12.55

$2.77 MX$51.1

-10.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.70 R$54.2

$11.91 MX$220

-10.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.43 R$27.54

$9.33 MX$172

-41.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 R$55.3

$15.02 MX$278

-27.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 R$12.10

$3.08 MX$56.8

-22.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 R$8.74

$1.95 MX$35.97

-11.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 R$7.84

$2.03 MX$37.54

-23.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 R$10.54

$2.21 MX$40.92

-5.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.09

$2.02 MX$37.41

-30.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.41

$1.82 MX$33.67

-30.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 R$4.67

$1.52 MX$28.07

-39.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.12

$1.28 MX$23.65

-36.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.49 R$12.62

$5.27 MX$97.4

-52.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.97 R$45.45

$16.12 MX$298

-44.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 R$8.88

$1.95 MX$36.05

-10.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 R$13.06

$4.25 MX$78.6

-39.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 R$3.47

$0.31 MX$5.82

119.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 R$6.71

$2.00 MX$36.93

-34.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 R$5.18

$0.53 MX$9.86

92.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 R$44.93

$5.62 MX$104

57.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.79

$1.52 MX$28.07

-11.84%

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

$24.5K R$124.4K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

16.66%

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

$32.6K R$165.1K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

29.38%

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

$103 R$522

$62.5 MX$1,155

64.76%

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

$14.91 R$75.6

$28.77 MX$532

-48.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.99 R$117

$34.45 MX$637

-33.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 R$255

$57.1 MX$1,055

-11.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.01 R$233

$24.81 MX$458

85.45%

Cinema Ticket

$10.14 R$51.4

$6.67 MX$123

52.02%

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

$437 R$2,215

$431 MX$7,964

1.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.2K R$56.6K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-4.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.3 R$331

$70.8 MX$1,308

-7.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.3 R$290

$51.8 MX$958

10.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.3 R$498

$109 MX$2,011

-9.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 R$472

$112 MX$2,076

-17.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$419 R$2,126

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-60.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 R$1,575

$665 MX$12.3K

-53.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 R$4,394

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-63.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$868 R$4,398

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-29.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,890 R$9,581

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-46.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,435 R$7,276

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-27.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$951 R$4,822

$975 MX$18.0K

-2.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.81

11.3

-4.34%

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

Last update for Sao Caetano do Sul: October 10, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Caetano do Sul

$311 29.4%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 114% $354

Groceries & Markets

Sao Caetano do Sul

$231 21.8%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 39.7% $92

Eating Out

Sao Caetano do Sul

$155 14.6%

Mexico City

$203 13% 31.1% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Caetano do Sul

$141 13.4%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 9.5% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Caetano do Sul

$141 13.3%

Mexico City

$126 8% 10.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Caetano do Sul

$71 6.7%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Sao Caetano do Sul

$9.2 * 0.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 181% $17

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 $419 in Sao Caetano do Sul and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 2% 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 Sao Caetano do Sul vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $231 vs $323 per month, with Sao Caetano do Sul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Caetano do Sul

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

12:05 12:05 PM

09:05 9:05 AM

3 h behind Sao Caetano do Sul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

165,655

9,209,944 Capital

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Caetano do Sul Mexico City 7,440 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Caetano do Sul
Mexico City

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

Sao Caetano do Sul vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Caetano do Sul and Mexico City differ by about 48% in total monthly costs ($1,058 vs $1,567 including rent). Sao Caetano do Sul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Mexico City. 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: $419 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $437 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sao Caetano do Sul – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,058 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sao Caetano do Sul but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Caetano do Sul 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 Sao Caetano do Sul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.