Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Caetano do Sul and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Caetano do Sul: $1,058 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Sao Caetano do Sul
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Sao Caetano do Sul Living Index
63

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

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Sao Caetano do Sul

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,058

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Caetano do Sul 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 Sao Caetano do Sul and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,058 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Sao Caetano do Sul $1,058
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,822 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Sao Caetano do Sul $1,822
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,586 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Sao Caetano do Sul $2,586
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Sao Caetano do Sul costs roughly 18% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sao Caetano do Sul 22% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.89 R$45.06

$10.06 R$51.0

-11.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$40.44 R$205

-1.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.77 R$44.46

$8.55 R$43.35

2.57%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.09

$2.38 R$12.04

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

$1.33 R$6.73

$1.61 R$8.18

-17.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 R$4.71

$1.03 R$5.22

-9.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 R$11.94

$2.47 R$12.54

-4.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 R$20.27

$3.70 R$18.77

8.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.01

$1.19 R$6.05

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.40

$2.05 R$10.38

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 R$7.31

$1.28 R$6.49

12.50%

Eggs

$2.48 R$12.55

$2.29 R$11.60

8.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.70 R$54.2

$10.76 R$54.5

-0.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.43 R$27.54

$4.41 R$22.36

23.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 R$55.3

$9.84 R$49.86

10.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 R$12.10

$2.81 R$14.25

-14.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 R$8.74

$1.78 R$9.03

-3.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 R$7.84

$1.60 R$8.13

-3.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 R$10.54

$1.80 R$9.11

15.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.09

$1.22 R$6.17

14.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.41

$1.04 R$5.26

21.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 R$4.67

$0.77 R$3.92

19.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.12

$0.67 R$3.38

20.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.49 R$12.62

$3.01 R$15.27

-17.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.97 R$45.45

$8.08 R$40.94

11.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 R$8.88

$1.19 R$6.03

47.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 R$13.06

$2.51 R$12.73

2.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 R$3.47

$0.99 R$5.00

-31.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 R$6.71

$1.22 R$6.20

8.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 R$5.18

$0.92 R$4.66

10.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 R$44.93

$8.97 R$45.45

-1.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.79

$1.30 R$6.57

3.08%

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

$24.5K R$124.4K

$23.9K R$121.0K

2.77%

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

$32.6K R$165.1K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-0.87%

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

$103 R$522

$133 R$676

-22.82%

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

$14.91 R$75.6

$10.82 R$54.8

37.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.99 R$117

$22.90 R$116

0.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 R$255

$30.79 R$156

63.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.01 R$233

$31.85 R$161

44.46%

Cinema Ticket

$10.14 R$51.4

$8.05 R$40.83

25.96%

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

$437 R$2,215

$598 R$3,029

-26.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.2K R$56.6K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-16.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.3 R$331

$42.04 R$213

55.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.3 R$290

$49.68 R$252

15.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.3 R$498

$74.5 R$378

31.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 R$472

$68.7 R$348

35.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$419 R$2,126

$903 R$4,578

-53.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 R$1,575

$529 R$2,684

-41.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 R$4,394

$1,326 R$6,724

-34.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$868 R$4,398

$756 R$3,831

14.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,890 R$9,581

$4,010 R$20.3K

-52.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,435 R$7,276

$1,560 R$7,910

-8.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$951 R$4,822

$640 R$3,242

48.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.81

11.93

-9.39%

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 Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Caetano do Sul

$311 29.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 70.4% $219

Groceries & Markets

Sao Caetano do Sul

$231 21.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 7.1% $16

Eating Out

Sao Caetano do Sul

$155 14.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 6.6% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Caetano do Sul

$141 13.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 25.2% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Caetano do Sul

$141 13.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 18.7% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Caetano do Sul

$71 6.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 33.6% $24

Getting Around

Sao Caetano do Sul

$9.2 * 0.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 553% $51

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 $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Caetano do Sul pays 49% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Sao Caetano do Sul vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $231 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Caetano do Sul

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

12:05 12:05 PM

Same time as Sao Caetano do Sul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

165,655

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Caetano do Sul Rio de Janeiro 350 km

From you

Sao Caetano do Sul
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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 Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Caetano do Sul and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,058 vs $1,289 including rent). Sao Caetano do Sul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Sao Caetano do Sul, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $419 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $437 in Sao Caetano do Sul 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 Sao Caetano do Sul – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,058 in Sao Caetano do Sul versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sao Caetano do Sul but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. 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 22% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.