Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Azcapotzalco

For one person, living is cheaper in Azcapotzalco: $1,140 a month against $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Azcapotzalco
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Azcapotzalco Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Azcapotzalco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,140

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in Azcapotzalco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $1,140 in Azcapotzalco.

Sao Paulo $1,235
Azcapotzalco $1,140

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,073 in Sao Paulo versus $1,829 in Azcapotzalco.

Sao Paulo $2,073
Azcapotzalco $1,829

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,911 in Sao Paulo versus $2,517 in Azcapotzalco.

Sao Paulo $2,911
Azcapotzalco $2,517

Living in Sao Paulo is roughly 8% more expensive than in Azcapotzalco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sao Paulo 9% lower, Azcapotzalco 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 R$44.68

$10.83 MX$200

-18.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.37 R$250

$43.07 MX$796

14.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 R$44.63

$8.68 MX$160

1.38%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R$12.63

$3.62 MX$66.9

-31.22%

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

$1.42 R$7.19

$1.41 MX$26.13

0.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.31

$1.07 MX$19.75

-20.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 R$15.11

$2.50 MX$46.21

19.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 R$22.02

$3.97 MX$73.4

9.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.28

$1.66 MX$30.71

-25.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 R$9.66

$2.67 MX$49.35

-28.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 R$7.25

$1.65 MX$30.43

-13.33%

Eggs

$2.81 R$14.23

$2.54 MX$46.86

10.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 R$64.6

$8.06 MX$149

58.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 R$27.44

$8.38 MX$155

-35.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.64 R$54.0

$11.72 MX$217

-9.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 R$13.95

$2.75 MX$50.8

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.19

$1.56 MX$28.82

16.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.27

$1.86 MX$34.45

-12.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 R$10.16

$1.78 MX$32.94

12.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.10

$2.01 MX$37.22

-30.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.43

$1.89 MX$34.89

-32.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R$6.47

$1.48 MX$27.38

-13.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R$4.83

$1.08 MX$19.96

-12.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 R$15.15

$4.26 MX$78.7

-29.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 R$50.5

$10.49 MX$194

-5.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 R$9.37

$1.73 MX$31.95

6.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$12.90

$3.06 MX$56.6

-16.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 R$5.50

$0.69 MX$12.76

57.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 R$9.39

$2.63 MX$48.59

-29.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.99

$1.95 MX$35.99

-49.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.29 R$52.2

$11.65 MX$215

-11.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.78

$1.45 MX$26.77

-7.59%

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

$24.4K R$123.8K

$21.5K MX$396.7K

13.73%

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

$33.9K R$172.1K

$24.1K MX$445.6K

40.78%

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

$104 R$529

$58.5 MX$1,081

78.52%

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

$16.71 R$84.7

$23.16 MX$428

-27.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.18 R$112

$29.55 MX$546

-24.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.82 R$182

$34.65 MX$640

3.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$240

$19.76 MX$365

139.27%

Cinema Ticket

$10.06 R$51.0

$5.19 MX$95.9

93.83%

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

$579 R$2,936

$217 MX$4,004

167.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K R$86.6K

$4,543 MX$83.9K

276.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.7 R$333

$54.5 MX$1,008

20.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 R$309

$41.10 MX$759

48.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 R$509

$101 MX$1,860

-0.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 R$467

$89.8 MX$1,659

2.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$659 R$3,341

$607 MX$11.2K

8.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 R$2,170

$388 MX$7,176

10.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,515 R$7,678

$1,024 MX$18.9K

47.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 R$5,201

$755 MX$14.0K

35.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$14.1K

$1,940 MX$35.8K

42.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 R$10.2K

$1,161 MX$21.5K

72.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,609

$1,728 MX$31.9K

-47.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

11.3

3.36%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Last update for Azcapotzalco: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7%

Azcapotzalco

$388 34.1% 9.3% $40

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8%

Azcapotzalco

$265 23.3% 8.6% $21

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9%

Azcapotzalco

$186 16.4% 16.9% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6%

Azcapotzalco

$129 11.3% 10.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

Azcapotzalco

$111 9.8% 22.4% $32

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9%

Azcapotzalco

$15 * 1.3% 74.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5%

Azcapotzalco

$45 4% 19.5% $11

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 $659 in Sao Paulo and $607 in Azcapotzalco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Azcapotzalco pays 90% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Sao Paulo vs $43.00 in Azcapotzalco. Groceries flip the comparison at $244 vs $265, with Sao Paulo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇲🇽 Azcapotzalco

🕒 Local time

07:21 7:21 AM

04:21 4:21 AM

3 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

432,205

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo Azcapotzalco 7,440 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Azcapotzalco

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 Paulo vs Azcapotzalco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo and Azcapotzalco differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($1,235 vs $1,140 including rent). Azcapotzalco is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 90% lower in Azcapotzalco. 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: $659 in Sao Paulo versus $607 in Azcapotzalco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Sao Paulo pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,235 per month in Sao Paulo versus $1,140 in Azcapotzalco – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,140 in Azcapotzalco versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Azcapotzalco but tight or insufficient in Sao Paulo. The gap between the two cities makes Azcapotzalco 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 Azcapotzalco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Sao Paulo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.