Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Cerro de Pasco

For one person, living is cheaper in Cerro de Pasco: $555 a month against $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Cerro de Pasco
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Cerro de Pasco Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Cerro de Pasco

🇵🇪 Peru

$555

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in Cerro de Pasco

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 Cerro de Pasco actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,235 per month in Sao Paulo vs $555 in Cerro de Pasco, rent included.

Sao Paulo $1,235
Cerro de Pasco $555

A couple spends around $2,073 per month in Sao Paulo vs $891 in Cerro de Pasco, rent included.

Sao Paulo $2,073
Cerro de Pasco $891

A family of three spends $2,911 per month in Sao Paulo vs $1,227 in Cerro de Pasco, rent included.

Sao Paulo $2,911
Cerro de Pasco $1,227

Sao Paulo costs about 123% more than Cerro de Pasco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Sao Paulo and Cerro de Pasco are more affordable than the global median – Sao Paulo 9% lower, Cerro de Pasco 59% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 R$44.68

$2.83 PEN 9.70

211.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.37 R$250

$29.34 PEN 101

68.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 R$44.63

$6.74 PEN 23.16

30.56%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R$12.63

$2.05 PEN 7.03

21.46%

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

$1.42 R$7.19

$0.76 PEN 2.61

86.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.31

$0.45 PEN 1.55

88.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 R$15.11

$2.69 PEN 9.22

10.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 R$22.02

$4.44 PEN 15.27

-2.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.28

$1.52 PEN 5.23

-18.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 R$9.66

$2.35 PEN 8.07

-18.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 R$7.25

$1.26 PEN 4.34

13.49%

Eggs

$2.81 R$14.23

$2.47 PEN 8.47

13.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 R$64.6

$9.18 PEN 31.53

38.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 R$27.44

$6.04 PEN 20.74

-10.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.64 R$54.0

$7.92 PEN 27.20

34.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 R$13.95

$2.00 PEN 6.86

37.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.19

$0.76 PEN 2.61

138.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.27

$0.43 PEN 1.46

279.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 R$10.16

$1.14 PEN 3.91

75.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.10

$0.70 PEN 2.41

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.43

$0.54 PEN 1.87

135.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R$6.47

$0.83 PEN 2.85

54.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R$4.83

$0.84 PEN 2.88

13.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 R$15.15

$5.78 PEN 19.84

-48.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 R$50.5

$7.19 PEN 24.68

38.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 R$9.37

$1.92 PEN 6.60

-3.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$12.90

$2.65 PEN 9.11

-4.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 R$5.50

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 R$9.39

$3.98 PEN 13.68

-53.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.99

$1.99 PEN 6.84

-50.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.29 R$52.2

$7.46 PEN 25.62

37.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.78

$1.67 PEN 5.74

-19.76%

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

$24.4K R$123.8K

$22.2K PEN 76.4K

9.73%

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

$33.9K R$172.1K

$26.2K PEN 89.9K

29.71%

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

$104 R$529

$72.8 PEN 250

43.42%

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

$16.71 R$84.7

$16.46 PEN 56.5

1.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.18 R$112

$27.53 PEN 94.6

-19.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.82 R$182

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$240

Cinema Ticket

$10.06 R$51.0

$7.15 PEN 24.56

40.70%

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

$579 R$2,936

$176 PEN 606

228.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K R$86.6K

$12.9K PEN 44.4K

32.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.7 R$333

$53.3 PEN 183

23.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 R$309

$35.36 PEN 121

72.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 R$509

$83.2 PEN 286

20.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 R$467

$77.6 PEN 267

18.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$659 R$3,341

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 R$2,170

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,515 R$7,678

$408 PEN 1,400

271.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 R$5,201

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$14.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 R$10.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,609

$470 PEN 1,616

93.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

8.94

30.65%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cerro de Pasco: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7%

Cerro de Pasco

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8%

Cerro de Pasco

$203 36.6% 16.9% $41

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9%

Cerro de Pasco

$95 17% 40.7% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6%

Cerro de Pasco

$112 20.2% 21.9% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

Cerro de Pasco

$117 21.1% 18.5% $27

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9%

Cerro de Pasco

$14 * 2.5% 76.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5%

Cerro de Pasco

$14 * 2.6% 74.4% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 93% higher in Sao Paulo, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Sao Paulo versus $29.00 in Cerro de Pasco. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $244 vs $203 – making Cerro de Pasco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇵🇪 Cerro de Pasco

🕒 Local time

09:54 9:54 AM

07:54 7:54 AM

2 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

58,899

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Paulo Cerro de Pasco 3,450 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Cerro de Pasco

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 Cerro de Pasco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sao Paulo is pricier by about 123%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,852 per month in Sao Paulo and $832 in Cerro de Pasco. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Sao Paulo and $29.00 in Cerro de Pasco. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 20% more in Sao Paulo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cerro de Pasco, where all-in costs run around $555, than in Sao Paulo at $1,235. In Cerro de Pasco it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sao Paulo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cerro de Pasco – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cerro de Pasco. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sao Paulo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.