Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Tehuacan

For one person, living costs are similar in Sao Paulo and in Tehuacan: $1,222 and $1,188 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Tehuacan
Learn more

Tehuacan Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,222

/mo nomad

Tehuacan

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,188

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Tehuacan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Sao Paulo versus $1,188 in Tehuacan.

Sao Paulo $1,222
Tehuacan $1,188

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,044 in Sao Paulo versus $1,914 in Tehuacan.

Sao Paulo $2,044
Tehuacan $1,914

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Sao Paulo versus $2,641 in Tehuacan.

Sao Paulo $2,867
Tehuacan $2,641

Living in Sao Paulo is roughly 3% more expensive than in Tehuacan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sao Paulo 10% lower, Tehuacan 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.71 R$44.15

$11.08 MX$205

-21.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.61 R$246

$43.80 MX$809

10.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 R$45.77

$8.86 MX$164

1.92%

Cappuccino

$2.55 R$12.94

$3.24 MX$59.8

-21.30%

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

$1.35 R$6.83

$1.32 MX$24.41

2.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R$4.63

$0.82 MX$15.14

10.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 R$15.55

$2.14 MX$39.53

43.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 R$22.21

$3.48 MX$64.3

25.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.79 MX$33.16

-33.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 R$9.14

$3.16 MX$58.5

-43.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 R$7.51

$2.21 MX$40.85

-33.03%

Eggs

$2.82 R$14.31

$3.09 MX$57.0

-8.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.61 R$63.9

$7.93 MX$147

59.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 R$27.36

$8.22 MX$152

-34.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.6

$9.04 MX$167

19.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 R$14.28

$4.33 MX$80.1

-34.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 R$9.25

$2.00 MX$37.03

-9.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.14

$2.33 MX$42.96

-31.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 R$10.28

$2.29 MX$42.23

-11.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 R$7.40

$2.96 MX$54.7

-50.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.35

$2.46 MX$45.49

-49.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 R$6.32

$1.67 MX$30.84

-25.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R$4.98

$1.01 MX$18.62

-2.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 R$15.18

$5.07 MX$93.8

-40.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.71 R$49.22

$12.70 MX$235

-23.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 R$9.32

$2.02 MX$37.27

-8.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 R$12.80

$3.79 MX$70.0

-33.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 R$5.41

$0.69 MX$12.76

55.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.26 R$240

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 R$9.16

$3.20 MX$59.1

-43.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 R$5.14

$1.94 MX$35.92

-47.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.24 R$51.9

$10.23 MX$189

0.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.52

$1.31 MX$24.20

-1.53%

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

$23.5K R$119.3K

$27.2K MX$502.3K

-13.42%

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

$34.5K R$174.9K

$23.5K MX$434.1K

46.91%

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

$104 R$527

$58.2 MX$1,076

78.64%

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

$16.60 R$84.1

$25.71 MX$475

-35.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.04 R$112

$32.63 MX$603

-32.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.43 R$185

$34.54 MX$638

5.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.29 R$240

$19.90 MX$368

137.64%

Cinema Ticket

$9.69 R$49.12

$7.01 MX$130

38.23%

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

$573 R$2,906

$230 MX$4,255

149.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K R$85.8K

$5,188 MX$95.9K

226.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.3 R$336

$65.6 MX$1,212

1.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 R$310

$53.8 MX$994

13.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 R$501

$105 MX$1,942

-6.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 R$463

$107 MX$1,971

-14.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$654 R$3,316

$609 MX$11.3K

7.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 R$2,120

$385 MX$7,112

8.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 R$7,724

$1,028 MX$19.0K

48.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$992 R$5,028

$763 MX$14.1K

29.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,670 R$13.5K

$1,939 MX$35.8K

37.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,019 R$10.2K

$1,168 MX$21.6K

72.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$900 R$4,563

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

11.07

5.51%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 18, 2026

Last update for Tehuacan: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$418 34.2%

Tehuacan

$385 32.4% 8% $33

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$243 19.9%

Tehuacan

$293 24.7% 20.4% $50

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$161 13.1%

Tehuacan

$180 15.2% 12.3% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7%

Tehuacan

$149 12.6% 4.3% $6.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7%

Tehuacan

$117 9.8% 18.3% $26

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$58 4.8%

Tehuacan

$16 * 1.3% 73.2% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6%

Tehuacan

$49 4.1% 13% $7.2

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 $654 in Sao Paulo and $609 in Tehuacan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Sao Paulo vs $44.00 in Tehuacan. Groceries flip the comparison at $243 vs $293, with Sao Paulo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇲🇽 Tehuacan

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

15:15 3:15 PM

3 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

293,825

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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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Between locations

Sao Paulo Tehuacan 7,220 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Tehuacan

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 Tehuacan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tehuacan is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,833 in Sao Paulo and $1,782 in Tehuacan 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $654 in Sao Paulo versus $609 in Tehuacan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $573 in Sao Paulo versus $230 in Tehuacan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tehuacan – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $49.00 in Sao Paulo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,188 in Tehuacan versus $1,222 in Sao Paulo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tehuacan but tight or insufficient in Sao Paulo. The gap between the two cities makes Tehuacan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Tehuacan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sao Paulo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Tehuacan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Sao Paulo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.