Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Thomas and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $2,432 in St. Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in St. Thomas
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St. Thomas Living Index
63

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

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St. Thomas

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,432

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St. Thomas 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 St. Thomas and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,432 in St. Thomas versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

St. Thomas $2,432
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in St. Thomas versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

St. Thomas $3,274
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,117 in St. Thomas versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

St. Thomas $4,117
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in St. Thomas is roughly 89% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: St. Thomas is 80% above, Rio de Janeiro is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.05 CA$29.92

$10.06 R$50.8

109.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 CA$89.0

$40.44 R$204

54.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.38 CA$16.18

$8.55 R$43.16

33.10%

Cappuccino

$3.32 CA$4.71

$2.38 R$11.99

39.50%

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

$2.19 CA$3.12

$1.61 R$8.14

36.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 CA$2.25

$1.03 R$5.20

54.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 CA$7.14

$2.47 R$12.49

103.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.89 CA$8.37

$3.70 R$18.69

59.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 CA$2.96

$1.19 R$6.03

74.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 CA$3.70

$2.05 R$10.34

27.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.73 CA$5.30

$1.28 R$6.46

191.41%

Eggs

$3.09 CA$4.39

$2.29 R$11.55

34.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.94 CA$14.13

$10.76 R$54.3

-7.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.43 CA$21.92

$4.41 R$22.26

249.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.20 CA$27.29

$9.84 R$49.65

95.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 CA$5.49

$2.81 R$14.19

37.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 CA$1.76

$1.78 R$8.99

-30.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 CA$4.97

$1.60 R$8.10

118.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 CA$5.64

$1.80 R$9.07

120.56%

Potato (1kg)

$3.36 CA$4.78

$1.22 R$6.14

175.41%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.36

$1.04 R$5.24

195.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.85 CA$4.06

$0.77 R$3.90

270.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 CA$2.07

$0.67 R$3.36

117.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.98 CA$15.61

$3.01 R$15.21

264.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 CA$18.10

$8.08 R$40.77

57.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 CA$3.41

$1.19 R$6.00

101.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 CA$3.95

$2.51 R$12.67

10.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 CA$3.20

$0.99 R$4.98

127.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.7 CA$83.4

$50.1 R$253

17.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.30 CA$3.27

$1.22 R$6.17

88.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 CA$2.30

$0.92 R$4.64

76.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.70 CA$30.85

$8.97 R$45.25

141.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 CA$1.60

$1.30 R$6.55

-13.08%

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

$28.0K CA$39.8K

$23.9K R$120.5K

17.41%

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

$19.7K CA$28.0K

$32.9K R$165.9K

-40.02%

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

$123 CA$175

$133 R$673

-7.51%

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

$42.76 CA$60.8

$10.82 R$54.6

295.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 CA$78.8

$22.90 R$116

142.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.43 CA$63.1

$30.79 R$155

44.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.32 CA$28.87

$31.85 R$161

-36.20%

Cinema Ticket

$10.33 CA$14.69

$8.05 R$40.65

28.32%

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

$399 CA$567

$598 R$3,016

-33.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K CA$23.7K

$13.4K R$67.7K

24.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 CA$76.1

$42.04 R$212

27.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.84 CA$50.9

$49.68 R$251

-27.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.2 CA$117

$74.5 R$376

10.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 CA$129

$68.7 R$347

31.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 CA$1,631

$903 R$4,558

27.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 CA$1,801

$529 R$2,672

139.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 CA$2,550

$1,326 R$6,695

35.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,470 CA$2,089

$756 R$3,814

94.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,187 CA$5,951

$4,010 R$20.2K

4.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,561 CA$5,061

$1,560 R$7,875

128.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,970 CA$4,221

$640 R$3,228

364.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

11.93

-58.17%

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

Last update for St. Thomas: October 11, 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

St. Thomas

$1.3K 52.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 58.2% $738

Groceries & Markets

St. Thomas

$387 15.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 44.6% $173

Eating Out

St. Thomas

$294 12.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 44% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Thomas

$222 9.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 24.6% $54

Clothing & Footwear

St. Thomas

$118 4.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 10.4% $12

Getting Around

St. Thomas

$78 3.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 23.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

St. Thomas

$65 2.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 28% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,148 in St. Thomas and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Thomas pays 364% 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: $63.0 in St. Thomas vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $387 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St. Thomas

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

23:18 11:18 PM

00:18 12:18 AM

1 h ahead of St. Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,909

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.704 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

1 BRL = 0.198 USD

1 BRL = 0.177 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.05 BRL (1 BRL = 0.198 USD). 1 EUR = 5.65 BRL (1 BRL = 0.177 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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St. Thomas Rio de Janeiro 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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St. Thomas
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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

St. Thomas vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Thomas and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 89% in total monthly costs ($2,432 vs $1,289 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 364% higher in St. Thomas, 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: $1,148 in St. Thomas versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $63.0 in St. Thomas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,432 per month in St. Thomas versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro – a 89% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,432 in St. Thomas, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in St. Thomas. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro 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 Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 89% less than in St. Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.