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 $4,408 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $37,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

213

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

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/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: $4,408 in St Thomas versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

St Thomas $4,408
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,220 in St Thomas versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

St Thomas $7,220
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $10.0K in St Thomas versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

St Thomas $10.0K
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in St Thomas is roughly 242% 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 227% above, Rio de Janeiro is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 $22.30

$10.06 R$51.0

121.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$170 $170

$40.44 R$205

320.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.55 $13.55

$8.55 R$43.35

58.48%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$2.38 R$12.04

147.90%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$1.61 R$8.18

145.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.03 R$5.22

229.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 $5.12

$2.47 R$12.54

107.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$3.70 R$18.77

84.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.19 R$6.05

142.02%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$2.05 R$10.38

225.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.54 $18.54

$1.28 R$6.49

1348.44%

Eggs

$8.87 $8.87

$2.29 R$11.60

287.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 $11.12

$10.76 R$54.5

3.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.44 $28.44

$4.41 R$22.36

544.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.72 $39.72

$9.84 R$49.86

303.66%

Apples (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$2.81 R$14.25

323.84%

Banana (1kg)

$10.89 $10.89

$1.78 R$9.03

511.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$1.60 R$8.13

668.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.99 $19.99

$1.80 R$9.11

1010.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.22 R$6.17

59.84%

Onion (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$1.04 R$5.26

742.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.18 $8.18

$0.77 R$3.92

962.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$0.67 R$3.38

704.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

Wine (Bottle)

$24.57 $24.57

$8.08 R$40.94

204.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 $6.18

$2.51 R$12.73

146.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$0.99 R$5.00

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 $60.7

$50.1 R$254

21.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 $19.61

$1.22 R$6.20

1507.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 $3.08

$0.92 R$4.66

234.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.30 R$6.57

6.92%

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

$55.2K $55.2K

$23.9K R$121.0K

131.12%

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

$49.0K $49.0K

$32.9K R$166.6K

49.06%

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

$451 $451

$133 R$676

237.89%

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

$100 $100

$10.82 R$54.8

827.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$151 $151

$22.90 R$116

560.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$164 $164

$30.79 R$156

432.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 $10.04

$8.05 R$40.83

24.72%

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

$1,487 $1,487

$598 R$3,029

148.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K $21.9K

$13.4K R$68.0K

62.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$42.04 R$213

168.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$148 $148

$49.68 R$252

197.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$202 $202

$74.5 R$378

171.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$68.7 R$348

120.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 $1,586

$903 R$4,578

75.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 $1,827

$529 R$2,684

245.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,187 $3,187

$1,326 R$6,724

140.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,229 $4,229

$756 R$3,831

459.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 $4,896

$4,010 R$20.3K

22.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$1,560 R$7,910

598.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 $2,726

$640 R$3,242

326.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

11.93

-20.79%

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

$1.8K 41.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 71% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 77.6% $742

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$702 15.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 76.2% $535

Eating Out

St Thomas

$358 8.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 54% $193

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 61.8% $171

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$184 4.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 74.5% $137

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 42.2% $44

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 $1,586 in St Thomas and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Thomas pays 326% 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: $170 in St Thomas vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $956 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

15:10 3:10 PM

16:10 4:10 PM

1 h ahead of St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

6,211,223

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

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).

BRL to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St Thomas Rio de Janeiro 5,160 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

St Thomas
Rio de Janeiro

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 242% in total monthly costs ($4,408 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 326% 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: $1,586 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 $170 in St Thomas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $4,408 per month in St Thomas versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro – a 242% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,408 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 242% less than in St Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.