Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toluca and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Toluca: $1,098 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

53

Cost of Living Index in Toluca
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Toluca Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Toluca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,098

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro.

Toluca $1,098
Rio de Janeiro $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,844 in Toluca versus $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro.

Toluca $1,844
Rio de Janeiro $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,589 in Toluca versus $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro.

Toluca $2,589
Rio de Janeiro $2,409

Living in Toluca costs roughly 14% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Toluca 19% lower, Rio de Janeiro 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.03 MX$204

$9.38 R$47.54

17.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.85 MX$792

$40.00 R$203

7.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.09 MX$168

$8.34 R$42.28

8.99%

Cappuccino

$3.14 MX$58.0

$2.29 R$11.62

37.12%

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

$1.26 MX$23.24

$1.59 R$8.05

-20.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 MX$13.97

$1.01 R$5.10

-24.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.14 R$10.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 MX$60.8

$3.66 R$18.55

-10.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.71

$1.13 R$5.72

56.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 MX$57.7

$2.09 R$10.60

49.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.28

$1.25 R$6.36

74.40%

Eggs

$3.05 MX$56.3

$2.25 R$11.39

35.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.94 MX$147

$10.92 R$55.3

-27.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.36 MX$155

$4.36 R$22.10

91.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.91 MX$165

$9.60 R$48.66

-7.19%

Apples (1kg)

$4.08 MX$75.3

$2.85 R$14.46

43.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 MX$39.00

$1.81 R$9.16

16.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.07

$1.58 R$8.02

40.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MX$42.16

$1.83 R$9.28

24.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 MX$52.2

$1.20 R$6.10

135.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.58

$1.06 R$5.35

116.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 MX$30.26

$0.75 R$3.81

118.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.07

$0.68 R$3.45

51.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.87 MX$90.0

$2.94 R$14.90

65.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.25 MX$226

$7.98 R$40.43

53.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 MX$36.76

$1.18 R$5.98

68.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 MX$67.5

$2.42 R$12.26

50.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$13.92

$0.94 R$4.78

-20.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 MX$59.0

$1.20 R$6.10

166.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.22

$0.83 R$4.20

142.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.17 MX$188

$8.97 R$45.48

13.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.66

$1.29 R$6.53

11.63%

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

$24.6K MX$454.6K

$22.8K R$115.5K

8.01%

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

$23.5K MX$433.9K

$34.0K R$172.1K

-30.85%

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

$58.1 MX$1,074

$134 R$681

-56.74%

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

$25.04 MX$463

$10.73 R$54.4

133.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.71 MX$586

$22.84 R$116

38.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.08 MX$889

$30.16 R$153

59.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 MX$419

$31.49 R$160

-28.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.95 MX$128

$7.73 R$39.17

-10.09%

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

$224 MX$4,131

$584 R$2,960

-61.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,244 MX$96.9K

$12.8K R$64.9K

-59.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 MX$1,233

$41.12 R$208

62.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 MX$992

$49.26 R$250

8.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,920

$73.7 R$373

41.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 MX$1,923

$65.9 R$334

57.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 MX$13.0K

$900 R$4,561

-21.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$289 MX$5,345

$527 R$2,673

-45.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$972 MX$18.0K

$1,332 R$6,754

-27.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$703 MX$13.0K

$748 R$3,790

-6.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,296 MX$24.0K

$3,990 R$20.2K

-67.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$915 MX$16.9K

$1,560 R$7,908

-41.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,273 MX$23.5K

$640 R$3,246

98.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.07

11.93

-7.21%

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

Last update for Toluca: October 19, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Toluca

$289 26.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8% 26.1% $76

Accommodation & Living

Toluca

$289 26.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4% 82.3% $238

Eating Out

Toluca

$178 16.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3% 12.6% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Toluca

$148 13.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1% 30% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toluca

$115 10.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2% 46.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Toluca

$62 5.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6% 26.4% $16

Getting Around

Toluca

$16 * 1.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7% 265% $43

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 $705 in Toluca and $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toluca pays 99% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43.00 in Toluca vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $214 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Toluca

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

16:47 4:47 PM

19:47 7:47 PM

3 h ahead of Toluca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

223,876

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Toluca Rio de Janeiro 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Toluca
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

Toluca vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Toluca and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($1,098 vs $1,273 including rent). Toluca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 99% higher in Toluca, 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: $705 in Toluca versus $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $224 in Toluca versus $584 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Toluca – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,098 in Toluca versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Toluca but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Toluca 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 Toluca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.