Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wilkes-Barre, PA and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,273 a month against $2,190 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Wilkes-Barre, PA
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Wilkes-Barre, PA Living Index
62

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

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Wilkes-Barre, PA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,190

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,190 in Wilkes-Barre, PA versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro.

Wilkes-Barre, PA $2,190
Rio de Janeiro $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,358 in Wilkes-Barre, PA versus $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro.

Wilkes-Barre, PA $3,358
Rio de Janeiro $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,526 in Wilkes-Barre, PA versus $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro.

Wilkes-Barre, PA $4,526
Rio de Janeiro $2,409

Living in Wilkes-Barre, PA is roughly 72% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wilkes-Barre, PA is 62% above, Rio de Janeiro is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.15 $18.15

$9.38 R$47.54

93.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.37 $49.37

$40.00 R$203

23.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 $10.40

$8.34 R$42.28

24.70%

Cappuccino

$3.91 $3.91

$2.29 R$11.62

70.74%

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

$0.99 $0.99

$1.59 R$8.05

-37.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 $1.99

$1.01 R$5.10

97.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.85 $6.85

$2.14 R$10.85

220.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.31 $7.31

$3.66 R$18.55

99.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 $0.90

$1.13 R$5.72

-20.35%

White Bread (500g)

$3.25 $3.25

$2.09 R$10.60

55.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$1.25 R$6.36

250.40%

Eggs

$4.02 $4.02

$2.25 R$11.39

78.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.82 $10.82

$10.92 R$55.3

-0.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.33 $13.33

$4.36 R$22.10

205.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.75 $17.75

$9.60 R$48.66

84.90%

Apples (1kg)

$6.42 $6.42

$2.85 R$14.46

125.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.81 R$9.16

-23.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.39 $5.39

$1.58 R$8.02

241.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.79 $6.79

$1.83 R$9.28

271.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.90 $2.90

$1.20 R$6.10

141.67%

Onion (1kg)

$3.77 $3.77

$1.06 R$5.35

255.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.97 $2.97

$0.75 R$3.81

296.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.74 $2.74

$0.68 R$3.45

302.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.11 $15.11

$2.94 R$14.90

413.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.83 $14.83

$7.98 R$40.43

85.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 $3.06

$1.18 R$5.98

159.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.70 $4.70

$2.42 R$12.26

94.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 $1.47

$0.94 R$4.78

56.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 $3.83

$1.20 R$6.10

219.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 $2.19

$0.83 R$4.20

163.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.91 $29.91

$8.97 R$45.48

233.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 $1.10

$1.29 R$6.53

-14.73%

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

$30.9K $30.9K

$22.8K R$115.5K

35.86%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$34.0K R$172.1K

-20.93%

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

$238 $238

$134 R$681

77.20%

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

$57.5 $57.5

$10.73 R$54.4

435.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$74.2 $74.2

$22.84 R$116

224.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.49 $49.49

$30.16 R$153

64.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

Cinema Ticket

$14.75 $14.75

$7.73 R$39.17

90.82%

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

$1,732 $1,732

$584 R$2,960

196.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K $17.7K

$12.8K R$64.9K

37.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.5 $54.5

$41.12 R$208

32.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.05 $48.05

$49.26 R$250

-2.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 $96.1

$73.7 R$373

30.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 $124

$65.9 R$334

87.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,253 $1,253

$900 R$4,561

39.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$852 $852

$527 R$2,673

61.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,736 $1,736

$1,332 R$6,754

30.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,752 $1,752

$748 R$3,790

134.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,296 $4,296

$640 R$3,246

570.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

11.93

-44.09%

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

Last update for Wilkes-Barre, PA: October 20, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$852 38.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4% 38.1% $325

Groceries & Markets

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$439 20%

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8% 51.3% $225

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$370 16.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2% 54.6% $202

Eating Out

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$284 13%

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3% 45.1% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$145 6.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1% 28.7% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$79 3.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6% 42.3% $33

Getting Around

Wilkes-Barre, PA

$21 * 0.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7% 187% $39

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 $1,253 in Wilkes-Barre, PA and $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wilkes-Barre, PA pays 571% 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: $49.00 in Wilkes-Barre, PA vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $439 vs $214 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Wilkes-Barre, PA

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

16:30 4:30 PM

1 h ahead of Wilkes-Barre, PA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

41,288

6,211,223

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 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 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

BRL to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Wilkes-Barre, PA Rio de Janeiro 7,890 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Wilkes-Barre, PA
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

Wilkes-Barre, PA vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wilkes-Barre, PA and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($2,190 vs $1,273 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 571% higher in Wilkes-Barre, PA, 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: $1,253 in Wilkes-Barre, PA versus $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,732 in Wilkes-Barre, PA 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 Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $49.00 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,190 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Wilkes-Barre, PA. 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 72% less than in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.