Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zacatecas and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Zacatecas: $738 a month against $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Zacatecas
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Zacatecas Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Zacatecas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$738

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Zacatecas and in Sao Paulo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $738 in Zacatecas versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo.

Zacatecas $738
Sao Paulo $1,235

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,170 in Zacatecas versus $2,073 in Sao Paulo.

Zacatecas $1,170
Sao Paulo $2,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,602 in Zacatecas versus $2,911 in Sao Paulo.

Zacatecas $1,602
Sao Paulo $2,911

Living in Zacatecas costs roughly 40% less than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Zacatecas 45% lower, Sao Paulo 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.12 MX$113

$8.81 R$44.68

-30.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.70 MX$586

$49.37 R$250

-35.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 MX$139

$8.80 R$44.63

-14.77%

Cappuccino

$2.96 MX$54.7

$2.49 R$12.63

18.88%

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

$1.21 MX$22.31

$1.42 R$7.19

-14.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 MX$13.31

$0.85 R$4.31

-15.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.86 MX$34.45

$2.98 R$15.11

-37.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 MX$75.4

$4.34 R$22.02

-5.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.24 R$6.28

10.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 MX$40.91

$1.91 R$9.66

15.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.52

$1.43 R$7.25

7.69%

Eggs

$2.29 MX$42.31

$2.81 R$14.23

-18.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.32 MX$135

$12.74 R$64.6

-42.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.12 MX$113

$5.41 R$27.44

13.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 MX$171

$10.64 R$54.0

-13.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.75 MX$32.31

$2.75 R$13.95

-36.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 MX$30.63

$1.81 R$9.19

-8.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.30

$1.63 R$8.27

23.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.46 MX$27.05

$2.00 R$10.16

-27.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.98

$1.40 R$7.10

42.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.50

$1.27 R$6.43

38.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.04

$1.28 R$6.47

18.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.60

$0.95 R$4.83

-11.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 MX$79.4

$2.99 R$15.15

43.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.67 MX$197

$9.96 R$50.5

7.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 MX$30.90

$1.85 R$9.37

-9.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$2.54 R$12.90

33.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.88

$1.09 R$5.50

-51.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.52 MX$305

$48.78 R$247

-66.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 MX$40.77

$1.85 R$9.39

19.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.08 MX$19.91

$0.99 R$4.99

9.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.28 MX$227

$10.29 R$52.2

19.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.79

$1.34 R$6.78

8.21%

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

$21.1K MX$390.6K

$24.4K R$123.8K

-13.42%

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

$24.5K MX$452.6K

$33.9K R$172.1K

-27.85%

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

$23.16 MX$428

$104 R$529

-77.83%

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

$8.38 MX$155

$16.71 R$84.7

-49.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.17 MX$465

$22.18 R$112

13.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.02 MX$462

$35.82 R$182

-30.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.17 MX$151

$47.28 R$240

-82.72%

Cinema Ticket

$4.39 MX$81.1

$10.06 R$51.0

-56.36%

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

$256 MX$4,736

$579 R$2,936

-55.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,234 MX$59.8K

$17.1K R$86.6K

-81.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.26 MX$836

$65.7 R$333

-31.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.19 MX$743

$61.0 R$309

-34.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 MX$1,692

$100 R$509

-8.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$43.08 MX$796

$92.1 R$467

-53.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$242 MX$4,467

$659 R$3,341

-63.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$162 MX$2,994

$428 R$2,170

-62.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$383 MX$7,074

$1,515 R$7,678

-74.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$249 MX$4,606

$1,026 R$5,201

-75.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$14.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$571 MX$10.5K

$2,007 R$10.2K

-71.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$407 MX$7,527

$909 R$4,609

-55.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

11.68

-7.53%

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

Last update for Zacatecas: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zacatecas

$228 30.9%

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8% 7.2% $16

Accommodation & Living

Zacatecas

$162 22%

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7% 164% $266

Eating Out

Zacatecas

$132 17.9%

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9% 20.7% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Zacatecas

$99 13.4%

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6% 45% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zacatecas

$57 7.7%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 153% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Zacatecas

$34 4.6%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5% 65.5% $22

Getting Around

Zacatecas

$26 3.6%

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9% 128% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $242 in Zacatecas and $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Paulo pays 123% 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: $32.00 in Zacatecas vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $228 vs $244 per month, with Zacatecas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Zacatecas

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

00:59 12:59 AM

03:59 3:59 AM

3 h ahead of Zacatecas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,444

11,451,999

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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

Zacatecas Sao Paulo 7,940 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Zacatecas
Sao Paulo

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

Zacatecas vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zacatecas is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 67% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 123% lower in Sao Paulo. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $242 in Zacatecas versus $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Zacatecas runs roughly 195% less than in Sao Paulo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $256 in Zacatecas versus $579 in Sao Paulo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $738 in Zacatecas versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zacatecas but tight or insufficient in Sao Paulo. The gap between the two cities makes Zacatecas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Zacatecas 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.

Safety-wise, Zacatecas and Sao Paulo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Zacatecas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Sao Paulo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.