Cost of Living in Sao Paulo
Summary of cost of living in Sao Paulo, Brazil:
- The estimated monthly costs for a family of four are 2,213.7$ (12,540.2R$), excluding rent (using our estimator).
- The estimated monthly costs for a single person are 609.2$ (3,451.2R$), excluding rent.
- Sao Paulo is 66.8% less expensive than New York (excluding rent, see our cost of living index).
- Rent in Sao Paulo is, on average, 85.4% lower than in New York.
Restaurants |  Edit |
Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 40.00 R$ | |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 230.00 R$ | |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 40.00 R$ | |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 12.00 R$ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 16.00 R$ | |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 11.45 R$ | |
| Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 6.79 R$ | |
| Water (12 oz small bottle) | 4.90 R$ | |
Markets | Edit |
|
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 22.09 R$ | |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 9.29 R$ | |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 3.31 R$ | |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 13.36 R$ | |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 27.04 R$ | |
| Chicken Fillets (1 lb) | 10.66 R$ | |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 22.19 R$ | |
| Apples (1 lb) | 7.13 R$ | |
| Banana (1 lb) | 4.80 R$ | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 3.93 R$ | |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 4.37 R$ | |
| Potato (1 lb) | 3.67 R$ | |
| Onion (1 lb) | 3.36 R$ | |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 5.41 R$ | |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 3.93 R$ | |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 45.00 R$ | |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 7.65 R$ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 12.80 R$ | |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 12.00 R$ | |
Transportation | Edit |
|
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 5.00 R$ | |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 243.00 R$ | |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 6.00 R$ | |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 6.84 R$ | |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 51.00 R$ | |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 22.73 R$ | |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 120,000.00 R$ | |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 158,533.00 R$ | |
Utilities (Monthly) | Edit |
|
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 303.66 R$ | |
| Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data | 72.06 R$ | |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 113.02 R$ | |
Sports And Leisure | Edit |
|
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 168.09 R$ | |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 190.95 R$ | |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 45.00 R$ | |
Childcare | Edit |
|
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 2,953.85 R$ | |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 83,304.76 R$ | |
Clothing And Shoes | Edit |
|
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 290.47 R$ | |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 238.00 R$ | |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 422.27 R$ | |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 395.45 R$ | |
Rent Per Month | Edit |
|
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 3,687.18 R$ | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 2,235.14 R$ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 7,058.57 R$ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 4,310.26 R$ | |
Buy Apartment Price | Edit |
|
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 1,309.34 R$ | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 894.46 R$ | |
Salaries And Financing | Edit |
|
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 3,551.47 R$ | |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 11.32 |
Prices in Sao Paulo
This city had 3930 entries in the past 12 months by 337 different contributors.
Last update: May 2025
Last update: May 2025
Sources and References
Moving to Sao Paulo? Explore:
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
Nearby Cities:| Cost of Living in Sao Caetano do Sul | 8.75 miles |
| Cost of Living in Diadema | 10.64 miles |
| Cost of Living in Guarulhos | 11.37 miles |
| Cost of Living in Sao Bernardo do Campo | 12.41 miles |
| Cost of Living in Osasco | 14.14 miles |
| Cost of Living in Carapicuiba (Carapicuíba) | 17.65 miles |
| Cost of Living in Embu das Artes | 18.93 miles |
| Cost of Living in Barueri | 19.85 miles |
| Cost of Living in Ferraz de Vasconcelos | 20.26 miles |
| Cost of Living in Cotia | 21.50 miles |
This Page in Other Languages:
 DeutschLebenshaltungskosten in Sao Paulo
|
 PortuguêsCusto de Vida em São Paulo
|
 ItalianoCosto della Vita a Sao Paulo
|
 FrançaisCoût de la Vie à São Paulo
|
 EspañolCosto de Vida en Sao Paulo
|
And this graphics show a diferent picture from reality
First of all salary. That the minimum ins like 1.500,00 reais in 2025
If you live here on minimum wage, which is the most comum thing here since even people that go to university find trouble to have a work and end up working on fast food, clothing stores and Walmart likes.
You probably need a partner to life. Because the price of rent is almost the entire the minimum wage(1200 on average, and food also cost almost the half of it, you get the picture.
If you came to live here, find or bring a partner or you gonna live on the streets
The guy below saying most are earning $500-1000 is pretty delusional. $500 converted is now R$3000 which is already in the top 15%, lol It could be a decent country for tourism, but I don't know what you'd want to see here... you have other options that have less crime and are more interesting. Brazil has a culture of being very open to foreigners so you might like that energy, but honestly, if you're not awful you'll also have good experiences anywhere else
of course there are some people in brasil who dont speak a foreign language or dont have access to education.
but people who have a bachelor degree and speak a foreign language they earn alot of money.
i have some friends in sao paolo working normal jobs in international companies. they ear around 10-12 000 reals per month. thats around 2000 usd on average. This salary is even higher than some european countries.
brasil has some social inequality gaps but i think this days most of the people are earing more than 500-1000 usd per month. if they want to work and they dont sleep all day
I think the bias goes crazy to thi k America is the best country in the world
The European union plus united Kingdom are sending Brazilians back to Brazil. Far too much civil unrest Brazilians were causing with their relentless violent protesting
If you are thinking going to SaoPaulo, your wage must be at least r$10k per month if you want to have a minimally worthy quality of life. At least!!!
However, minimum wage is only r$1284,00.
Rent 40m square for 1 person (monthly) in a well located spot ( Vila Olimpia, Brooklyn, Itaim Bibi, Pinheiros, Vila Madalena) = r$4000 (not near to the center / because the city center is dangerous, ugly, stinky, lots of drug addictcs, not safe) (and not so far, otherwise, you Will loose more than 1,5h to get to the economic center due to traffic jam).
Cell Phone, Internet and TV, eletricity, gás, Water (monthly) = r$600,00.
Supermarket monthly expenses = r$2000.
Gym (monthly) = r$100.
Launch in a mid restaurant (per person) = around r$40 to r$100.
1 liter gasoline = r$7.
If you get The minimum wage in Sao Paulo, unfortunattely, you Will live far away, in bad and more unsafe areas, Will have to share a small apartment with other persons, Will loose at least 1,5hours to go to work, and another 1,5h to go back home. You Will only afford cheap and bad quality products in the supermarket, and you Will be out of money to use for culture, leisure, shoppings, cinema, theater. Sometimes, you wont even gonna have money to buy food for The rest of The month, or medicines, in case you need. Millions are paid the minimum wage.
Its deffinetely not a way to live.
Your life Will be a misery!!!
That is why thousands of brazilians are trying luck in europe. You can find brazilians working in bars, restaurants, supermarkets, construction. If they get the minimum wage in europe, at least they have a minimum quality o life there. In Brazil, you Will suffer.
Evidently your math skills are severely lacking but Brazilians are normally lacking in all areas everyone knows that. Bogota has 16 million not counting the burbs.
Told the truth about Sao Paulo just like JOAO April 21 2021 did among others about how dangerous Sao Paulo is.I moved to a remote area far away from Sao Paulo but I still live in Brazil. Honestly I thought it'd be much better but I soon found out it's just as dangerous day or night. Unfortunately the mindset of the majority is like murder someone to get paid instead of earning money honestly. I'm a native Brazilian I'm beyond ashamed of how violent all of Brazil really is. No protection from the Police they're just as bad with a license to murder.
Naturally, if you want to immigrate to Brazil, I suggest researching another city. But keep in mind, this country has big problems like: lack of security, poor education, corruption, drug trafficking, criminal factions, etc.
Now, if you are from a developed country and think about coming here, it'll certainly be your biggest regret.
Brazilians are the ones that make this country hopelessly poor, violent and uneducated.
You can never have as much access to plenty of goods as in more developed countries because prices are staggering high but wages are lamentably low so you will suffer the indignities of poverty unless you are a member of a very restricted elite.
It is one of the most crime-ridden places on Earth. Homicide, burglary, drug trade, corruption at every setting, you name it. It is very easy to get mugged and even killed for the most trivial reasons. For some reason the population is very prone to being selfish, murderous and below any form of honest work.
They are uneducated and thus never forced to use what little brainpower they have. So they are but slightly above unthinking beasts. Whether it is by driving drunk, neighbors making noise for 8 hours straight on a day, or not being able to carry the simplest dialogues, Brazilians will drive you insane.
They are very jealous, envious, insensitive, malicious, arrogant, undisciplined, love idleness, shameless.
It doesn't take much to despair of life if you are forced to live among people so abject and degraded in every sense.
I am sure half of why I feel like dying everyday is the fact that I was thrown into existence in a place like this. I pray nonstop for a cancer or a stroke that will put an end to my misery.
The land is a huge expanse and rich in resources but it is inhabited by a type of human called Brazilians and they are the ones who will make you wish you could disintegrate into inexistence.
There ARE good ones. But they are few. Very few. A certain city was destroyed because there were less than 10 righteous people in it.
If you have read this far, can I make a request? Pray that I will die soon. Or cheer for me. Whatever it is. I just want to die. Thanks.
A mild flu as you call it has killed 286,000 so far in Brazil and the numbers get higher each day. The U S population dwarfs Brazil obviously besides so many immigrants want to move to the U S replacing the dead would be a matter of one month or less.Call it a scamdemic if you like your opinion. The comment about not bowing is your opinion too. But I don't think Brazilians can bow much lower especially since 2021 minimum monthly wage is 1,100 brl and average monthly wage is 1,730 brl.
Live your lives in fear or any other way you choose your choice. Brazil has a fairly large population. What surprises me is the lack of motivation to move ahead financially and not allowing Vietnam to surpass Brazil as they've done already with monthly wages.
Brazilians are self-destructive egotistical arrogant infidels. Actually Brazil cannot get along with any neighboring countries and they don't want to either. Nobody needs to visit from any countries to spread covid19 any worse than it already is,Brazil has done that on their own minus any help from any countries. Massive amounts of Brazilians are dieing daily so hopefully within the next year or two there'll be no Brazilians left.
- 2020 - Record number of indebtedness and defaults in Brazilian families
- The default rate on loans for the acquisition of real estate fluctuates on average between 1.4% to 2.1%
- More than 4.4 million companies with arrears (55% of companies actively operating)
- The score for the level of Corruption in Brazil - 38 - is higher than the global average and in Latin America
- Brazil has the ninth highest homicide rate in the world, Brazilian rates are five times the world average of homicides
- Brazil still has 11 million illiterates
- Before the pandemic, the country had 52 million people living below the poverty line
- Hat Brazil is a country with one of the highest rates in Taxes (highest number of direct and indirect taxes) and with one of the highest percentages on the Planet (when buying a simple needle we pay 40% taxes)
- 125th position in business environment ranking
- The number 14 position in the tax burden ranking is Brazil. In other words, Brazilians are the people of Latin America who pay the most taxes.
- Return of Well-Being to Society: 30th (last place among the countries with the highest tax burden in the world)
- 99ºin in the human development index
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