Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Rio De Janeiro Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 2.8 times more expensive than Rio De Janeiro.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.5 times more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 2.3 times more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 79.4% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 5.0 times more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 2.8 times more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.6 times more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 49.9% more in San Diego
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in San Diego are more expensive than in Rio De Janeiro. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and childcare are significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. Rio De Janeiro Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Rio De Janeiro, you would:
pay 2.5 times more for restaurants
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.46
R$40.55
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.52
R$35.49
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.36
R$7.41
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.91
R$4.93
|
$2.50
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.3 times more for groceries
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.81
R$9.83
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.37
R$23.75
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.34
R$23.60
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.06
R$11.23
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.80
R$9.81
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.11
R$6.04
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
R$4.04
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
R$3.91
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
R$3.79
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
R$3.28
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
R$2.88
|
$1.12
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 79.4% more for transportation
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.27
R$23.25
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$40.48
R$220.21
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$20,595.53
R$112,027.31
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.10
R$38.63
|
$19.40
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 5.0 times more for housing
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$19.70
R$107.13
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$496.63
R$2,701.35
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$344.11
R$1,871.76
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$82.68
R$449.72
|
$205.84
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 2.8 times more for childcare
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$544.48
R$2,961.65
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,471.41
R$67,836.96
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 3.6 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.86
R$10.14
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.07
R$11.26
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.05
R$11.15
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$28.14
R$153.04
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.08
R$38.53
|
$17.50
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 49.9% more for clothing
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$46.68
R$253.93
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.02
R$234.01
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$78.54
R$427.21
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$63.36
R$344.66
|
$126.25
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. San Diego - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Brazil vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Brazil and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Diego or Rio De Janeiro. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.