Housing price details The median price of an apartment for sale is BRL 14,010/m². That means there are as many properties more expensive than BRL 14,010/m² as cheaper. As for houses for sale, the median price is BRL 10,031/m².

Summary of cost of living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: A family of four estimated monthly costs are 2,317.9$ (11,832.0R$) without rent. A single person estimated monthly costs are 655.2$ (3,344.7R$) without rent. Rio de Janeiro is 62.2% less expensive than New York (without rent).

We'll dig into the details a little more in a moment, but as you can see, costs of living in Brazil are on average in the region of half of the costs of living in the USA. In fact, consumer prices without rent are 97.8% higher in the US than Brazil, and once you include rent, that rises to 157.1% higher.

The zona oeste – and Barra da Tijuca in particular – is also a popular choice for expatriates when it comes to housing. This relatively new suburb, which lies some 20kms along the coast from the zona sul, has been dubbed “the Miami of the south”.