3.22/5
954 reviews
Photo by Wylkon Cardoso via Unsplash

Cost of Living in São Paulo

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great

pretty

interesting

sao

safe

public

good

english

hospitals

cold

stay

neighborhoods

jardim

paulista

pinheiros

transportation

subway

São Paulo is a complex and contrasting city. It offers excellent public transportation, including a reliable subway and wide coverage of buses. For a large Latin American city, it is relatively safe, especially if you stay in more affluent areas like Pinheiros, Jardim Paulista, or Itaim Bibi. The locals are generally friendly, and the city has standout green spaces such as Ibirapuera Park. Dining and entertainment options are abundant, with tens of thousands of restaurants, bars, and cultural attractions available across diverse neighborhoods.

However, walkability is an issue. Outside a few zones like Paulista Avenue and Vila Madalena, the city is spread out and not very pedestrian-friendly, making reliance on transportation or Uber common. Weather is inconsistent — some periods are uncomfortably cold and rainy. For LGBTQ+ visitors, safety is a concern due to increasing reports of violence. While there are top-rated hospitals, most are private and costly, and public healthcare services may lack English support and have long wait times. Additionally, prices for food and housing in better neighborhoods are higher than expected. Setting the right expectations is important — São Paulo is more urban and business-oriented, comparable to cities like NYC or L.A., and very different from Rio.

AI-generated summary of reviews
6 months ago

Stay in one of these neighborhoods: Itaim Bibi, Jardim Europa, Jardim Paulista, or Pinheiros, and it will be great.

3 years ago

I live here and I would like to comment on some things that might be different from what you expect:

- Walkability: Definitely not great, the city is huge, there are neighborhood where is safe to walk, with interesting stuff to do, but this isn't the case on most places far from west zone (Pinheiros and Vila Madalena) and Paulista avenue. Expect to use public transportation (subway and buses) and uber a lot.

- LGBTQ+: Sao Paulo is the state with most homicides against trans people in the whole country. Violence against all LGBTQ+ is surging rampantly, you can search for it, there are some good of articles in English with data.

- Hospitals: There are great hospitals here, but they are, as a majority, private and will cost you to use any service. Public hospitals are available, but don't expect English speaking staff or short queues, they are pretty packed (even after midnight).

Prices are way off too, in the good and safe neighborhoods, don't expect to pay less that 10USD for a meal in a sit-in restaurant. There are cheaper options, but they will hardly have English speaking staff.

4 years ago

Sao Paulo is a place of high contrasts. Massive buildings, roads, and road rage co-exist with peaceful parks, fantastic skies, and very kind locals. Before you go, make sure you have the right expectations because this place is the South American equivalent of LA or NYC. It is absurdly different from Rio as far as the activities and landscape. Some of my favorite things are the 20,000+ restaurants and bars, people watching (more contrast), free art museums and attractions, and the fantastic co-working spaces (not cheap, but some very well designed). On September 2021, 1 dollar buys 5.19 reais (local currency). One of the reviews mentions cold but this Spring, the temperatures are hitting 95-100F consistently. It may get "cold" there about 5 days a year.

4 years ago

I like São Paulo, but I don't love it. It's pretty boring in my opinion. Probably because I love Buenos Aires so much and it just does not compare.

Also for the 4 months (September - January) I was there, it was cold, overcast, and rainy 85% of the days. It was pretty depressing!

Other than that, it's pretty safe overall for Latin America. Also, I really appreciate how people here take COVID more seriously than in a lot of other places in Brazil.

If I had to do it again, I would stay near Ibirapuera Park - it's so beautiful.

5 years ago

Amazing place, and kind of a futuristic city!! Public transportation is also great, especially the subway.

5 years ago

A particularly interesting city to make business (Brazil is the strongest economy in Latin America). I recommend learning some basic Portuguese to really network and connect with the people; Brazilians might party openly with foreigners, but reserve the most interesting parts of their culture to Portuguese speakers.

6 years ago

Sao Paulo is a great city, one of the biggest in the world and has everything you'll ever need. Compare it with New York without all the glamour and you have it

6 years ago

Never written a review before but I've been to most of the top cities on Nomadlist and they're all pretty good.... however, Sao Paolo is a fine city, typical for Latin America, but it doesn't belong at #7 (as of this writing) :) There's just nothing especially interesting about it compared to other cities.

6 years ago

Greatest city to be a nomad in Brazil by far. Low crime rate when compared to Rio, 4G works great in a lot of places and what you can have the most is fun here. Cost of living can be a little too high if you don't pick carefully a place, but people are friendly and help you to find the perfect place. Ah, and food here is delicious, even if you're a vegan.

7 years ago

✅ Good public transportation

✅ Safe for Latin America

✅ Friendly people

✅ Great parks

✅ Lots of dining and entertainment

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality today

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to make friends

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Not very walkable

❌ Cold and rainy weather

❌ High violence against LGBTQ+

❌ Healthcare is expensive and public services are limited

❌ Higher cost of living in good neighborhoods

❌ Not very safe

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Difficult to do business

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

30°C / 86°F warm

29°C / 84°F warm

31°C / 88°F hot

23°C / 73°F mild

22°C / 72°F mild

21°C / 70°F mild

28°C / 82°F warm

22°C / 72°F mild

24°C / 75°F warm

25°C / 77°F warm

Real (median)

27°C / 81°F
warm

27°C / 80°F
warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

23°C / 73°F
mild

22°C / 71°F
mild

21°C / 69°F
mild

21°C / 70°F
mild

26°C / 79°F
warm

22°C / 72°F
mild

24°C / 75°F
warm

25°C / 77°F
warm

Humidity

sweaty
77%

sweaty
74%

nice
78%

nice
74%

nice
76%

nice
64%

nice
74%

nice
73%

nice
86%

nice
75%

nice
80%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
248mm

rainy
179mm

rainy
166mm

dry
40mm

dry
31mm

dry
29mm

dry
32mm

dry
36mm

dry
27mm

rainy
116mm

rainy
81mm

rainy
154mm

Cloud

cloudy
56%

pockets
43%

pockets
33%

pockets
38%

pockets
33%

pockets
41%

pockets
25%

pockets
34%

pockets
33%

cloudy
59%

pockets
42%

pockets
46%

Air quality

bad
149 US AQI

bad
148 US AQI

bad
139 US AQI

bad
119 US AQI

bad
109 US AQI

okay
98 US AQI

okay
81 US AQI

okay
84 US AQI

bad
103 US AQI

bad
124 US AQI

bad
137 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

Remote workers

2,127 people

2,706 people

2,074 people

1,829 people

1,765 people

1,518 people

1,344 people

1,544 people

1,907 people

1,833 people

2,433 people

2,557 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on São Paulo's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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$3,819 / mo

102 Mbps

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 33° 91° 28° 83° 🥵

✈️29min

$2,854 / mo

15 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 8° 46° 9° 48° AQI 57 😷

✈️12h

$4,505 / mo

50 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 30° 86° 26° 79° 🥵

✈️39min

$1,685 / mo

14 Mbps

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 57 😷

✈️10h

$2,142 / mo

12 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 5° 41° 7° 44° AQI 23

✈️13h

$5,417 / mo

🌇 Also went here308 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

✈️14h

$4,118 / mo

🌇 Also went here289 people

Istanbul

Turkey

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 1° 34° 4° 39° AQI 61 😷

✈️14h

$1,632 / mo

🌇 Also went here273 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 36° 97° 31° 87° 🥵 AQI 138 😷

✈️22h

$1,615 / mo

🌇 Also went here346 people

1,400 remote workers in São Paulo now, of which 7+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	3.22/5 (Rank #27) 954 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍13 liked it 👎6 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,860 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 17 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 29°C83°F (feels 33°C91°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 73%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Low: 25%
💨 Air quality (now)	😐 Moderate: 59 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	😷 Unhealthy for some: 103 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very low: $721 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Great
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Good
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Brazil
🗓️ Average trip length	14 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	17 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 29°C 83°F + 🥵 Sweaty (73%) = feels 33°C 91°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 59 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎☠️ 103 US AQI = 🚬 / day
🔌 Power	115V 230V 60Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Higienópolis
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Jardim Sao Bento
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 BRL in USD	USD 1.81
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	BRL 1,000 = USD 181
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Link2u
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Ponto de Contato
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍16% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,300,000 visitors
📸 Tourists now	44,079 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	12,000,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$8,649 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 43% 👱‍♀️ 57%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 82% 👱‍♀️ 18%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Mercado Livre
🏠 Apartment listings	Zap
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Azul
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Azul
🏥 Best hospital	Samaritano

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,860 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,014 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,138 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$611 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,211 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,061 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$446 / month
🏠 Median home price	$118,356
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$57 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$35 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$238 / month
🍛 Dinner	$7
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$10,217 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$28 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$3 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$3,200
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$10,460
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$28,475