Brasília vs São Paulo for couples
Brasília and São Paulo are both in Brazil, about 874 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Brasília leads on cost.
12 questions, about 4 minutes, no account needed. Taking the quiz is free, and so is seeing your #1 city. Full results for both of you are a one-time US$12 (€12 in Europe).
Side by side
Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.
Factor by factor
Cost of living
Brasília is cheaper: we estimate about €2,465 a month for a couple living centrally, against €2,616 in São Paulo. That is €151 a month, or 6%, less.
Taxes
Same country, same tax: Brazil is in our low to medium tax tier.
Climate
Brasília is 3°C warmer on average over the year: 22°C against 19°C in São Paulo. Rainfall is similar: about 1,411 mm a year in Brasília and 1,381 mm in São Paulo.
Safety
Our safety score is country-level, so both cities get the same 38 out of 100.
Healthcare
Our healthcare score is country-level, so both cities get the same 58 out of 100.
Internet
Our broadband figure is country-level: about 150 Mbps median fixed download in both.
Language
Main languages in both: Portuguese. English proficiency is rated the same in both: limited English.
Residency and visas
Same country, same rules: long-term residency in Brazil is rated comparatively open, with a self-funded route from about $2,000 a month in income.
Which one fits a couple
On the factors we measure, Brasília leads on cost (€2,465 against €2,616 a month), and São Paulo leads on none of them. What our data does not cover can still tip it toward São Paulo: jobs, family nearby, or simply which one each of you prefers after a visit.
Climate can pull the two of you apart too: a partner who wants warmth leans toward Brasília (22°C on average), while one who minds the heat leans toward São Paulo (19°C).
Size differs too: Brasília is a large city (1 to 5 million people) and São Paulo a major one (over 5 million people). Brasília is inland; São Paulo is near the coast.
OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Brasília, São Paulo and 913 other cities for both of you at once.