Where to live in Brazil
We track 16 cities in Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília. Average temperatures run from 17°C to 27°C. We estimate a couple needs €2,391 to €2,616 a month to live centrally. Brazil sits in our low to medium tax tier. For citizens from outside Mercosur and its associate states, long-term residency is comparatively open.
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).
- Tax tier
- Low to medium
- Moderate personal income tax
- Languages
- Portuguese
- Limited English
- Safety
- 38/100
- country-level
- Healthcare
- 58/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~150 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
The 16 cities we track
| City | Size | Setting | Avg temp | Rain a year | Est. cost a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belém | large | coastal | 27°C | 2,706 mm | €2,433 |
| Belo Horizonte | large | inland | 21°C | 1,429 mm | €2,482 |
| Brasília | large | inland | 22°C | 1,411 mm | €2,465 |
| Campinas | large | near the coast | 21°C | 1,255 mm | €2,401 |
| Campo Grande | mid-sized | inland | 24°C | 1,352 mm | €2,391 |
| Curitiba | large | near the coast | 17°C | 1,575 mm | €2,454 |
| Fortaleza | large | coastal | 27°C | 1,577 mm | €2,472 |
| Goiânia | large | inland | 24°C | 1,649 mm | €2,435 |
| Maceió | large | coastal | 26°C | 1,999 mm | €2,401 |
| Manaus | large | inland | 27°C | 2,340 mm | €2,465 |
| Porto Alegre | large | coastal | 20°C | 1,456 mm | €2,432 |
| Recife | large | coastal | 26°C | 1,614 mm | €2,441 |
| Rio de Janeiro | major | coastal | 24°C | 1,092 mm | €2,558 |
| Salvador | large | coastal | 26°C | 1,968 mm | €2,482 |
| São Luís | mid-sized | coastal | 27°C | 1,947 mm | €2,392 |
| São Paulo | major | near the coast | 19°C | 1,381 mm | €2,616 |
Source: City size from GeoNames, temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages), rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals), coast distance from Natural Earth. Cost is our model estimate for a couple living centrally.
Taxes
Brazil sits in our low to medium tax tier: moderate personal income tax. The tier applies to every city here, and couples who cap tax below it will not see these cities in their results.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Coarse by design; not tax advice.
Residency and visas
Comparatively open, for people from outside Mercosur and its associate states. Brazil offers genuine long-term residency through a retiree/pensioner means permit, an investor permit (company or real-estate) that grants permanent residence, and accessible family-based routes, with a temporary digital-nomad permit on top.
Citizens of Mercosur and its associate states have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights here.
Bilateral arrangements make it easier for citizens of Portugal.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for Brazil:
- Income: about $2,000 a month (Brazil retiree/pensioner residence permit (RN 40/2019), USD 2,000/mo pension or retirement income, single applicant; as of June 2026)
- Investment: about $99k (Brazil VIPER investor permit (RN 13/2017), BRL 500,000 company investment (innovation/tech startups can qualify at BRL 150,000); converted at BRL/USD 5.04; as of June 2026)
For short visits, 103 of 198 passports can enter visa-free and 95 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).