Can a Civil Engineer afford to live in São Paulo?

Excellent38% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Civil Engineer · São Paulo
$30,954
Income tax (~13% effective)
United States
– $3,943
Take-home pay
$2,251/mo
$27,011
Living costs (1 person)
$1,400/mo · derived
– $16,800
Savings potential
$851/mo · 38% of take-home
$10,211

Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in São Paulo? →Compare São Paulo with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: ILO ILOSTAT 2024 median for Civil Engineer, adjusted for São Paulo.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~13%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: derived from cost-of-living index for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.