Can a Industrial Engineer afford to live in São Paulo?

Comfortable34% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Industrial Engineer · São Paulo
$29,118
Income tax (~12% effective)
United States
– $3,576
Take-home pay
$2,129/mo
$25,542
Living costs (1 person)
$1,400/mo · derived
– $16,800
Savings potential
$729/mo · 34% of take-home
$8,742

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: World Bank GDP estimate 2025 median for Industrial Engineer, adjusted for São Paulo.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~12%). 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.