Can a Mechanical Engineer afford to live in São Paulo?

Comfortable26% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
Mechanical Engineer · São Paulo
$25,579
Income tax (~11% effective)
United States
– $2,915
Take-home pay
$1,889/mo
$22,664
Living costs (1 person)
$1,400/mo · derived
– $16,800
Savings potential
$489/mo · 26% of take-home
$5,864

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: BR-IBGE median for Mechanical Engineer, adjusted for São Paulo.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~11%). 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.