Climate
Brasília logs 7 outdoor-dinner months a year to São Paulo's 2 — Brasília wins by 5. Brasília also leads on sunny days by 37.
Brasília
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
São Paulo
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Brasília is $211/mo cheaperBrasília runs about $1,414/mo for a balanced lifestyle against São Paulo's $1,625/mo — Brasília comes in $211 cheaper each month, roughly 15% less.
Brasília
$1,414monthly · balanced
São Paulo
$1,625monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, São Paulo scores 2.8 vs Brasília's 1.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on public transit. Brasília still holds an edge on car efficiency.
Culture
São Paulo's culture score of 4.1 sits well above Brasília's 3.0, with the biggest gap on live music venues.
Nature & Outdoors
Brasília and São Paulo score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (3.7 vs 3.5, 0–5 scale).
Safety
Brasília's safety score is ~2.0× São Paulo's — below average, while São Paulo lands near the floor, with the biggest gap on flooding safety. São Paulo still holds an edge on wildfire safety.
Career
São Paulo's career score of 4.3 sits well above Brasília's 2.6, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.
Social & Community
São Paulo's social & community score is ~1.6× Brasília's — in the upper band, while Brasília lands below average, with the biggest gap on urban energy.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, São Paulo scores 4.4 vs Brasília's 2.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on restaurant variety.
Family
On family, São Paulo scores 3.9 vs Brasília's 2.5 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools. Brasília still holds an edge on playgrounds.
Healthcare
On healthcare, São Paulo scores 3.1 vs Brasília's 2.7 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality. Brasília still holds an edge on public healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Brasília averages 12.9 µg/m³ (moderate) PM2.5 annually versus São Paulo's 14.9 µg/m³ (moderate) — Brasília breathes ~14% cleaner air (2.1 µg/m³ lower).
Brasília
São Paulo
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Brasília (1.8M) and São Paulo (19.5M) are 11x in population — São Paulo is the larger metro, Brasília the smaller; on land area São Paulo spans roughly 7.5x more ground.
São Paulo is roughly 9.0x the scale of Brasília
Combined population & area comparison
São PauloBrasíliaCity Scale Rankings
São Paulo19.5M11xBrasília1.8M1xSão Paulo2,111 km²7.5xBrasília283 km²1xBrasília
São Paulo
Who Thrives Here
Brasília favours the crowd avoider, while São Paulo suits the nightlife & social. Both cities work well for the big city energy.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Brasília vs São Paulo
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The best city depends on what matters to you
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