This report provides updated estimates of family living expenses and living wages in the citrus belt in the State of São Paulo. The 2024 update takes into account inflation and changes in payroll deductions since the original Anker living wage study carried out in February 2020 (De Freitas Barbosa, Cordeiro, Barbosa & Bowen, 2021).

This report provides updated estimates of family living expenses and living wages for the coffee producing region of South and Southwestern Minas Gerais State in Brazil. The update for 2024 takes into account inflation and changes in payroll deductions since the original Anker living wage study carried out in July 2015 (De Freitas Barbosa, Barbosa, Candia, & Alves, 2015).

This report provides an estimate of the living income for rural areas in the Central Eastern Region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, using the Anker Methodology®. This approach combines secondary data from existing household surveys with primary data collected through new fieldwork, as is standard in an Anker Methodology® living wage and income benchmark study. Our estimate for a living income for a reference family of four (two adults, two children) in the region for April 2024 is BRL 5,238 (USD 1,021) per month, based on an exchange rate of BRL 5.13 to 1 USD. To gather data on living costs, including housing, basic services, health care and education, the research team visited ten municipalities in the region. Fieldwork included visits to supermarkets, homes, construction sites, schools, clinics, pharmacies, gas vendors, and engaging in many conversations with local community members and stakeholders. The Anker living income estimate for rural Central Eastern Rio Grande do Sul is six times higher than the national poverty line, indicating that Brazil’s official poverty line is far too low for families to achieve a decent standard of living. It is also more than double the World Bank international poverty line and 1.8 times higher than what people would earn if paid the minimum wage, showing that the current minimum wage is also insufficient. However, it is close to the median household income for the region, being only 6% lower, which suggests that living standards in the area are relatively high. In an annex, a living wage is estimated for the study area. The estimation is based on both, the living income, and the number of full-time equivalent workers in the reference size fam ily. This figure is 1.72, assuming that one adult is a full-time worker. The net living wage (i.e. take-home pay) is estimated at BRL 3,052 (USD 595) for the rural areas of Central Eastern Rio Grande do Sul as of April 2024. The gross living wage (a.k.a. living wage), which takes into account mandatory payroll deductions and the income tax, is estimated at BRL 3,391 (USD 661).