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The Real Cost of Utilities and Bills in Salvador

@Iris Vega2/7/2026blog

the electric bill here is a beast-especially if you’re trying to keep a 12‑inch AC humming on a hot summer night. i’m a street artist who’s been living in a shared studio in Pelourinho for a month now, and every time i open the bill i feel like i’m looking at a secret code written in tiny blue numbers. the rent for a 2‑room place in the historic center runs around $400 a month, which is a steal if you can find a place with decent ventilation. that’s about 60% of what i was paying in Rio, but the utilities bite back harder. electricity in Salvador is billed per kilowatt‑hour at roughly $0.12, and if you’re running a studio with lights, a fridge, a little TV for music, and an air‑conditioner, you can easily chew through $100-$120 a month. water’s cheap-about $3 per month for a basic connection-but the quality is like a first‑date: sometimes you get a flood, sometimes it’s just a drizzle. internet? that’s another story. most providers charge $35-$45 a month for 10 Mbps, but you’ll often get “free” Wi‑Fi in coffee shops or bars, which is nice until the bill shows up for the spotty signal you actually paid for.
the city’s safety stats are a mixed bag. according to the latest police report (2024), violent crime in the tourist districts dropped 12% compared to 2022, but petty theft still spikes during carnival. i always keep my phone in a hidden pocket, especially when i’m walking through Mercado Modelo after dark. the locals i’ve met at the bar say the same thing-don’t flash the cash, keep an eye on your bag, and avoid that alley behind the acarajé stall that smells like suspicion.
Salvador’s job market is basically a ladder made of beads. tourism is the backbone-around 150 k jobs in hotels, restaurants, and souvenir shops. the informal sector is massive, too: street vendors, informal painters, and anyone who knows how to turn a cracked wall into a canvas. the average hourly wage for a gig (like doing a mural for a bar) is $10-$12, which barely covers the rent but is enough to buy a couple of beers. if you’re looking to get paid in dollars, remote freelance work is a thing-some digital nomads use platforms like Upwork, but the internet here is spotty and the exchange rate is always eating a slice of your cake.
> don’t trust the guy who sells ‘free Wi‑Fi’ in the alley-he’s just a ghost with a router and a big bill, said a vendor at Mercado Modelo.
> i swear the water’s hotter in the summer than the sauce in my mom’s feijoada, muttered my friend Pedro after a night of barefoot dancing at a beach party.
> the electricity is a bandit, it’ll sneak into your studio and nick the last watt from your power strip, warned the fellow street artist upstairs.
right now the humidity is a thick blanket that sticks to your skin, and the temperature hovers around 95°F with a 54% chance of rain-like a lazy guy trying to decide if he wants to break a sweat or stay dry. you can literally feel the air swell with the scent of salted fish and fried peanuts from the street stalls.
just a short drive to the beach at Itapuã, where the sand is smooth and the waves whisper in Portuguese, or a 2‑hour flight over to Rio’s glittering skyline. both are cheap enough that i’ve considered a weekend escape every other month.
TripAdvisor guide to Pelourinho Yelp listing for hostel Salão and r/Salvador subreddit thread on cheap internet plans
if you’re planning to stay here long term, i’d recommend budgeting $500 a month for rent + utilities, and keep an eye on the random spikes like the one i got last month when the city switched to a new billing system. safety is okay if you stick to the tourist hubs and keep your wallet close. and remember: the cheap drinks at a beach bar don’t mean the water’s cheap-always double‑check the bill.

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About the author: Iris Vega

Believes in the power of well-chosen words.

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