acoording to numbeo, one would need around 2,983.6$ (14,475.3R$) in Sao Paulo to maintain the same standard of life that one can have with 9,500.0$ in New York, NY. So, it's 218% more expensive there. Meanwhile, our hourly rate is 1.23$ (6R$). So, NY is 218% more expensive, but the minimum wage is 486% greater. @miki has a solid point even lacking data.

@vereda This also depends on what you want to do with your money. Locally-sourced products and services, think food and rent, are usually cheaper in places where salaries are lower, but this is much less true about flights, technology, cars and such. A programmer in Silicon Valley and a programmer in Nairobi might both spend 95% of their respective salaries on food, rent, medical expenses, schooling for their children etc, but the extra 5% in San Francisco will get you a top-of-the-line MacBook and a Tesla, where that same 5% in Nairobi will get you an used Dell laptop from 3 years ago and a mopet. Even better, if you make senior developer money in the US, live like a junior developer or worse and save up the difference, you can then move to a poorer country, perhaps the country you came from, and that difference will get you a long, long way, even though that money wouldn't be enough for three months' rent in California. This difference is much bigger for people who earn a lot, but it is still there, regardless of your level of income.