Market Research Companies in São Paulo

Key figures for researchers

Population

11,451,999; 7,528 people per km² (2022 census)¹

Metropolitan region

20.7 million people in 39 municipalities (2022 census)²

Local administration

32 subprefeituras (regional city halls) and 96 districts³

Largest district

Grajaú, 384,873 residents (2022 census)⁴

Aged 60 and over

2.02 million people, 17.7% of residents (2022 census)⁵

Colour or race

54.3% white, 43.5% Black or pardo, 2.1% Asian (amarela) (2022 census)⁶

Households

4.31 million occupied homes, 2.30 people on average (2022 census)⁷

Housing

2.76 million houses and 1.44 million apartments (2022 census)⁸

GDP per capita

R$93,156 (2023)¹

Research guide

Research landscape

São Paulo is the main centre of the Brazilian research industry: full-service agencies, qualitative specialists, B2B and healthcare firms, field and telephone suppliers, panel providers and viewing facilities. Many national and Latin American studies are coordinated from the city. With a GDP per capita of R$93,156 in 2023, it is also the main location for B2B, financial services and retail research in Brazil.

Who you will interview

The city is very large but grows slowly: 11.45 million people in 2022, only 0.15% more per year than in 2010, and its population is ageing: 17.7% of residents are 60 or over (2.02 million people). In the 2022 census, 54.3% declared themselves white, 43.5% Black or pardo and 2.1% Asian (amarela), the last reflecting the city’s large community of Japanese and other East Asian descent.

Profiles differ strongly between the expanded centre and the outskirts of the East, North and South zones, where most of the population lives and where many favelas are located. For studies that must reflect the whole city, set quotas on São Paulo figures (age, sex, area, Critério Brasil class), not national ones, and decide early whether the target is the city or the metropolitan region.

Fieldwork in practice

The city is divided into 32 subprefeituras and 96 districts, from Grajaú in the far south (384,873 residents) to small districts of the centre with under 100,000. The capital holds 55.2% of the 20.7 million people of the metropolitan region, which has 39 municipalities, including Guarulhos, São Bernardo do Campo, Santo André and Osasco: a “Greater São Paulo” sample must include them.

Households are small (2.30 people on average in 2022), and 1.44 million homes are apartments, often in gated buildings with a doorman (portaria) where interviewers cannot enter freely. Face-to-face studies need more contact attempts and time, and fieldwork in some favelas requires interviewers who know the area. Online is the main method for consumer surveys, with telephone or street and in-store interviews for older, lower-income or offline audiences.

Focus groups and qualitative research

In-person focus groups are usually held in dedicated viewing facilities with a one-way mirror and video streaming, most of them in the expanded centre. Traffic is heavy at rush hour, so allow for long travel times when scheduling evening groups and recruit participants who live or work near the facility.

Ask the agency for its São Paulo incentive levels and recruitment lead times, and how it checks participants under ABEP’s recruitment rules; B2B and senior respondents often prefer online interviews. Online communities and video interviews are widely used, alone or alongside in-person groups.

Timing

Avoid Carnival week (8 and 9 February 2027, followed by Ash Wednesday on 10 February), Christmas and New Year and the January summer holidays: in 2026, the municipal school year runs from 4 February to 22 December, with a mid-year recess from 6 to 17 July.

The city also has local holidays: the city anniversary on 25 January, Corpus Christi (27 May 2027) and the São Paulo state holiday on 9 July. Check the holidays of the other municipalities if your sample covers the metropolitan region.

Working with a São Paulo agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, area (city or metropolitan region), zones or districts, Critério Brasil classes, method, languages and deadline.
• For face-to-face or recruitment, ask how the agency reaches gated apartment buildings, outlying zones and favelas.
• For focus groups, ask for the facility address, viewing room capacity, streaming options, start times and incentive levels.
• Ask whether the agency is an ABEP member, and which panels or fieldwork suppliers will be used.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 São Paulo companies from this page.

National rules (data protection, holidays, sampling across regions) are covered in our guide to market research in Brazil.