Rio Espera is a municipality in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

As of 2020, the town has 5,402 inhabitants and is 160 km to the southeast of Belo Horizonte. The town was founded in 1710 when a group of Portuguese explorers, coming from São Paulo, stopped beside a brook to wait for their companions. The site was originally known as Arraial de Espera.

20°51′18″S 43°28′26″W / 20.85500°S 43.47389°W / -20.85500; -43.47389