Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 19.1% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 83.8% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 60.6% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 59.6% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 43.0% less in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 2.7% less in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 33.1% less in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 8.6% more in San Jose
The cost of restaurants, groceries, transportation, and clothing in San Jose are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, and childcare are lower in San Jose. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in San Jose.
San Jose vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:
pay 83.8% more for restaurants
|
Abu Dhabi
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$9.95
CRC4,947.81
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.29
AED4.74
|
$2.06
CRC1,022.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.44
AED1.61
|
$1.67
CRC831.76
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 60.6% more for groceries
|
Abu Dhabi
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
$2.64
CRC1,311.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
AED19.39
|
$4.95
CRC2,462.15
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.50
AED27.54
|
$7.78
CRC3,868.62
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
$2.88
CRC1,429.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.12
AED15.11
|
$3.97
CRC1,971.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
AED4.21
|
$1.94
CRC963.65
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
AED3.00
|
$0.65
CRC324.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.83
AED3.05
|
$1.95
CRC967.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
AED2.46
|
$1.58
CRC786.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.96
|
$1.55
CRC768.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.39
|
$1.43
CRC711.41
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 59.6% more for transportation
|
Abu Dhabi
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
AED10.80
|
$5.39
CRC2,678.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.87
AED95.00
|
$41.21
CRC20,485.06
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
$37,640.45
CRC18,712,315.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.62
AED28.00
|
$16.12
CRC8,011.83
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 43.0% less for housing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
$58.88
CRC29,268.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
$891.63
CRC443,258.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
$560.77
CRC278,778.03
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
$68.88
CRC34,242.87
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 2.7% less for childcare
|
Abu Dhabi
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
$600.27
CRC298,412.20
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
$12,608.22
CRC6,267,964.49
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 33.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Abu Dhabi
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$11.29
AED41.45
|
$2.67
CRC1,329.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.77
AED21.18
|
$3.85
CRC1,915.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
$5.15
CRC2,560.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.90
AED230.98
|
$55.98
CRC27,831.01
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.6% more for clothing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
$61.74
CRC30,694.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
$51.32
CRC25,512.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
$120.28
CRC59,794.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.21
AED353.33
|
$106.98
CRC53,182.37
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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