Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

United States

United States vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

United States is 21.7% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in United States
Groceries: pay 59.5% more in United States
Transportation: pay 47.8% more in United States
Housing: pay 6.1% less in United States
Childcare: pay 73.7% more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.8% less in United States
Clothing: pay 11.5% less in United States

The cost of restaurants, childcare, groceries, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including entertainment and sports, clothing, and housing are lower in United States. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in United States.

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United States vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$19.86	+143.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$11.42	+19.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$2.67	+131.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$2.05	+393.1%
Average			+102.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.5% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$3.63	+124.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$6.52	+12.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$3.98	-46.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$4.30	+23.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$5.46	+24.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$2.34	+107.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.80	-16.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$2.02	+139.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$2.19	+209.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$1.34	+143.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$1.39	+160.0%
Average			+59.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.8% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$4.01	+10.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$66.70	+151.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$34,164.82	+14.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$18.02	+136.4%
Average			+47.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.1% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$70.22	-20.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$1,681.01	-14.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$1,404.28	+0.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$157.64	+6.5%
Average			-6.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 73.7% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$1,450.99	+83.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$24,361.50	+64.4%
Average			+73.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$6.00	-48.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$5.31	-10.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$10.42	+56.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$50.68	-46.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$13.95	-6.9%
Average			-24.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.5% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$53.15	-13.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$41.88	-14.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$89.76	-19.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$114.01	+3.5%
Average			-11.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. United States - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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