Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. California Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 27.2% cheaper than California.
- Restaurants
-
pay 58.3% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 42.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 20.3% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 17.7% less in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 71.3% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4% less in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 22.4% more in United Arab Emirates
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, transportation, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of California, you would:
pay 58.3% less for restaurants
|
California
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.84
|
$7.91
AED29.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.33
|
$8.65
AED31.75
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.04
AED3.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$0.50
AED1.85
|
|
California vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 42.5% less for groceries
|
California
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.20
|
$1.47
AED5.39
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.77
|
$5.36
AED19.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$6.96
AED25.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.14
|
$2.81
AED10.34
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.05
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$0.98
AED3.59
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.75
AED2.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$0.73
AED2.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$0.59
AED2.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.48
AED1.76
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$0.53
AED1.93
|
|
California vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 20.3% less for transportation
|
California
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.72
|
$2.91
AED10.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$63.04
|
$53.10
AED195.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,529.84
|
$40,680.12
AED149,397.75
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.43
|
$8.50
AED31.21
|
|
California vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 17.7% less for housing
|
California
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.96
|
$101.41
AED372.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,385.40
|
$1,438.18
AED5,281.71
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,043.56
|
$990.79
AED3,638.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.94
|
$122.67
AED450.49
|
|
California vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 71.3% less for childcare
|
California
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,633.13
|
$497.28
AED1,826.25
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,339.97
|
$8,164.49
AED29,984.10
|
|
California vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.31
|
$10.43
AED38.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$4.99
AED18.32
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.92
|
$6.23
AED22.88
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.02
|
$75.55
AED277.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.99
|
$13.19
AED48.44
|
|
California vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.4% more for clothing
|
California
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.47
|
$75.04
AED275.58
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.47
|
$59.50
AED218.51
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.50
|
$105.66
AED388.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$119.94
|
$106.53
AED391.23
|
|
California vs. United Arab Emirates - 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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