Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Dubai vs. Cedar Rapids Cost of Living Summary

Dubai is 11.8% more expensive than Cedar Rapids.

Restaurants: pay 30.8% less in Dubai
Groceries: pay 15.4% less in Dubai
Transportation: pay 26.3% more in Dubai
Housing: pay 62.7% more in Dubai
Childcare: pay 10.3% less in Dubai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.8% more in Dubai
Clothing: pay 15.4% more in Dubai

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing in Dubai are more expensive than in Cedar Rapids. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, and childcare are lower in Dubai.

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Dubai vs. Cedar Rapids Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dubai instead of Cedar Rapids, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.8% less for restaurants

	Cedar Rapids	Dubai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00	$10.89 AED40.00	-27.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.50	$9.53 AED35.00	-17.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.92	$1.19 AED4.37	-38.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.52	$0.90 AED3.31	-40.5%
Average			-30.8%

Cedar Rapids vs. Dubai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.4% less for groceries

	Cedar Rapids	Dubai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.64	$1.41 AED5.18	-46.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.12	$5.45 AED20.01	-23.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.07	$7.12 AED26.15	+131.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.83	$3.39 AED12.43	+19.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.93	$4.21 AED15.45	-14.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.25	$1.05 AED3.86	-53.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.54	$0.86 AED3.16	+58.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.41	$0.78 AED2.88	-67.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.13	$0.65 AED2.40	-69.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16	$0.53 AED1.94	-54.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04	$0.52 AED1.92	-49.7%
Average			-15.4%

Cedar Rapids vs. Dubai - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.3% more for transportation

	Cedar Rapids	Dubai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.98	$2.82 AED10.37	-5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.00	$87.13 AED320.00	+190.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,383.69	$27,229.41 AED100K	-27.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.41	$8.71 AED32.00	-52.7%
Average			+26.3%

Cedar Rapids vs. Dubai - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.7% more for housing

	Cedar Rapids	Dubai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.33	$98.23 AED360.76	+37.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,140.00	$2,362.29 AED8,675.50	+107.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$750.00	$1,533.56 AED5,632.00	+104.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$157.02	$159.06 AED584.17	+1.3%
Average			+62.7%

Cedar Rapids vs. Dubai - Cost of housing

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pay 10.3% less for childcare

	Cedar Rapids	Dubai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$968.00	$823.12 AED3,022.92	-15.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,795.00	$14,907.17 AED54,746.58	-5.6%
Average			-10.3%

Cedar Rapids vs. Dubai - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Cedar Rapids	Dubai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.50	$13.61 AED50.00	+202.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.46	$5.65 AED20.75	+3.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.26	$6.13 AED22.50	-33.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.50	$84.61 AED310.71	-15.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.75	$14.98 AED55.00	+17.5%
Average			+34.8%

Cedar Rapids vs. Dubai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.4% more for clothing

	Cedar Rapids	Dubai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.47	$81.30 AED298.59	+30.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.33	$63.28 AED232.39	-0.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.26	$129.71 AED476.35	+1.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.67	$124.75 AED458.15	+30.4%
Average			+15.4%

Cedar Rapids vs. Dubai - Cost of clothing

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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: August 2026

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