Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 55.5% more expensive than Dubai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.1 times more in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 91.6% more in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 29.4% more in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 7.8% less in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 2.6 times more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 26.4% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 12.1% less in Chicago
The cost of childcare, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Chicago are more expensive than in Dubai. Expenses including clothing and housing are lower in Chicago. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Dubai, you would:
pay 2.1 times more for restaurants
|
Dubai
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.19
AED4.37
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.90
AED3.31
|
$2.33
|
|
Dubai vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 91.6% more for groceries
|
Dubai
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.45
AED20.01
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.12
AED26.15
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.21
AED15.45
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.05
AED3.86
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
AED3.16
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.78
AED2.88
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.40
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.94
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.52
AED1.92
|
$1.26
|
|
Dubai vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 29.4% more for transportation
|
Dubai
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.82
AED10.37
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.13
AED320.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.71
AED32.00
|
$14.43
|
|
Dubai vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 7.8% less for housing
|
Dubai
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
$141.41
|
|
Dubai vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 2.6 times more for childcare
|
Dubai
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Dubai vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 26.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Dubai
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.65
AED20.75
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$84.61
AED310.71
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.98
AED55.00
|
$18.00
|
|
Dubai vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.1% less for clothing
|
Dubai
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
AED458.15
|
$146.50
|
|
Dubai vs. Chicago - 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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