Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

New York is 41.6% more expensive than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 80.6% more in New York
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in New York
Transportation: pay 45.0% more in New York
Housing: pay 16.0% less in New York
Childcare: pay 92.3% more in New York
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.8% more in New York
Clothing: pay 27.8% less in New York

The cost of groceries, childcare, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in New York are more expensive than in Dubai. Expenses including clothing and housing are lower in New York. Notably, groceries, childcare, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in New York.

New York vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York instead of Dubai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 80.6% more for restaurants

	Dubai	New York
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$20.39	+87.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$11.80	+23.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.19 AED4.37	$2.45	+105.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.90 AED3.31	$1.86	+105.7%
Average			+80.6%

Dubai vs. New York - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Dubai	New York
Bread 1 loaf	$1.41 AED5.18	$3.78	+167.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.45 AED20.01	$7.84	+43.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 AED26.15	$4.25	-40.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.39 AED12.43	$4.76	+40.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.21 AED15.45	$5.49	+30.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.05 AED3.86	$2.39	+127.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 AED3.16	$0.88	+1.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.78 AED2.88	$2.16	+175.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 AED2.40	$2.38	+264.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.94	$1.43	+170.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.92	$1.63	+211.4%
Average			+108.5%

Dubai vs. New York - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.0% more for transportation

	Dubai	New York
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.82 AED10.37	$3.32	+17.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$87.13 AED320.00	$95.86	+10.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,229.41 AED100,000.00	$33,821.80	+24.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.71 AED32.00	$19.88	+128.1%
Average			+45.0%

Dubai vs. New York - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.0% less for housing

	Dubai	New York
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$98.23 AED360.76	$65.63	-33.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,362.29 AED8,675.50	$1,876.02	-20.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,533.56 AED5,632.00	$1,567.68	+2.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$159.06 AED584.17	$139.14	-12.5%
Average			-16.0%

Dubai vs. New York - Cost of housing

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pay 92.3% more for childcare

	Dubai	New York
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$823.12 AED3,022.92	$1,788.00	+117.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,907.17 AED54,746.58	$24,966.76	+67.5%
Average			+92.3%

Dubai vs. New York - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	New York
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED50.00	$6.28	-53.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.65 AED20.75	$5.14	-9.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.13 AED22.50	$14.22	+132.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$84.61 AED310.71	$63.27	-25.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.98 AED55.00	$14.99	+0.1%
Average			+8.8%

Dubai vs. New York - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.8% less for clothing

	Dubai	New York
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.30 AED298.59	$49.49	-39.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.28 AED232.39	$44.18	-30.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$129.71 AED476.35	$85.00	-34.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.75 AED458.15	$115.57	-7.4%
Average			-27.8%

Dubai vs. New York - 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: December 2025

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