Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 27.3% more expensive than Dubai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 65.2% more in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1 times more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 32.0% more in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 24.4% less in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 59.2% more in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.3% less in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 30.6% less in North Carolina
The cost of groceries, restaurants, childcare, and transportation in North Carolina are more expensive than in Dubai. Expenses including clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in North Carolina. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in North Carolina.
North Carolina vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Dubai, you would:
pay 65.2% more for restaurants
|
Dubai
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$17.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$10.47
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.19
AED4.37
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.90
AED3.31
|
$1.82
|
|
Dubai vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1 times more for groceries
|
Dubai
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
$3.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.45
AED20.01
|
$6.80
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.12
AED26.15
|
$3.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
$3.98
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.21
AED15.45
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.05
AED3.86
|
$2.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
AED3.16
|
$0.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.78
AED2.88
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.40
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.94
|
$1.74
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.52
AED1.92
|
$1.80
|
|
Dubai vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 32.0% more for transportation
|
Dubai
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.82
AED10.37
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.13
AED320.00
|
$60.67
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
$33,588.64
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.71
AED32.00
|
$19.99
|
|
Dubai vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 24.4% less for housing
|
Dubai
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
$72.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
$1,488.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
$1,261.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
$132.31
|
|
Dubai vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 59.2% more for childcare
|
Dubai
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
$1,261.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
$24,633.15
|
|
Dubai vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 21.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Dubai
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$5.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.65
AED20.75
|
$4.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
$7.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$84.61
AED310.71
|
$48.40
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.98
AED55.00
|
$12.98
|
|
Dubai vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.6% less for clothing
|
Dubai
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
$49.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
$37.76
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
$88.37
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
AED458.15
|
$111.01
|
|
Dubai vs. North Carolina - 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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