Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 36.8% more expensive than Dubai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 89.9% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 91.2% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 39.2% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 16.2% less in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 86.0% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.9% less in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 29.5% less in Washington
The cost of groceries, restaurants, childcare, and transportation in Washington are more expensive than in Dubai. Expenses including clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Washington. Notably, groceries, restaurants, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Dubai, you would:
pay 89.9% more for restaurants
|
Dubai
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$20.22
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.19
AED4.37
|
$2.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.90
AED3.31
|
$2.05
|
|
Dubai vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 91.2% more for groceries
|
Dubai
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
$3.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.45
AED20.01
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.12
AED26.15
|
$4.20
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
$4.68
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.21
AED15.45
|
$5.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.05
AED3.86
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
AED3.16
|
$0.86
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.78
AED2.88
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.40
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.94
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.52
AED1.92
|
$1.24
|
|
Dubai vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 39.2% more for transportation
|
Dubai
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.82
AED10.37
|
$4.20
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.13
AED320.00
|
$67.70
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
$34,322.93
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.71
AED32.00
|
$17.81
|
|
Dubai vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 16.2% less for housing
|
Dubai
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
$72.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
$1,724.04
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
$1,522.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
$141.51
|
|
Dubai vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 86.0% more for childcare
|
Dubai
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
$1,634.82
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
$25,866.06
|
|
Dubai vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 2.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Dubai
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$6.54
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.65
AED20.75
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
$11.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$84.61
AED310.71
|
$56.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.98
AED55.00
|
$14.46
|
|
Dubai vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.5% less for clothing
|
Dubai
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
$49.71
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
$41.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
$88.77
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
AED458.15
|
$108.22
|
|
Dubai vs. Washington - 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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