Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. New York Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 36.1% cheaper than New York.
- Restaurants
-
pay 54.3% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 49.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 28.1% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 28.7% less in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 72.7% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.7% less in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 1.2% more in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates vs. New York Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of New York, you would:
pay 54.3% less for restaurants
|
New York
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.61
|
$8.43
AED30.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.15
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
|
$1.07
AED3.94
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.95
|
$0.45
AED1.66
|
|
New York vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 49.5% less for groceries
|
New York
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.79
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.62
|
$4.94
AED18.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.20
|
$6.75
AED24.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.80
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.68
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$0.97
AED3.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$0.76
AED2.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$0.72
AED2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.49
|
$0.58
AED2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
|
$0.48
AED1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.53
|
$0.47
AED1.74
|
|
New York vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 28.1% less for transportation
|
New York
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.00
|
$3.40
AED12.50
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.85
|
$49.01
AED179.98
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,323.33
|
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.12
|
$7.71
AED28.30
|
|
New York vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 28.7% less for housing
|
New York
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.35
|
$87.46
AED321.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,049.97
|
$1,419.61
AED5,213.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,695.08
|
$1,087.32
AED3,993.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$157.44
|
$131.39
AED482.53
|
|
New York vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 72.7% less for childcare
|
New York
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,922.82
|
$481.84
AED1,769.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,489.62
|
$8,191.72
AED30,084.11
|
|
New York vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 0.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.72
|
$10.81
AED39.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.48
|
$4.99
AED18.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.10
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.08
|
$69.98
AED256.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.30
|
$13.30
AED48.83
|
|
New York vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.2% more for clothing
|
New York
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.80
|
$53.49
AED196.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.51
|
$52.36
AED192.30
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$92.29
|
$95.31
AED350.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$113.37
|
$94.82
AED348.22
|
|
New York vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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