Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. Puerto Rico Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 9.3% cheaper than Puerto Rico overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 38.4% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 50.0% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 9.6% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 21.8% more in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 27.8% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 90.3% more in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 0.9% more in United Arab Emirates
The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Puerto Rico. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, childcare, and transportation are lower in United Arab Emirates. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates vs. Puerto Rico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
pay 38.4% less for restaurants
|
Puerto Rico
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.34
|
$8.43
AED30.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.24
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.74
|
$1.07
AED3.94
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.35
|
$0.45
AED1.66
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 50.0% less for groceries
|
Puerto Rico
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.37
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.35
|
$4.94
AED18.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.71
|
$6.75
AED24.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.03
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.95
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.15
|
$0.97
AED3.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.17
|
$0.76
AED2.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$0.72
AED2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$0.58
AED2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
|
$0.48
AED1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.54
|
$0.47
AED1.74
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 9.6% less for transportation
|
Puerto Rico
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.08
|
$3.40
AED12.50
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$37.75
|
$49.01
AED179.98
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,571.43
|
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.50
|
$7.71
AED28.30
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 21.8% more for housing
|
Puerto Rico
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.43
|
$87.46
AED321.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,098.02
|
$1,419.61
AED5,213.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$722.33
|
$1,087.32
AED3,993.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$228.66
|
$131.39
AED482.53
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 27.8% less for childcare
|
Puerto Rico
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$700.71
|
$481.84
AED1,769.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,819.51
|
$8,191.72
AED30,084.11
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 90.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Puerto Rico
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.61
|
$10.81
AED39.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.78
|
$4.99
AED18.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.22
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$29.37
|
$69.98
AED256.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.50
|
$13.30
AED48.83
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.9% more for clothing
|
Puerto Rico
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.28
|
$53.49
AED196.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.82
|
$52.36
AED192.30
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.61
|
$95.31
AED350.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.25
|
$94.82
AED348.22
|
|
Puerto Rico 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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