Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 34.2% cheaper than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 62.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 41.4% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 23.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 32.6% less in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 71.6% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.9% less in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 3.3% more in United Arab Emirates
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 62.5% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$7.91
AED29.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$8.65
AED31.75
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$1.04
AED3.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$0.50
AED1.85
|
|
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 41.4% less for groceries
|
San Diego
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$1.47
AED5.39
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$5.36
AED19.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$6.96
AED25.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$2.81
AED10.34
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$0.98
AED3.59
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.75
AED2.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$0.73
AED2.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$0.59
AED2.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$0.48
AED1.76
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$0.53
AED1.93
|
|
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 23.5% less for transportation
|
San Diego
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$2.91
AED10.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$53.10
AED195.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$40,680.12
AED149,397.75
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$8.50
AED31.21
|
|
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 32.6% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$101.41
AED372.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$1,438.18
AED5,281.71
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$990.79
AED3,638.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$122.67
AED450.49
|
|
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 71.6% less for childcare
|
San Diego
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$497.28
AED1,826.25
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$8,164.49
AED29,984.10
|
|
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 10.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$10.43
AED38.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$4.99
AED18.32
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$6.23
AED22.88
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$75.55
AED277.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$13.19
AED48.44
|
|
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.3% more for clothing
|
San Diego
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$75.04
AED275.58
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$59.50
AED218.51
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$105.66
AED388.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$106.53
AED391.23
|
|
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates - 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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