Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 2.0 times more expensive than United Arab Emirates overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.1 times more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 2.2 times more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 51.5% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 79.0% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 3.5 times more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.4% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 0.8% less in San Diego
The cost of childcare, restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports in San Diego are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:
pay 3.1 times more for restaurants
|
United Arab Emirates
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.91
AED29.06
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.65
AED31.75
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.04
AED3.83
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.50
AED1.85
|
$2.50
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.2 times more for groceries
|
United Arab Emirates
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.47
AED5.39
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.36
AED19.68
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.96
AED25.56
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.81
AED10.34
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.68
AED13.51
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.98
AED3.59
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.75
AED2.75
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.73
AED2.69
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
AED2.15
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.48
AED1.76
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.93
|
$1.12
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 51.5% more for transportation
|
United Arab Emirates
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.91
AED10.69
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$53.10
AED195.00
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$40,680.12
AED149,397.75
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.50
AED31.21
|
$19.40
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 79.0% more for housing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$101.41
AED372.42
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,438.18
AED5,281.71
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$990.79
AED3,638.67
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$122.67
AED450.49
|
$205.84
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 3.5 times more for childcare
|
United Arab Emirates
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$497.28
AED1,826.25
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,164.49
AED29,984.10
|
$28,750.00
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 23.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
United Arab Emirates
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.43
AED38.31
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.99
AED18.32
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.23
AED22.88
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.55
AED277.45
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.19
AED48.44
|
$17.50
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.8% less for clothing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$75.04
AED275.58
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$59.50
AED218.51
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.66
AED388.03
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.53
AED391.23
|
$126.25
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. San Diego - 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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cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. United States.
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