🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates · #229 of 538 cities · 2026

Cost of Living in Dubai

9.7% above the United Arab Emirates average

Ranked #229 of 538 cities · More expensive than 57.4% of cities worldwide

Compared to United Arab Emirates average

Rent Prices

Rent Prices in Dubai

Apartment City Centre Outside Centre You Save
1-Bedroom AED 8,365/mo ≈ $2,278 AED 5,331/mo ≈ $1,452 36%
3-Bedroom AED 16,256/mo ≈ $4,426 AED 11,683/mo ≈ $3,181 36%
Numbeo · 2026-03-18

Multi-Source Comparison

★★★ High Confidence

Dubai has a composite cost index of 56.1 from 3 independent data sources.

56.1
Composite
3
Sources
0.4
Spread

Source Values (NYC = 100)

Numbeo
56.1
Expatistan
55.7
LivingCost
No data
SIM
54.8
Eurostat Validation (EU27 = 100) Gov. Data
Eurostat
118.8

Based on 108 country PLI x 1.1 city factor

View all 127 cities | Data last updated: 2026-03-18

Cost Indices

Cost of Living
+9.7% Expensive
Rent
+15.5% Expensive
Groceries
+4.6% Average
Restaurants
+19.1% Expensive
Purchasing Power
+26.7% Very strong

Living in Dubai: What to Expect

Dubai is expensive by global standards (ranked #229 of 538 cities). It is 9.7% more expensive than the United Arab Emirates average, based on 5 cities.

Groceries are average, while dining out is expensive. Groceries offers the best value, while Restaurants is the priciest.

Local purchasing power is strong — residents can afford more goods and services than in most cities.

Workers in United Arab Emirates earning AED 212,227 gross take home AED 17,686/month after tax (0% effective rate). See full United Arab Emirates tax calculator →

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