Cost of living in Saudi Arabia
Are you moving to Saudi Arabia? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Saudi Arabia of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
| Food | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | ﷼ 40 | ||
| Combo meal in fast food restaurant (Big Mac Meal or similar) | ﷼ 24 | ||
| 500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | ﷼ 15 | ||
| 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | ﷼ 5.03 | ||
| 12 eggs, large | ﷼ 9 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | ﷼ 5.55 | ||
| 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | ﷼ 14 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | ﷼ 7 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | ﷼ 3.66 | ||
| 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | - | ||
| 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | - | ||
| 2 liters of Coca-Cola | ﷼ 7 | ||
| Bread for 2 people for 1 day | ﷼ 1.96 | ||
| Housing | |||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in EXPENSIVE area | ﷼ 3,789 | ||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in NORMAL area | ﷼ 2,719 | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | ﷼ 428 | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in EXPENSIVE area | ﷼ 3,251 | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in NORMAL area | ﷼ 1,946 | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 Sqft) studio | ﷼ 256 | ||
| Internet 8 Mbps (1 month) | ﷼ 164 | ||
| 40” flat screen TV | ﷼ 1,249 | ||
| Microwave 800/900 Watt (Bosch, Panasonic, LG, Sharp, or equivalent brands) | ﷼ 407 | ||
| Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | ﷼ 33 | ||
| Hourly rate for cleaning help | ﷼ 30 | ||
| Clothes | |||
| 1 pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar) | ﷼ 191 | ||
| 1 summer dress in a High Street Store (Zara, H&M or similar retailers) | ﷼ 232 | ||
| 1 pair of sport shoes (Nike, Adidas, or equivalent brands) | ﷼ 352 | ||
| 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | ﷼ 311 | ||
| Transportation | |||
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 150 CV (or equivalent), with no extras, new | ﷼ 75,303 | ||
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | ﷼ 1.58 | ||
| Monthly ticket public transport | ﷼ 184 | ||
| Personal Care | |||
| Cold medicine for 6 days (Tylenol, Frenadol, Coldrex, or equivalent brands) | ﷼ 13 | ||
| 1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | ﷼ 61 | ||
| Short visit to private Doctor (15 minutes) | ﷼ 190 | ||
| 1 box of 32 tampons (Tampax, OB, ...) | ﷼ 31 | ||
| Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | ﷼ 16 | ||
| Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | ﷼ 16 | ||
| 4 rolls of toilet paper | ﷼ 8 | ||
| Tube of toothpaste | ﷼ 11 | ||
| Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | ﷼ 23 | ||
| Entertainment | |||
| Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | ﷼ 84 | ||
| 2 tickets to the movies | ﷼ 111 | ||
| 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | ﷼ 267 | ||
| Dinner for two at an Italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | ﷼ 239 | ||
| 1 cocktail drink in downtown club | - | ||
| Cappuccino in expat area of the city | ﷼ 16 | ||
| 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | - | ||
| iPad Wi-Fi 128GB | ﷼ 2,034 | ||
| 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | ﷼ 0.53 | ||
| 1 month of gym membership in business district | ﷼ 364 | ||
| 1 package of Marlboro cigarettes | ﷼ 25 | ||
Map of Cost of Living in Saudi Arabia
This map shows only the top cities in Saudi Arabia. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan.
The color of each marker corresponds with the Cost of Living in the city. Red markers show more expensive cities, green ones show cheaper cities.
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Cost of Living Ranking in Saudi Arabia
(top cities by data quality)
| Ranking | City | Price Index * |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Al Mubarraz | 164 |
| 2nd | Jeddah | 126 |
| 3rd | Dammam | 123 |
| 4th | Riyadh | 112 |
| 5th | Sakaka | 67 |
Price Index:
To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Are you moving to Saudi Arabia? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Saudi Arabia of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
List of all cities available in Saudi Arabia
| Al Mubarraz | Al Qurayyat | Arar |
| Buraidah | Dammam | Jeddah |
| Jizan | Jubail | Khamis Mushait |
| Mecca | Medina | Najran |
| Riyadh | Sakaka | Sultanah |
| Ta'if | Tabuk | Yanbu` al Bahr |
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Jeddah is 39% more expensive than in Linares
- Cost of living in Dammam is 10% cheaper than in Malmo
- Cost of living in Riyadh is 6% cheaper than in Athens
- Cost of living in Jeddah is 13% more expensive than in Riyadh
- Cost of living in Riyadh is 55% more expensive than in Pune
- Cost of living in Jubail is 33% cheaper than in Bristol
- Cost of living in Riyadh is 41% cheaper than in Boston, Massachusetts
- Cost of living in Riyadh is 58% more expensive than in Delhi
- Cost of living in Riyadh is 35% cheaper than in Dubai
- Cost of living in Riyadh is 53% cheaper than in Zurich
- Cost of living in Dammam is 13% cheaper than in Manchester
- Cost of living in Khamis Mushait is about the same as in Aguascalientes
- Cost of living in Riyadh is 9% cheaper than in Naples
- Cost of living in Riyadh is about the same as in Manama
- Cost of living in Jubail is 36% cheaper than in Luxembourg
- Cost of living in Jubail is 40% more expensive than in Zhengzhou
- Cost of living in Jubail is 65% more expensive than in Al Mansurah
- Cost of living in Medina is 34% more expensive than in Asyut
- Cost of living in Yanbu` al Bahr is 6% cheaper than in Johannesburg
- Cost of living in Jeddah is 60% more expensive than in Cebu City