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Purchasing Power Parity · United Arab Emirates

Cost of living in 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates vs the United States

United Arab Emirates has a US-relative price level of 0.634 (US = 1.0) — about 37% cheaper than the United States. Reference year 2024.

What US salaries are worth in United Arab Emirates

US income Feels like (US-equivalent) Cost of a US lifestyle
$50,000 $78,864 $31,700
$80,000 $126,183 $50,720
$120,000 $189,274 $76,080
$180,000 $283,912 $114,120
$250,000 $394,322 $158,500

“Feels like” = income ÷ price level; “cost of a US lifestyle” = income × price level. Try your own number in the interactive calculator.

How the sources compare

Each provider measures United Arab Emirates's price level slightly differently; a tight spread means high confidence.

Consensus (median) 0.634 2024
World Bank — GDP 0.635 2024
IMF (WEO) 0.634 2024
Penn World Table 0.568 2023
World Bank — Consumption 0.698 2024
Big Mac Index 0.845 2026

Cost of living around the world

Every country shaded by its price level relative to the US (darker = more expensive). United Arab Emirates is outlined.

Canada: price level 0.846 (US = 1.0) United States: price level 1 (US = 1.0) Indonesia: price level 0.299 (US = 1.0) Argentina: price level 0.459 (US = 1.0) Chile: price level 0.481 (US = 1.0) Norway: price level 0.841 (US = 1.0) South Africa: price level 0.41 (US = 1.0) Mexico: price level 0.548 (US = 1.0) Brazil: price level 0.462 (US = 1.0) Colombia: price level 0.362 (US = 1.0) France: price level 0.749 (US = 1.0) Nigeria: price level 0.119 (US = 1.0) United Arab Emirates: price level 0.634 (US = 1.0) Thailand: price level 0.296 (US = 1.0) Vietnam: price level 0.288 (US = 1.0) South Korea: price level 0.573 (US = 1.0) India: price level 0.244 (US = 1.0) Sweden: price level 0.821 (US = 1.0) Poland: price level 0.486 (US = 1.0) Hungary: price level 0.508 (US = 1.0) Germany: price level 0.789 (US = 1.0) Greece: price level 0.584 (US = 1.0) Türkiye: price level 0.367 (US = 1.0) Switzerland: price level 1.101 (US = 1.0) Netherlands: price level 0.829 (US = 1.0) Portugal: price level 0.603 (US = 1.0) Spain: price level 0.642 (US = 1.0) Ireland: price level 0.821 (US = 1.0) New Zealand: price level 0.891 (US = 1.0) Australia: price level 0.923 (US = 1.0) China: price level 0.491 (US = 1.0) Italy: price level 0.672 (US = 1.0) Denmark: price level 0.899 (US = 1.0) United Kingdom: price level 0.863 (US = 1.0) Philippines: price level 0.338 (US = 1.0) Malaysia: price level 0.306 (US = 1.0) Czechia: price level 0.574 (US = 1.0) Japan: price level 0.63 (US = 1.0) Saudi Arabia: price level 0.493 (US = 1.0) Egypt: price level 0.138 (US = 1.0)
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Countries with a similar cost of living

Relocating for work? See the fair salary from the US to United Arab Emirates or use the Fair Pay Localizer.

Frequently asked questions

How expensive is United Arab Emirates compared to the United States?
United Arab Emirates has a price level of 0.634 relative to the US baseline of 1.0 (about 37% cheaper than the United States), based on the median of World Bank, IMF, OECD and Penn World Table figures with reference year 2024.
What is a $100,000 salary worth in United Arab Emirates?
In purchasing-power terms, $100,000 stretches to about $157,729 of US-equivalent lifestyle in United Arab Emirates; conversely, sustaining a $100,000 US lifestyle there costs about $63,400.
Where does the United Arab Emirates cost-of-living data come from?
Real price-level figures from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD and Penn World Table, blended as a per-country median and refreshed at build time.