


Middle East Expat Cost of Living Comparison
Overall Middle East countries have average local cost of living levels; however the cost of importing and transporting the international standard of goods that expatriates expect to purchase in the cities in this region can make it relatively expensive to maintain the lifestyle that they are used to.

Which city is the most expensive in the Middle East in 2023?
Jerusalem is the most expensive city for Expats in the Middle East with an overall Cost of Living Index (COLI), for all 13 basket groups, of 95 (New York =100).

Second Most Expensive City in the Middle East
Abu Dhabi is the second most expensive city in the Middle East for Expatriate’s to live, with an overall cost of living index of 81.

Third Most Expensive City in the Middle East
Dubai is the third most expensive city in the Middle East for Expatriate’s to live, with an overall cost of living index of 80.

Where does this expat cost of living information for the Middle East come from?
Xpatulator.com has been created to calculate expatriate pay using online calculators and an extensive database of cost of living and hardship indexes, for 780 international locations. The database is updated quarterly. Subscribers use this information to ensure expatriate salary spending power is maintained when on an international assignment. Salary spending power is affected by cost of living, hardship and exchange rate differences between the home and host location.
What is the cost of living comparison for the Middle East?
A cost of living comparison involves using a Cost of Living Index (COLI) as a numerical way of comparing cost of living, either over time, or by comparing the cost of living in different geographical locations. When comparing the cost of living between different locations the difference in the cost of living is expressed as an index by dividing the cost of living in Location A by the cost of living in Location B. The cost of living index indicates the difference in the cost of living between the two locations. The COLI for the most expensive cities in the Middle East is the result of dividing each locations cost of living by the cost of living in New York NY (USA) using all 13 basket groups. New York therefore has a COLI of 100 for global comparison purposes.

What are the top 10 most expensive cities to live in the Middle East?
The top 10 most expensive cities in the Middle East for an Expat as at October 2023 are as follows:
- 1. Jerusalem
- 2. Abu Dhabi
- 3. Dubai
- 4. Doha
- 5. Manama
- 6. Sanaa
- 7. Riyadh
- 8. Kuwait City
- 9. West Bank
- 10. Jeddah
Cost of Living Review for the Middle East
For more, read a free cost of living review for the following locations in the Middle East as at October 2023:
- Abu Dhabi
- Amman
- Baghdad
- Beirut
- Damascus
- Dammam
- Doha
- Dubai
- Jeddah
- Jerusalem
- Kuwait City
- Manama
- Mecca
- Medinah
- Muscat
- Riyadh
- Sanaa
- Tehran
- West Bank
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