Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dammam and Jeddah

For one person, living is cheaper in Dammam: $1,226 a month against $1,395 in Jeddah, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Dammam
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Dammam Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Jeddah
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Jeddah Living Index

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Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,226

/mo nomad

Jeddah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,395

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dammam and in Jeddah

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Dammam and in Jeddah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,226 in Dammam versus $1,395 in Jeddah.

Dammam $1,226
Jeddah $1,395

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,857 in Dammam versus $2,167 in Jeddah.

Dammam $1,857
Jeddah $2,167

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,488 in Dammam versus $2,940 in Jeddah.

Dammam $2,488
Jeddah $2,940

Living in Dammam costs roughly 12% less than in Jeddah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dammam is 10% below, Jeddah is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.49 SAR 24.35

$6.16 SAR 23.10

5.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.23 SAR 147

$79.6 SAR 299

-50.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.78 SAR 29.21

$9.60 SAR 36.03

-18.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.83 SAR 6.87

$2.33 SAR 8.74

-21.46%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

$2.66 SAR 9.96

-33.08%

Cappuccino

$3.71 SAR 13.94

$3.78 SAR 14.18

-1.85%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 SAR 3.02

$1.07 SAR 4.01

-24.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 SAR 1.04

$0.26 SAR 0.98

7.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 SAR 6.45

$1.75 SAR 6.57

-1.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 SAR 3.91

$1.33 SAR 4.99

-21.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 SAR 8.71

$2.26 SAR 8.47

2.65%

Eggs

$2.54 SAR 9.52

$2.48 SAR 9.32

2.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.79 SAR 25.48

$6.52 SAR 24.47

4.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.34 SAR 27.55

$8.02 SAR 30.09

-8.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 SAR 48.52

$12.98 SAR 48.70

-0.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 SAR 8.85

$2.10 SAR 7.88

12.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 SAR 6.01

$1.67 SAR 6.27

-4.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.10

$1.55 SAR 5.80

4.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 SAR 6.11

$1.67 SAR 6.28

-2.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 SAR 4.67

$1.17 SAR 4.37

6.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 SAR 4.94

$1.27 SAR 4.75

3.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 SAR 5.07

$1.11 SAR 4.17

21.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 SAR 2.22

$0.54 SAR 2.04

9.26%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.84 SAR 10.65

$4.24 SAR 15.90

-33.02%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 SAR 6.51

$1.83 SAR 6.86

-5.46%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 SAR 7.62

$2.52 SAR 9.45

-19.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.26 SAR 27.23

$6.59 SAR 24.72

10.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 SAR 3.90

$0.89 SAR 3.34

16.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.52 SAR 152

$55.1 SAR 207

-26.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 SAR 9.83

$3.14 SAR 11.79

-16.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 SAR 7.10

$1.76 SAR 6.62

7.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.55 SAR 50.8

$13.78 SAR 51.7

-1.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.42

$0.64 SAR 2.40

1.56%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$27.1K SAR 101.8K

$38.9K SAR 145.9K

-30.20%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.4K SAR 87.7K

$21.7K SAR 81.3K

7.94%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$105 SAR 395

$91.3 SAR 342

15.38%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$33.70 SAR 126

$38.64 SAR 145

-12.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.2 SAR 271

$67.0 SAR 251

7.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$94.5 SAR 354

$69.7 SAR 261

35.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.96 SAR 139

$38.79 SAR 146

-4.72%

Cinema Ticket

$14.61 SAR 54.8

$11.88 SAR 44.58

22.98%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$346 SAR 1,299

$786 SAR 2,951

-55.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,665 SAR 28.8K

$16.6K SAR 62.3K

-53.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 SAR 210

$74.5 SAR 280

-24.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.8 SAR 236

$56.0 SAR 210

12.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.0 SAR 315

$101 SAR 378

-16.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.3 SAR 305

$95.7 SAR 359

-15.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 SAR 1,652

$812 SAR 3,048

-45.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 SAR 1,441

$558 SAR 2,093

-31.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$889 SAR 3,337

$1,315 SAR 4,933

-32.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 SAR 2,352

$863 SAR 3,237

-27.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,788 SAR 6,708

$1,688 SAR 6,335

5.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,073 SAR 4,025

$1,091 SAR 4,094

-1.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,691 SAR 6,346

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.42

5.39

-18.00%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Dammam: October 26, 2026

Last update for Jeddah: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Dammam

$384 31.4%

Jeddah

$558 40% 45.2% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dammam

$211 17.2%

Jeddah

$197 14.1% 6.8% $14

Groceries & Markets

Dammam

$198 16.1%

Jeddah

$200 14.4% 1.3% $2.6

Clothing & Footwear

Dammam

$128 10.4%

Jeddah

$147 10.6% 15% $19

Eating Out

Dammam

$124 10.1%

Jeddah

$129 9.2% 3.6% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Dammam

$124 10.1%

Jeddah

$93 6.7% 24.5% $30

Getting Around

Dammam

$57 4.6%

Jeddah

$71 5.1% 24.4% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $440 in Dammam and $812 in Jeddah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39 in Dammam vs $80 in Jeddah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $200 per month, with Dammam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Dammam

🇸🇦 Jeddah

🕒 Local time

23:55 11:55 PM

Same time as Dammam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

903,312

3,430,697

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Dammam Jeddah 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Dammam
Jeddah

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Dammam vs Jeddah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dammam is about 12% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, transport, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,839 in Dammam and $2,092 in Jeddah to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $440 in Dammam versus $812 in Jeddah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $346 in Dammam versus $786 in Jeddah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Dammam – a meal for two runs $39 versus $80 in Jeddah. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Dammam and Jeddah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.