Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamar and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamar: $2,380 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Hamar
Learn more

Hamar Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

Jump to prices

Hamar

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,380

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hamar and in Dubai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,380 in Hamar versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Hamar $2,380
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,750 in Hamar versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Hamar $3,750
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,120 in Hamar versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Hamar $5,120
Dubai $5,872

Living in Hamar costs roughly 18% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hamar 76% above, Dubai 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.18 NOK 199

$12.67 AED 46.55

67.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$125 NOK 1,180

$81.7 AED 300

53.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.83 NOK 149

$9.34 AED 34.30

69.49%

Cappuccino

$5.76 NOK 54.2

$5.89 AED 21.62

-2.21%

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

$4.21 NOK 39.63

$1.69 AED 6.20

149.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 NOK 30.85

$0.78 AED 2.86

320.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.49 NOK 108

$13.66 AED 50.2

-15.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.07 NOK 76.0

$13.49 AED 49.54

-40.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.50 NOK 23.53

$1.84 AED 6.78

35.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.93 NOK 27.57

$1.50 AED 5.50

95.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 NOK 19.36

$2.57 AED 9.45

-19.84%

Eggs

$5.76 NOK 54.3

$3.32 AED 12.18

73.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.05 NOK 104

$12.60 AED 46.28

-12.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.20 NOK 115

$9.66 AED 35.46

26.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.42 NOK 296

$12.78 AED 46.93

145.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 NOK 30.26

$2.60 AED 9.54

23.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.57 NOK 24.17

$1.90 AED 6.99

35.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 NOK 28.74

$1.91 AED 7.02

59.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.89 NOK 55.5

$1.37 AED 5.02

329.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.48 NOK 23.34

$1.13 AED 4.14

119.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 NOK 22.95

$1.01 AED 3.71

141.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.12 NOK 19.97

$1.44 AED 5.30

47.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 NOK 18.74

$0.67 AED 2.48

197.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.94 NOK 178

$5.88 AED 21.59

222.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.40 NOK 154

$16.15 AED 59.3

1.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.38 NOK 31.78

$2.72 AED 10.00

24.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.18 NOK 39.37

$3.08 AED 11.32

35.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.66 NOK 43.87

$1.60 AED 5.87

191.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.5 NOK 635

$76.0 AED 279

-11.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.92 NOK 112

$3.24 AED 11.91

267.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NOK 16.76

$0.71 AED 2.61

150.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$69.5 NOK 654

$7.96 AED 29.22

773.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.37 NOK 22.32

$0.98 AED 3.62

141.84%

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

$47.8K NOK 449.5K

$27.4K AED 100.6K

74.38%

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

$43.6K NOK 410.2K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

97.80%

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

$223 NOK 2,104

$249 AED 913

-10.08%

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

$33.07 NOK 311

$54.4 AED 200

-39.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.1 NOK 509

$91.5 AED 336

-40.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.2 NOK 548

$103 AED 380

-43.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.40 NOK 277

$42.32 AED 155

-30.53%

Cinema Ticket

$19.79 NOK 186

$16.29 AED 59.8

21.49%

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

$207 NOK 1,948

$844 AED 3,098

-75.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K NOK 148.3K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-13.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 NOK 959

$67.0 AED 246

52.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.5 NOK 560

$57.9 AED 213

2.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 NOK 1,230

$102 AED 375

28.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 NOK 977

$98.7 AED 363

5.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 NOK 11.6K

$2,393 AED 8,788

-48.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$847 NOK 7,973

$1,533 AED 5,630

-44.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,578 NOK 14.9K

$4,594 AED 16.9K

-65.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,489 NOK 14.0K

$2,939 AED 10.8K

-49.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,302 NOK 40.5K

$7,046 AED 25.9K

-38.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,421 NOK 32.2K

$4,222 AED 15.5K

-18.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,269 NOK 40.2K

$3,461 AED 12.7K

23.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

4.54

8.81%

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

Last update for Hamar: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hamar

$847 35.6%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9% 81% $686

Groceries & Markets

Hamar

$450 18.9%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 35.2% $158

Eating Out

Hamar

$390 16.4%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 21.6% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamar

$311 13.1%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 27% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Hamar

$178 7.5%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 17.7% $32

Getting Around

Hamar

$107 4.5%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 16.6% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Hamar

$98 4.1%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 39.1% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,227 in Hamar and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamar pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $125 in Hamar vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $450 vs $292 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Hamar

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

15:18 3:18 PM

17:18 5:18 PM

2 h ahead of Hamar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,059

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hamar Dubai 5,190 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamar
Dubai

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

Hamar vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamar is cheaper overall, especially in leisure and utilities. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Hamar, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,227 in Hamar versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Hamar runs roughly 13% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Hamar versus $844 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Hamar is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Hamar is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Dubai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Hamar and Dubai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Hamar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.