Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jeddah and Arima

For one person, living is cheaper in Arima: $1,268 a month against $1,374 in Jeddah, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Jeddah outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

67

Cost of Living Index in Jeddah
Learn more

Jeddah Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Arima
Learn more

Arima Living Index

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Jeddah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,374

/mo nomad

Arima

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,268

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jeddah and in Arima

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

A single person spends $1,374 per month in Jeddah vs $1,268 in Arima, rent included.

Jeddah $1,374
Arima $1,268

A couple spends around $2,148 per month in Jeddah vs $2,161 in Arima, rent included.

Jeddah $2,148
Arima $2,161

A family of three spends $2,922 per month in Jeddah vs $3,054 in Arima, rent included.

Jeddah $2,922
Arima $3,054

Jeddah costs about 8% more than Arima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Jeddah sits 2% above the global median, while Arima is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.04 SAR 22.67

$10.50 TTD 70.7

-42.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.3 SAR 301

$72.5 TTD 488

10.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 SAR 35.65

$8.77 TTD 59.0

8.32%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.38 SAR 8.95

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 SAR 9.88

Cappuccino

$3.73 SAR 13.98

$3.68 TTD 24.73

1.36%

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

$0.97 SAR 3.62

$1.04 TTD 7.02

-6.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$0.77 TTD 5.17

-66.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 TTD 12.19

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 TTD 19.66

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 SAR 6.32

$2.38 TTD 16.03

-29.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 SAR 4.71

$2.48 TTD 16.66

-49.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.34 SAR 8.76

$2.91 TTD 19.60

-19.59%

Eggs

$2.43 SAR 9.13

$4.40 TTD 29.61

-44.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.36 SAR 23.88

$6.58 TTD 44.27

-3.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.30 SAR 31.14

$6.67 TTD 44.89

24.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.23 SAR 49.66

$8.71 TTD 58.6

51.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.13 SAR 7.98

$5.39 TTD 36.23

-60.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.33

$2.29 TTD 15.41

-26.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.07

$3.78 TTD 25.39

-57.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.32

$4.94 TTD 33.23

-65.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 SAR 4.22

$1.32 TTD 8.91

-15.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 SAR 4.71

$1.00 TTD 6.73

26.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 SAR 4.01

$1.34 TTD 9.04

-20.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 SAR 1.99

$0.95 TTD 6.38

-44.21%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.21 SAR 15.81

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 SAR 6.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 SAR 9.36

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 SAR 25.17

$4.82 TTD 32.42

39.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.96 TTD 128

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 TTD 12.84

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 TTD 19.85

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 SAR 3.61

$1.05 TTD 7.09

-8.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.4 SAR 208

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.16 SAR 11.85

$0.73 TTD 4.90

332.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 SAR 6.62

$0.72 TTD 4.85

144.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 SAR 52.2

$14.69 TTD 98.8

-5.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.41

$1.15 TTD 7.76

-44.35%

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

$47.3K SAR 177.3K

$26.9K TTD 180.7K

75.90%

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

$22.0K SAR 82.4K

$35.5K TTD 238.7K

-38.14%

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

$90.4 SAR 339

$89.5 TTD 602

1.03%

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

$38.29 SAR 144

$44.08 TTD 297

-13.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.0 SAR 255

$57.4 TTD 386

18.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.0 SAR 293

$51.3 TTD 345

51.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.19 SAR 143

Cinema Ticket

$11.91 SAR 44.69

$8.93 TTD 60.1

33.37%

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

$769 SAR 2,887

$178 TTD 1,197

332.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K SAR 62.8K

$10.7K TTD 72.3K

55.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.4 SAR 272

$61.5 TTD 414

17.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 SAR 211

$44.60 TTD 300

25.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 SAR 375

$145 TTD 975

-31.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.6 SAR 351

$74.0 TTD 498

26.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$789 SAR 2,961

$508 TTD 3,415

55.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$532 SAR 1,998

$363 TTD 2,439

46.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,427 SAR 5,356

$1,049 TTD 7,055

36.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$832 SAR 3,121

$902 TTD 6,066

-7.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,767 SAR 6,631

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,143 SAR 4,290

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,665 SAR 6,248

$1,222 TTD 8,219

36.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

5.75

-6.26%

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

Last update for Jeddah: October 10, 2026

Last update for Arima: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jeddah

$532 38.7%

Arima

$363 28.6% 31.9% $170

Groceries & Markets

Jeddah

$201 14.6%

Arima

$314 24.7% 56.1% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jeddah

$197 14.3%

Arima

$191 15.1% 2.9% $5.7

Clothing & Footwear

Jeddah

$145 10.5%

Arima

$146 11.5% 0.9% $1.4

Eating Out

Jeddah

$126 9.2%

Arima

$177 13.9% 39.7% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Jeddah

$102 7.4%

Arima

$69 5.5% 32.1% $33

Getting Around

Jeddah

$71 5.2%

Arima

$8.6 * 0.7% 88% $63

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $789 in Jeddah versus $508 in Arima. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 36% higher in Jeddah, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80.0 in Jeddah versus $73.0 in Arima. Groceries tell a different story – $201 in Jeddah vs $314 in Arima – so Jeddah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Jeddah

🇹🇹 Arima

🕒 Local time

20:54 8:54 PM

13:54 1:54 PM

7 h behind Jeddah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,430,697

35,000

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jeddah Arima 10,630 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Jeddah
Arima

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

Jeddah vs Arima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jeddah costs about 8% more than Arima, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,062 per month in Jeddah and $1,902 in Arima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arima, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,374 in Jeddah and $1,268 in Arima. That's a gap of about 8%.

Kindergarten costs $769 per month in Jeddah and $178 in Arima. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Arima, where all-in costs run around $1,268, than in Jeddah at $1,374. In Arima it covers expenses comfortably, while in Jeddah it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Arima – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Arima. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Jeddah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.