Ras al-Khaimah
- Population
- 352,000
- Coordinates
- 25.79° N, 55.94° E
- Time zone
- Asia/Dubai
- Prices for
- Sep 2026
One person needs about $1,696 a month in Ras al-Khaimah, rent included: 71% less than in New York. The average net salary is $1,597 a month.
Livability
Seven domain scores, weighted by how much each matters to daily life; each is a percentile among the cities with that data. Ranks count only high-confidence cities: six or more domains and twenty or more contributors.
62out of 100
- Purchasing power25%59
- Safety20%85
- Health carecountry15%60
- Climate10%76
- Air quality10%14
- Connectivitycountry10%74
- Cost10%47
How each domain is scored
- Purchasing power, 25%
- What a local net salary buys against local prices, as a percentile.
- Safety, 20%
- Numbeo safety index for the city, or for its country when the city has no survey.
- Health care, 15%
- Numbeo health care index, city first, then country.
- Climate, 10%
- Numbeo climate index where surveyed, otherwise a comfort score from NASA climate normals.
- Air quality, 10%
- 30-day mean US AQI on a 0-100 scale: 100 at AQI 25 or cleaner, 0 at 150 or worse.
- Connectivity, 10%
- Percentile of median fixed broadband download speed, city first, then country.
- Cost, 10%
- Cheaper places score higher: the percentile of the cost-of-living plus rent index, inverted.
- Livability rank in United Arab Emirates
- #4
- Cheapest-city rank, worldwide
- #1,799
What it costs
US dollars a month. Indices compare with New York, which is 100; changes are against the same month a year earlier.
Cost of living index
63.1
New York = 100, rent excluded
+14.9%in 12 months
Rent index
19.3
New York = 100
−0.7%in 12 months
Purchasing power
107.6
Net salary against costs, New York = 100
Net salary
$1,597
Average, after tax
One person
$1,696
$947 without rent
Family of four
$4,396
$2,755 without rent
Rent, one bedroom in the centre
$749
47% of a net salary
Price to income
10.7
Years of income to buy a 90 m² flat
Prices
55 everyday prices in US dollars, the median of this month's contributions, each against a base you choose.
Compare with
Differences are against New York; teal marks a price that is lower (or a salary that is higher).
| Item | Ras al-Khaimah | New York | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants | |||
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $12.93 | $25.00 | −48% |
| Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant (3 courses) | $42.88 | $140 | −69% |
| McMeal at McDonald's (or equivalent combo meal) | $7.62 | $14.00 | −46% |
| Domestic beer (0.5 l, draught) | $10.21 | $8.00 | +28% |
| Imported beer (0.33 l bottle, restaurant) | $9.53 | $10.00 | −5% |
| Cappuccino (regular) | $5.61 | $6.37 | −12% |
| Coke/Pepsi (0.33 l bottle) | $1.12 | $3.80 | −71% |
| Water (0.33 l bottle) | $0.46 | $2.89 | −84% |
| Markets | |||
| Milk (1 l) | $1.67 | $1.36 | +23% |
| Loaf of fresh white bread (500g) | $2.04 | $4.68 | −56% |
| Rice, white (1 kg) | $1.91 | $6.97 | −73% |
| Eggs (12) | $2.36 | $5.73 | −59% |
| Local cheese (1 kg) | $12.73 | $17.38 | −27% |
| Chicken fillets (1 kg) | $9.75 | $15.11 | −35% |
| Beef round (1 kg, or equivalent red meat) | $15.52 | $17.77 | −13% |
| Apples (1 kg) | $2.04 | $6.11 | −67% |
| Bananas (1 kg) | $1.63 | $2.20 | −26% |
| Oranges (1 kg) | $1.51 | $5.77 | −74% |
| Tomato (1 kg) | $1.33 | $6.25 | −79% |
| Potato (1 kg) | $0.95 | $3.47 | −73% |
| Onion (1 kg) | $0.90 | $4.17 | −78% |
| Lettuce (1 head) | $1.77 | $2.72 | −35% |
| Water (1.5 l bottle) | $0.46 | $2.50 | −82% |
| Bottle of wine, mid-range | $13.61 | $20.00 | −32% |
| Domestic beer (0.5 l bottle) | $2.59 | $3.21 | −19% |
| Imported beer (0.33 l bottle) | $2.93 | $3.96 | −26% |
| Cigarettes (20 pack, Marlboro) | $6.81 | $19.00 | −64% |
| Transport | |||
| One-way ticket, local transport | $2.18 | $3.00 | −27% |
| Monthly pass, regular price | $114 | $140 | −19% |
| Taxi start, normal tariff | $1.67 | $3.00 | −44% |
| Taxi, 1 km, normal tariff | $0.82 | $2.18 | −62% |
| Taxi, 1 hour waiting, normal tariff | $8.17 | $42.00 | −81% |
| Gasoline (1 l) | $0.86 | $1.10 | −22% |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (or equivalent new car) | $45,423 | $35,458 | +28% |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW (or equivalent new car) | $22,041 | $25,309 | −13% |
| Utilities, per month | |||
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage) | — | — | — |
| Mobile plan (calls + 10GB data) | $45.44 | $73.50 | −38% |
| Internet (60 Mbps+, unlimited, cable/ADSL) | $78.28 | $71.93 | +9% |
| Sports and leisure | |||
| Fitness club, monthly fee (1 adult) | $57.05 | $126 | −55% |
| Tennis court rent (1 hour, weekend) | $40.84 | $62.38 | −35% |
| Cinema, 1 seat, international release | $13.10 | $23.00 | −43% |
| Childcare | |||
| Preschool, full day, private (monthly, 1 child) | $294 | $3,366 | −91% |
| International primary school (yearly, 1 child) | $4,499 | $60,589 | −93% |
| Clothing and shoes | |||
| 1 pair of jeans (Levi's 501 or similar) | $82.13 | $72.80 | +13% |
| 1 summer dress, chain store (Zara, H&M) | $52.19 | $53.22 | −2% |
| 1 pair of Nike running shoes, mid-range | $122 | $118 | +3% |
| 1 pair of men's leather business shoes | $116 | $125 | −7% |
| Rent, per month | |||
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in city centre | $749 | $4,417 | −83% |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) outside centre | $620 | $3,033 | −80% |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in city centre | $1,641 | $9,242 | −82% |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) outside centre | $1,263 | $5,461 | −77% |
| Buying an apartment | |||
| Price per square meter, apartment in city centre | $4,909 | $18,759 | −74% |
| Price per square meter, apartment outside centre | $1,942 | $6,523 | −70% |
| Salary and financing | |||
| Average monthly net salary, after tax | $1,597 | $5,178 | −69% |
| Mortgage interest rate, 20-year fixed rate (%) | 4.92% | 6.49% | −1.6 pts |
Three years of prices
Each line starts at 100 in its first month, so a rise in rent can be read against a rise in salary on the same scale. The core basket is twelve everyday prices. Hover for the actual values.
Show the monthly values
| Month | Core basket index | Rent, 1 bedroom | Net salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | — | $749 | $1,597 |
| Jul 2026 | — | — | — |
| Jun 2026 | — | — | — |
| May 2026 | 68.1 | $797 | $1,662 |
| Dec 2025 | 71.5 | $761 | $1,963 |
| Nov 2025 | 72.7 | $748 | $2,013 |
| Oct 2025 | — | — | $2,072 |
| Sep 2025 | 64.8 | $755 | $2,122 |
| Jul 2025 | 66.8 | $747 | $2,097 |
| May 2025 | 66.6 | $781 | $2,213 |
| Apr 2025 | 65.0 | $756 | $2,171 |
| Mar 2025 | — | $772 | $2,245 |
| Feb 2025 | — | $772 | $2,245 |
| Jan 2025 | — | $790 | $2,441 |
| Dec 2024 | 54.3 | $790 | $2,637 |
| Nov 2024 | — | $825 | $2,554 |
| Oct 2024 | — | $826 | $2,439 |
| Sep 2024 | 65.4 | $762 | $2,404 |
| Aug 2024 | 65.6 | $861 | $2,763 |
| Jul 2024 | 60.1 | $783 | $2,763 |
| Jun 2024 | 60.0 | $783 | $2,763 |
| May 2024 | 59.9 | $783 | $2,763 |
| Apr 2024 | 60.0 | $777 | $2,764 |
| Mar 2024 | 56.3 | $779 | $2,763 |
| Feb 2024 | 56.3 | $778 | — |
| Jan 2024 | 52.8 | $774 | $2,541 |
| Dec 2023 | 51.8 | $696 | $2,505 |
| Nov 2023 | 53.6 | $694 | $2,505 |
Safety
Numbeo crime survey, 2026-mid. Both indices run 0 to 100; they are two sides of the same answers.
Safety index85.4Higher is safer−1.2 since the previous survey
Crime index14.6Lower is better
- Feeling safe overall85.4
Quality of life
Numbeo's published indices for Ras al-Khaimah. Listed as Numbeo computes them, next to this index's own figures above.
- Cost of living (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 54.4
- Rent (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 20.5
- Groceries (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 49.4
- Restaurants (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 50.0
Climate
Monthly means from NASA POWER climate normals. Temperature bands use the same scale on every city page.
°C202123273133343332302622Rain, mm3412207142112917JFMAMJJASOND
- Annual mean
- 27.9 °C
- Warmest monthJuly
- 34.0 °C
- Coldest monthJanuary
- 20.1 °C
- Rain a year
- 109 mm
- HumidityRelative, annual mean
- 57%
- SunshineSolar energy per day
- 5.7 kWh/m²
- Clear-sky daysA year
- 8
- Comfort score0-100, 100 at 14-22 °C
- 76
Air, internet and housing
The last 30 days of air, the latest month of broadband tests, and the property survey.
Air
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
US AQI, the latest day
- Unhealthy days
- 1AQI above 100
- Worst day
- 133
- PM2.5
- 37.7µg/m³, mean
- Air score
- 140-100
Internet
United Arab Emirates median; city not listed382Mbps download, fixed broadband, median
- Upload
- 191Mbps, fixed
- Latency
- 5ms, fixed
- Mobile download
- 676Mbps
- Mobile latency
- 18ms
Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026.
Housing
$4,909Per m² to buy in the centre, $1,942 outside
- Price to income
- 10.7Years of income, 90 m² flat
- Price to rent
- 27.6Years of rent, centre
- Rental yield
- 3.6%Gross, centre
- Mortgage rate
- 4.92%20-year fixed
- 80 m² in the centre
- 20.5Years of net salary
Numbeo property survey, 20 Sept 2026.
Cities like Ras al-Khaimah
In other countries, with the closest livability score and cost of living index.
About these numbers
What the figures on this page rest on.
- Confidence
- Medium confidence
- Contributors
- 18Numbeo price survey
- Latest prices
- Sep 20262 readings that month
- Months with prices
- 6 of 12Last 12 months
- Items priced
- 98%1 basket items from the country median
- Location
- Matched to a GeoNames reference city
- Index rebuilt
- 24 Sept 2026