Sharjah

United Arab Emirates

Population
1.8 million
Coordinates
25.33Β° N, 55.41Β° E
Time zone
Asia/Dubai
Prices for
Sep 2026

One person needs about $1,596 a month in Sharjah, rent included: 73% less than in New York. The average net salary is $2,204 a month.

High confidence55 contributors
Sharjah at 25.33Β° N, 55.41Β° E

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.

61out of 100
LivabilityHigh confidence
  • Purchasing power25%73
  • Safety20%85
  • Health care15%60
  • Climate10%43
  • Air quality10%0
  • Connectivitycountry10%74
  • Cost10%50
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.
Worldwide, among high-confidence cities
#513
Livability rank in United Arab Emirates
#5
Cheapest-city rank, worldwide
#1,661

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
52.4
New York = 100, rent excluded
Rent index
22.5
New York = 100
Purchasing power
157.8
Net salary against costs, New York = 100
Net salary
$2,204
Average, after tax
One person
$1,596
$786 without rent
Family of four
$4,180
$2,363 without rent
Rent, one bedroom in the centre
$810
37% of a net salary
Price to income
12.4
Years of income to buy a 90 mΒ² 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).

Prices in Sharjah, US dollars, compared with New York
ItemSharjahNew YorkDifference
Restaurants
Meal, inexpensive restaurant$5.99$25.00βˆ’76%
Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant (3 courses)$36.76$140βˆ’74%
McMeal at McDonald's (or equivalent combo meal)$8.17$14.00βˆ’42%
Domestic beer (0.5 l, draught)$9.53$8.00+19%
Imported beer (0.33 l bottle, restaurant)$9.53$10.00βˆ’5%
Cappuccino (regular)$3.48$6.37βˆ’45%
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 l bottle)$0.83$3.80βˆ’78%
Water (0.33 l bottle)$0.33$2.89βˆ’89%
Markets
Milk (1 l)$1.57$1.36+15%
Loaf of fresh white bread (500g)$1.15$4.68βˆ’75%
Rice, white (1 kg)$1.89$6.97βˆ’73%
Eggs (12)$2.95$5.73βˆ’49%
Local cheese (1 kg)$8.83$17.38βˆ’49%
Chicken fillets (1 kg)$6.95$15.11βˆ’54%
Beef round (1 kg, or equivalent red meat)$11.34$17.77βˆ’36%
Apples (1 kg)$2.21$6.11βˆ’64%
Bananas (1 kg)$1.68$2.20βˆ’24%
Oranges (1 kg)$1.53$5.77βˆ’73%
Tomato (1 kg)$1.34$6.25βˆ’79%
Potato (1 kg)$1.09$3.47βˆ’69%
Onion (1 kg)$1.17$4.17βˆ’72%
Lettuce (1 head)$1.49$2.72βˆ’45%
Water (1.5 l bottle)$0.60$2.50βˆ’76%
Bottle of wine, mid-range$15.57$20.00βˆ’22%
Domestic beer (0.5 l bottle)$2.48$3.21βˆ’23%
Imported beer (0.33 l bottle)$2.64$3.96βˆ’33%
Cigarettes (20 pack, Marlboro)$6.39$19.00βˆ’66%
Transport
One-way ticket, local transport$2.18$3.00βˆ’27%
Monthly pass, regular price$34.04$140βˆ’76%
Taxi start, normal tariff$3.65$3.00+22%
Taxi, 1 km, normal tariff$0.58$2.18βˆ’74%
Taxi, 1 hour waiting, normal tariff$11.98$42.00βˆ’71%
Gasoline (1 l)$0.93$1.10βˆ’16%
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (or equivalent new car)$45,425$35,458+28%
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW (or equivalent new car)$22,066$25,309βˆ’13%
Utilities, per month
Basic utilities, 85mΒ² apartment (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage)β€”β€”β€”
Mobile plan (calls + 10GB data)$49.83$73.50βˆ’32%
Internet (60 Mbps+, unlimited, cable/ADSL)$95.96$71.93+33%
Sports and leisure
Fitness club, monthly fee (1 adult)$54.52$126βˆ’57%
Tennis court rent (1 hour, weekend)$22.09$62.38βˆ’65%
Cinema, 1 seat, international release$13.61$23.00βˆ’41%
Childcare
Preschool, full day, private (monthly, 1 child)$319$3,366βˆ’91%
International primary school (yearly, 1 child)$8,635$60,589βˆ’86%
Clothing and shoes
1 pair of jeans (Levi's 501 or similar)$58.44$72.80βˆ’20%
1 summer dress, chain store (Zara, H&M)$77.61$53.22+46%
1 pair of Nike running shoes, mid-range$109$118βˆ’8%
1 pair of men's leather business shoes$95.04$125βˆ’24%
Rent, per month
Apartment (1 bedroom) in city centre$810$4,417βˆ’82%
Apartment (1 bedroom) outside centre$895$3,033βˆ’71%
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in city centre$1,816$9,242βˆ’80%
Apartment (3 bedrooms) outside centre$1,456$5,461βˆ’73%
Buying an apartment
Price per square meter, apartment in city centre$8,169$18,759βˆ’56%
Price per square meter, apartment outside centre$2,723$6,523βˆ’58%
Salary and financing
Average monthly net salary, after tax$2,204$5,178βˆ’57%
Mortgage interest rate, 20-year fixed rate (%)4.50%6.49%βˆ’2.0 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
MonthCore basket indexRent, 1 bedroomNet salary
Sep 2026β€”$810$2,204
Aug 2026β€”$775$2,205
Jul 2026β€”β€”β€”
Jun 2026β€”β€”β€”
May 202677.8$759$2,145
Apr 202677.3$744$2,371
Mar 202676.7$744$2,450
Feb 202676.8$734$2,459
Jan 202679.2$738$2,600
Dec 202577.3$745$2,608
Nov 202578.2$756$2,256
Oct 202572.9$756$2,256
Aug 202570.3$756$2,256
Jul 202577.5$756$2,256
May 202569.8$762$2,151
Apr 202574.9$897$2,214
Mar 202575.0$897$2,171
Feb 202575.2$897$2,171
Jan 202570.4$880$2,285
Dec 202469.4$880$2,197
Nov 202469.1$880$2,266
Oct 202471.7$881$2,235
Sep 202470.7$881$2,231
Aug 202467.7$881$2,027
Jul 202467.1$916$1,931
Jun 202468.2$894$1,901
May 202468.5$953$1,850
Apr 202468.0$983$1,901
Mar 202467.9$983$1,733
Feb 202467.8$983β€”
Jan 202467.8$985$1,687
Dec 202367.6$850$1,684
Nov 202367.2$802$1,667
Oct 202367.3$798$1,638

Safety

Numbeo crime survey, 2026-mid. Both indices run 0 to 100; they are two sides of the same answers.

Safety index84.7Higher is safer+0.2 since the previous survey
Crime index15.3Lower is better
  • Feeling safe overall84.7
  • Safety in the quality-of-life survey84.7

Quality of life

Numbeo's published indices for Sharjah, 2026-mid. Listed as Numbeo computes them, next to this index's own figures above.

Quality of lifeHigher is better
148.7
Health careHigher is better
60.3
Purchasing powerHigher is better
113.9
ClimateHigher is better
43.3
PollutionLower is better
48.2
Traffic commute timeLower is better
57.2
One-way commuteMinutes, average
57
Property price to incomeYears; lower is better
12.1
Cost of living (Numbeo)New York = 100
49.6
Rent (Numbeo)New York = 100
22.5
Groceries (Numbeo)New York = 100
42.4
Restaurants (Numbeo)New York = 100
36.3

Climate

Monthly means from NASA POWER climate normals. Temperature bands use the same scale on every city page.

Annual mean
28.6 Β°C
Warmest monthJuly
35.7 Β°C
Coldest monthJanuary
20.1 Β°C
Rain a year
86 mm
HumidityRelative, annual mean
54%
SunshineSolar energy per day
5.7 kWh/mΒ²
Clear-sky daysA year
8
Comfort score0-100, 100 at 14-22 Β°C
74

Air, internet and housing

The last 30 days of air, the latest month of broadband tests, and the property survey.

Air

Unhealthy
US AQI, the latest day
Unhealthy days
1AQI above 100
Worst day
152
PM2.5
54.8Β΅g/mΒ³, mean
Air score
00-100

Internet

United Arab Emirates median; city not listed
382Mbps download, fixed broadband, median
Upload
191Mbps, fixed
Latency
5ms, fixed
Mobile download
676Mbps
Mobile latency
18ms

Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026.

Housing

$8,169Per mΒ² to buy in the centre, $2,723 outside
Price to income
12.4Years of income, 90 mΒ² flat
Price to rent
41.3Years of rent, centre
Rental yield
2.4%Gross, centre
Mortgage rate
4.50%20-year fixed
80 mΒ² in the centre
24.7Years of net salary

Numbeo property survey, 20 Sept 2026.

Cities like Sharjah

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
High confidence
Contributors
55Numbeo price survey
Latest prices
Sep 20264 readings that month
Months with prices
10 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

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