Cost of Living in Ad Dammam, Saudi Arabia

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How Much Does It Cost to Live In Ad Dammam?

Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, and the third largest city in the country after Riyadh and Jeddah.

Its importance lies in the fact that it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry.

Living cost is very low here compared other cities in Saudi Arabia.

However, how much you spend in this city completely depends on your situation, your job and salary.

RESTAURANTS

The main thing about Ad Dammam city is that the cost of food is very low while the taste of that same food satiates all taste buds – it’s that delicious! The food here is very famous for its taste. Fast food is a huge business in Saudi Arabia, and this applies to Ad Dammam too, so you can expect all the usual chain restaurants where you can eat for a couple of dollars.

MARKETS

Cooking your own food will save you a whole lot of money. Here you can find huge chains of supermarkets where you’ll find whatever you need. What’s interesting for foreigners are the locally grown high-quality dates that can be a bit expensive. Everything else is pretty cheap. There are well maintained air-conditioned malls and grocery stores scattered all around the city.

TRANSPORTATION

Public transport is poor in Ad Dammam. Taxis and the so-called “dubbabs” dominate the streets, but they are usually used by the lower scale foreign workers. If you own a car – then you need to spend only on oil and it’s very cheap in Saudi Arabia. Be prepared that in some cases with taxis you’ll have to haggle the price in advance.

UTILITIES (MONTHLY)

Utilities are rather cheap in Ad Dammam, which is expected in Saudi Arabia – in fact, they’re cheaper than in most countries around the world. The cost of utilities there amounts to only around 70$ for a month for basic ones like electricity, water, cooling, heating and garbage services in an apartment of 85m2. Internet however, is pretty expensive compared to this and especially compared to many other countries.

SPORTS & LEISURE

Entertainment in Ad Dammam is close to non-existent. This applies to cinemas and theaters too, while gyms and fitness clubs are segregated by gender. On top of this, the cost of staying active in Ad Dammam is through the roof! A month of going to the gym or a being a member of a fitness club will cost you a whopping 87$ – that’s more than in most countries around the world.

CLOTHING & SHOES

If you want to shop in malls similar to those you can find in Western countries, by all means visit Ash-Shate’a mall and Marina mall. Then there’s the SEIKO Market located at the Dammam center, which is considered as the one of the oldest market located in eastern region of Saudi Arabia. All in all, there’s a cluster of shopping malls and you can roam for hours there. The prices are relatively low – quality jeans cost around 47$, while summer dresses and shirts are also around 50$.

RENT PER MONTH

Rent isn’t too high in Ad Dammam. Though your accommodation rent will be lower if you share an apartment – which would cost you around 180$ a month, a one-bedroom apartment shouldn’t cost too much either. Depending on your particular location, a one-bedroom apartment in the city center would amount up to 410$, while one a bit further would cost around 280$.

Cost of Living Averages Table for Ad Dammam

How Does the Average Person Spend Their Money in Ad Dammam?

The good thing about cities of Saudi Arabia like Ad Dammam is that the saving potential is huge compared to the cities in other Gulf countries – since there are no distractions where you can go spend all the money you earned and everything is so cheap!

As for the expenses, the biggest chunk of the paycheck of Ad Dammam’s citizens gets spent on food.

The next huge expense is rent, since the standard is high in this country and rent prices can get a bit high.

What is shockingly high is the percentage of sports expenses.

As much as 14% of one’s entire salary gets spent on sports, which is very high.

Average Costs Breakdown

Ad Dammam: Average Salary, Minimum Wage & Mortgages

One of the greatest things about living in Saudi Arabia are its very high salaries, and this applies to Ad Dammam.

What’s great about this city is that many renowned multi national companies have production areas here.

In fact, Dammam industrial areas are the largest in Saudi Arabia after Yambu and Jubail Industrial Areas which makes life very comfortable in this city.

The average monthly net salary is around 1750$, which, taking into account the low prices in the country, is staggeringly high.

With this type of income, most people there live like royalty.

Ad Dammam Safety Overview

READ THE FULL REPORT: Ad Dammam Safety Review

Safety Index:

67

• OVERALL RISK: MEDIUM
• TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: LOW
• PICKPOCKETS RISK: MEDIUM
• NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
• MUGGING RISK: MEDIUM
• TERRORISM RISK: HIGH
• SCAMS RISK: LOW
• WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: MEDIUM

Cost of Living by City in Ad Dammam