See exactly what life costs in your city — rent, schooling, food, transport — then answer the question every expat asks: "Can I afford to bring my family to Saudi Arabia?"
Typical monthly costs for a working professional, before personalizing the numbers below. Figures are city averages — your actual cost depends heavily on the specific area/district you choose.
| City | Rent (3BR apt) | Groceries (family of 4) | Utilities | Mid-range School/child |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏙️ Riyadh | ~SAR 5,500/mo | ~SAR 1,600/mo | ~SAR 800/mo | ~SAR 1,500/mo |
| 🌊 Jeddah | ~SAR 5,000/mo | ~SAR 1,600/mo | ~SAR 800/mo | ~SAR 1,500/mo |
| 🛢️ Dammam / Al Khobar | ~SAR 4,500/mo | ~SAR 1,600/mo | ~SAR 800/mo | ~SAR 1,500/mo |
| 🕌 Makkah / Madinah | ~SAR 4,000–4,800/mo | ~SAR 1,600/mo | ~SAR 800/mo | ~SAR 1,500/mo |
Rent figures for a standard 3-bedroom apartment; central districts (Olaya/Al Nakheel in Riyadh, Al Zahra/Al Rawdah in Jeddah) run 20–40% higher. For a detailed rent breakdown by accommodation type and district, see the Housing Allowance Calculator. These are starting-point averages — enter your own numbers below for a result based on your actual situation, family size, and lifestyle.
This dashboard uses 2026 Saudi cost-of-living estimates for rent, food, utilities, transport, school fees, health insurance, Iqama dependent levy, and remittances. Every figure is specific to Saudi Arabia — not global averages. If you're trying to work out the total living cost in Saudi Arabia for your household, this is where every recurring monthly expense gets added up in one place.
For a single person, a moderate monthly budget covering rent, food, transport, and basic utilities typically falls somewhere between SAR 4,000–7,000 depending on city and accommodation type. For a family of four with school-age children, total monthly living costs commonly range from SAR 10,000–20,000+, driven mainly by rent size and school choice. The city-by-city table above gives a starting point — the calculator below builds your actual number from your real situation.
There's no single number — it depends heavily on city (Riyadh and Jeddah run noticeably higher than smaller cities), school choice (international schools can cost several times more than national curriculum schools), and household size. This is exactly why a dashboard is more useful than a rule of thumb: enter your real rent, school, and family details above and the tool builds the total from your actual numbers rather than a generic average.
For most expat families they're not really optional. The dependent levy is a mandatory monthly government fee for each non-working dependent on your Iqama, and most expats send at least some portion of their income home. Leaving these out would make the affordability picture look better than it actually is — the goal of this tool is an honest number, not a flattering one.
Whenever something material changes: a salary review, a new school year with different fees, a move to a new city or neighbourhood, or the addition of a dependent. Rent and school fees in particular can shift meaningfully year to year, so an affordability check done 18 months ago may no longer reflect your real situation.
A stretched verdict is a prompt to look at your largest line items first — usually rent and school fees, since those tend to be the biggest and most negotiable. It's also worth checking whether your housing allowance (if your employer provides one) is keeping pace with current rents in your area using the Housing Allowance Calculator linked above, and whether switching remittance providers could meaningfully reduce what you lose to fees each month.
Methodology: figures are 2026 Saudi cost-of-living estimates compiled from publicly available rental, utility, and school-fee data points and refined through user feedback. Individual results will vary by city, district, and lifestyle. Last reviewed: June 2026.
⚠️ Disclaimer: All results are estimates based on publicly available Saudi government regulations and rates. Always verify important financial or legal decisions with your employer, bank, or the relevant Saudi authority (Ministry of Human Resources, GOSI, ZATCA, Jawazat, or SAMA).