Cairovs
JeddahCairo vs Jeddah: cost, size & quality of life compared
Trying to decide between Cairo and Jeddah? Here's the honest bottom line first — then the full, sourced breakdown on cost of living, salary, safety and quality of life.
Jeddah comes out ahead overall — by a clear margin.
But the "winner" depends on what you care about. Here's who takes each dimension:
JeddahCairoJeddahJeddahComposite scores
Overall: Jeddah wins by 1.3 points
Population & size
Is Cairo bigger than Jeddah?
Cairo is the bigger city: about 10M people versus Jeddah's 4.7M — roughly 2.1× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
National income
Is Cairo richer than Jeddah?
Saudi Arabia is the higher earner — income per capita (GNI, PPP) of $71,730 against $18,230 in Egypt, about 293% more in purchasing-power terms.
Country-level figures — Cairo is not Egypt and Jeddah is not Saudi Arabia, and both cities typically pay above their national average. Gross, before tax: see take-home pay by country for what lands in the account.
Distance
How far is Cairo from Jeddah?
Cairo is about 1,240 km (770 mi) from Jeddah in a straight line — roughly 2 h 10 m of nonstop flight time.
Great-circle distance, not a routed itinerary; flight estimate assumes ~850 km/h cruise plus 45 minutes of taxi, climb and descent.
Climate
Is Cairo warmer than Jeddah?
Jeddah is the warmer city: January highs average 29°C vs 19°C, and July 39°C vs 35°C. Cairo gets noticeably more sun — about 310 more sunshine hours per year.
| Month | Cairo | Jeddah |
|---|---|---|
| January (high / low) | 19° / 9°C | 29° / 19°C |
| July (high / low) | 35° / 22°C | 39° / 28°C |
Hot desert — effectively rainless. Very hot summers (35°C+ for months), mild sunny winters. Spring khamsin dust storms are the seasonal hazard.
Hot desert on the Red Sea — hot all year, extreme summer humidity along the corniche. Winter is warm rather than mild; rain is a rare event.
Jeddah's 6.2 rating edges Cairo's 5.3 by a narrow margin, suggesting comparable urban appeal with Jeddah holding a slight operational or livability advantage.
The 0.9-point gap is modest enough that choice between them depends heavily on individual priorities rather than one city being objectively superior.
Dig into category breakdowns—employment, safety, cost of living—to see where each city actually wins for your specific needs rather than relying on overall scores.
Data signals
What separates Cairo and Jeddah
How decisive
Jeddah comes out ahead by 1.3 composite points — a clear edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is healthcare, where Jeddah leads by 2.8 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on affordability — within 1.5 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Jeddah run about 150% higher than in Cairo.
Where budgets split most
Transport is the line item that diverges most: roughly 571% pricier in Jeddah than Cairo.
Size difference
Cairo is the larger metro — about 2.1× the population of the other, which shapes commute times, housing supply and how "big-city" daily life feels.
Home internet
Jeddah has the faster typical broadband (180 vs 40 Mbps median) — worth weighing if you work remotely or move large files.
Safety
Jeddah scores higher on safety (74 vs 55 / 100) — a common deciding factor for families.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
The exact scores and winners:
| Axis | Cairo | Jeddah | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 9.2 | 7.7 | Cairo +1.5 |
| Quality of life | 4.5 | 6.5 | Jeddah +2.0 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 5.6 | 7.6 | Jeddah +2.0 |
| Healthcare | 3.4 | 6.2 | Jeddah +2.8 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)10
- Rent index (weight 40%)5
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Cairo: ((100 − 10)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 5)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 9.2.
Cairo sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)55
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)48
- Air quality index (weight 25%)25
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Cairo: (55/100 × 0.4 + 48/100 × 0.35 + 25/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.5.
Cairo has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: fair; air: poor. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)40 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)10.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)10
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Cairo: (min(40/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.1) × 0.3 + (100 − 10)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.6.
Cairo works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 40 Mbps, income tax 10%, cost index 10.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)48
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)1387
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Cairo: (48/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 1387/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 3.4.
Cairo has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is fair, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~1387 EGP/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)26
- Rent index (weight 40%)18
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Jeddah: ((100 − 26)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 18)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.7.
Jeddah sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)74
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)66
- Air quality index (weight 25%)48
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Jeddah: (74/100 × 0.4 + 66/100 × 0.35 + 48/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 6.5.
Jeddah has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: good; air: fair. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)180 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)0.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)26
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Jeddah: (min(180/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0) × 0.3 + (100 − 26)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 7.6.
Jeddah combines fast internet (180 Mbps median), a 0% effective income tax and cost index 26 — a strong configuration for remote workers earning in a stronger currency.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)66
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)229
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Jeddah: (66/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 229/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 6.2.
Jeddah has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~229 SAR/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Monthly cost delta: Cairo vs Jeddah
Normalized to EGP at 1 SAR = 13.0864 EGP.
| Category | Cairo | Jeddah | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | EGP 11,441 | SAR 2,866 | +228% |
| food | EGP 8,670 | SAR 975 | +47% |
| transport | EGP 400 | SAR 205 | +571% |
| utilities | EGP 1,302 | SAR 395 | +297% |
| leisure | EGP 7,803 | SAR 1,262 | +112% |
| healthcare | EGP 1,387 | SAR 229 | +116% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is food: Cairo spends 11.5 percentage points more of its budget on it (28% vs. 16%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Buying property
Apartment prices: Cairo vs Jeddah
Approximate asking prices in EUR per square meter (as of 2025-01), central vs mid-distance neighborhoods.
Buying in central Cairo runs about 47% cheaper per square meter (€800/m² vs €1,500/m²).
Midpoints of public listing ranges — a scoping number for rent-vs-buy thinking, not a valuation. Renting comparisons live in the cost table above.
Getting around
Public transport: Cairo vs Jeddah
Monthly pass and casual-ride pricing in EUR (as of 2025-01) plus the modes each network runs.
Africa's oldest metro at distance-tiered fares (E£8-20); the monthly abonnement is among the cheapest anywhere. Line 3 now reaches the Heliopolis side.
Single ride: €0.34 · Modes: Metro, Bus
SAPTCO/Jeddah Buses network is young and sparse — e-hailing (Careem/Uber) remains the practical default for most trips.
Single ride: €0.85 · Modes: Bus
Salary equivalence: Cairo ↔ Jeddah
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Cairo = 10, Jeddah = 26); currency-converted at 1 SAR = 13.0864 EGP. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Cairo gross | Jeddah equivalent |
|---|---|
| EGP 40,000 | SAR 7,947 |
| EGP 75,000 | SAR 14,901 |
| EGP 120,000 | SAR 23,842 |
| Jeddah gross | Cairo equivalent |
|---|---|
| SAR 40,000 | EGP 201,330 |
| SAR 75,000 | EGP 377,493 |
| SAR 120,000 | EGP 603,989 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Cairo
- Wins on affordability (+1.5 points vs Jeddah).
Why pick Jeddah
- Wins on quality of life (+2.0 points vs Cairo).
- Wins on remote-work friendliness (+2.0 points vs Cairo).
- Wins on healthcare (+2.8 points vs Cairo).
Cairo trade-offs
- Trails Jeddah on quality of life by 2.0 points.
- Trails Jeddah on remote-work friendliness by 2.0 points.
- Trails Jeddah on healthcare by 2.8 points.
Jeddah trade-offs
- Trails Cairo on affordability by 1.5 points.
Remote work logistics
Time zones and language: Cairo vs Jeddah
Cairo (Africa/Cairo) and Jeddah (Asia/Riyadh) sit 1 hour apart in standard time. A 9-to-5 in one overlaps the other's for 7 hours a day. Note: Cairo observes daylight saving while Jeddah doesn't, so the gap shifts by an hour part of the year.
Official: Arabic · English: Moderate · Local language: Recommended
Egyptian Arabic is the street language; English is moderate in business, Zamalek/Maadi expat districts and among educated professionals. Bureaucracy is Arabic — a fixer is standard.
Official: Arabic · English: High · Local language: Helpful
The most cosmopolitan Saudi city — English widely usable in business and daily services; Arabic needed for government interactions.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Tools that work for either choice
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How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Cairo) and 2026-06-10 (Jeddah).
- FX rate. 1 SAR = 13.0864 EGP, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Cairo is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Cairo vs Jeddah: which is cheaper?
Cairo is roughly 150% cheaper than Jeddah on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Cairo has cost index 10 vs Jeddah at 26 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Cairo scores 5.7/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Jeddah at 7.0/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Jeddah wins overall by 1.3 points.
Is Cairo or Jeddah better for remote work?
Cairo has 40 Mbps median internet vs Jeddah at 180 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.
Is Cairo bigger than Jeddah?
Cairo is larger — about 10.0M people versus Jeddah's 4.7M, roughly 2.1× the size.
Is Cairo safer than Jeddah?
Jeddah scores higher on safety — 74 vs 55 / 100 on the Mundevo safety index (crime and personal-security signals).
Should I move to Cairo or Jeddah?
It depends on what you weight. Jeddah wins the overall Mundevo composite by 1.3 points, but Cairo is cheaper, and the two split differently across affordability, quality of life, remote work and healthcare. Use the per-axis table and the reader-profile section above to match the verdict to your own priorities.