Cost of Living inŞalālah, Oman
Image credit: Syed99975
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Oman: $36,721/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 56% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Oman; Şalālah-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Public schools are for nationals
Expat access
Not practical for international families
not practicalInstruction
Arabic
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Oman's public school system is Arabic-medium and primarily for Omani nationals. Muscat has a range of private and international schools for the expat community, including IB and British curriculum options.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Public schools are oriented toward Omani nationals. Expat families in Muscat use the private and international school sector.
📋 Homeschooling
Legal with MOE registrationOman allows homeschooling for residents with registration at the Ministry of Education. Must use an approved curriculum and submit to periodic assessment. Growing expat community in Muscat uses this pathway.
Homeschool legality in Oman — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Oman.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$700-$900
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$1,150-$1,550
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Şalālah is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Oman.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
GoodLow out-of-pocket burden and life expectancy is high help, but hospital capacity looks tighter.
Public care
GoodStrong public funding, relatively low patient cost-sharing, and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong support this rating.
Private care
LimitedSelf-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
73/100
2023
Physicians
1.99/1k
2022
Hospital beds
0.99/1k
2023
Out of pocket
6%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
80.2 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
13/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
5.8/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedCountry-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Oman yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Şalālah, Oman · Source: GDP-derived estimate (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Şalālah compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.1x further in Şalālah than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Oman here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Şalālah cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Şalālah is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 56% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Şalālah. We are using the country-level cost index for Oman here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Şalālah compare with New York City?
Rent in Şalālah is about 87% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Oman here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Şalālah?
Groceries in Şalālah are about 58% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 58% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Oman here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Şalālah
Salalah is the capital of Dhofar Governorate in southern Oman and the country's second-largest city, with about 165,000 residents. It sits on the Arabian Sea about 1,000 kilometers south of Muscat, and it is unique on the Arabian Peninsula for receiving the Indian Ocean khareef monsoon from roughly mid-June through early September, when the surrounding mountains turn green and temperatures drop sharply, drawing substantial Gulf domestic tourism. The economy combines a major container transshipment port (Port of Salalah, one of the busiest in the region), frankincense and agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. Arabic is the official language with English common in business and the port complex. For relocation, Salalah offers a genuinely milder summer than the rest of the Gulf, established expatriate infrastructure, and direct international flights, with residency tied to employer sponsorship.
See the full breakdown — free
No password needed. Takes ~30 seconds.