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Living in Riyadh

Annual PM2.5 was 27.5 µg/m³ in 2024.

Last checked 2026-10-1513 sources

Population7,009,120people31 Dec 2022Governorate figureOfficial source · Population by Age Group, Region, Governorate, Nationality, and Gender - Annual
Median rent862.6EUR/month31 Aug 2026Independent source · Riyadh Rental Market Report and Property Index — Asking rent
PM2.5, annual mean27.5µg/m³31 Dec 2024Official source · GASTAT — Saudi Cities in Livability 2025, air-quality indicator 3.3

Which Saudi Arabia-wide rules apply when you move to Riyadh?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in Saudi ArabiaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Riyadh.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

July 2026 practical estimates placed basic utilities for an 85 m² home at €87.19 per month and an inexpensive restaurant meal at €6.95. Fixed internet cost €68.42 per month at the provider's published price in October 2026. A mobile plan with at least 10 GB of data cost €26 per month at the provider's published price in October 2026. A monthly estimate placed a fitness-club membership at €77.69 in July 2026.

What recurs every month6 published recurring costs, € per month
Riyadh recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Private kindergarten€453
Utilities, 85 m² flat€87
Fitness club€78
Internet, 60 Mbps€68
Transport pass€33
Mobile plan, 10 GB€26

Supplemental estimate lane, not official statistics: Utilities, 85 m² flat, Private kindergarten, Fitness club. The others are published prices.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Fitness club membership, monthly77.69 EUR/month31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Riad10Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited68.42 EUR/month31 Oct 2026baity fiber packages2Official · national market
Private kindergarten, monthly453 EUR/month31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Riad10Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant6.95 EUR31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Riad10Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB26 EUR/month31 Oct 2026Auto-renewable internet packages1Official · national market
Monthly transport pass33.32 EUR/month31 Oct 2026FAQs — Royal Commission for Riyadh City3Official
Basic utilities, 85 m² home87.19 EUR/month31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Riad10Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Median monthly rent (whole dwelling)862.6 EUR/month31 Aug 2026Riyadh Rental Market Report and Property Index — Asking rent12Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context

Is Riyadh a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker49%strong on work, weak on safety · range 35–63%
Skilled employee58%strong on work, weak on safety · range 45–71%
Student41%strong on education, weak on safety · range 29–53%
Family58%strong on family, weak on safety · range 47–69%
Retirement47%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 34–60%

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Riyadh. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Jadarat employment platform — Public employment service

Human Resources Development Fund / Saudi public employment support

Job Search
Open official service
Open the Saudi Arabia service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Riyadh. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Family and education

A monthly estimate placed private kindergarten fees at €453 in July 2026.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Public language course providers3 count31 Aug 2026Official public language-service provider/location register6Official

Mobility and administration

RUH was 27.2 km from Riyadh, with 80 listed destinations in June 2026.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Destinations from nearest airport80 count13 Jun 2026OpenFlights — routes.dat7Official
Nearest airportRUH13 Jun 2026OurAirports — airports.csv8Official
Distance to nearest airport27.2 km13 Jun 2026OurAirports — airports.csv8Official
Public transport monthly pass32.37 EUR/month3 Aug 2026Numbeo11Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context

Language courses and integration in Riyadh

3 exact course-location records are linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.

Verified locally
3verified local records
3publicly funded course providers
Check courses in RiyadhHow the country programme works
Exact city-linked records checked 2026-08-10. Provider-supplied records are supplemental and are not presented as official accreditation.

Find courses near Riyadh

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperature moved from 14°C in January to 36.3°C in July. Average highs reached 43.9°C in July, while June, July and August each had 0 mm of precipitation. Monthly minimum temperatures ranged from 7.6°C in January to 27.3°C in July.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C
Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm
Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

MetricValuePeriodSource
PM2.5 — annual mean27.5 µg/m³31 Dec 2024GASTAT — Saudi Cities in Livability 2025, air-quality indicator 3.35Official
Average daytime high by monthJan 20.7 · Feb 23.7 · Mar 28 · Apr 33.6 · May 39.5 · Jun 42.8 · Jul 43.9 · Aug 43.8 · Sep 40.9 · Oct 35.5 · Nov 27.4 · Dec 22.3 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV13Independent
Average night-time low by monthJan 7.6 · Feb 9.9 · Mar 13.8 · Apr 19.1 · May 24.1 · Jun 26.1 · Jul 27.3 · Aug 27 · Sep 23.7 · Oct 18.9 · Nov 13.6 · Dec 9.1 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV13Independent
Average temperature by monthJan 14 · Feb 16.7 · Mar 21 · Apr 26.4 · May 32.2 · Jun 35.2 · Jul 36.3 · Aug 36 · Sep 32.8 · Oct 27.5 · Nov 20.4 · Dec 15.4 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV13Independent
Average precipitation by monthJan 14.8 · Feb 8.3 · Mar 19.9 · Apr 23.7 · May 5.7 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 1.5 · Nov 20.1 · Dec 13.5 mm1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV13Independent

Population and city profile

MetricValuePeriodSource
City area1,973 km²2022GASTAT — Riyadh Region / Riyadh governorate population (Census 2022)4Official
Population7,009,120 people31 Dec 2022Population by Age Group, Region, Governorate, Nationality, and Gender - Annual9Official · governorate figure

Alternatives for people set on Riyadh

Nothing here reaches an argued comparison yet: no other published city shares enough metrics with Riyadh from the same source, period and grain. What is collected is below.

How does Riyadh compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Riyadh's.

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Riyadh in rankings

#2 of 30 in Cities with the hottest summers #16 of 30 in Cities with the lowest published annual rainfall

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Riyadh under the national coverage rules.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

Is the air quality good in Riyadh?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 27.5 µg/m³. The WHO 2021 guideline is 5 µg/m³ and the EU limit value is 25 µg/m³, so this reading is above the EU limit value. Source: GASTAT — Saudi Cities in Livability 2025, air-quality indicator 3.3.

How many people live in Riyadh?

The published population is 7,009,120 people. Source: Population by Age Group, Region, Governorate, Nationality, and Gender - Annual.

How much is public transport in Riyadh?

A monthly transport pass is 33.32 EUR/month. Source: FAQs — Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

Is Riyadh a good place to live?

Riyadh may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: population, rent, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 93d9e80883bc074ae107c8084c6fcd62]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/sa/riyadh/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_riyadh-saudi-arabia-population-rent-cost-of-living_4760a9b18e9f,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: population, rent, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {93d9e80883bc074ae107c8084c6fcd62},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/sa/riyadh/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: population, rent, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/sa/riyadh/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 93d9e80883bc074ae107c8084c6fcd62; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown
  1. Auto-renewable internet packages stc.com.sa · checked 2026-10-11
  2. baity fiber packages stc.com.sa · checked 2026-10-11
  3. FAQs — Royal Commission for Riyadh City FAQs · rcrc.gov.sa · checked 2026-10-09
  4. GASTAT — Riyadh Region / Riyadh governorate population (Census 2022) GASTAT · stats.gov.sa · checked 2026-07-14
  5. GASTAT — Saudi Cities in Livability 2025, air-quality indicator 3.3 GASTAT · stats.gov.sa · checked 2026-07-26
  6. Official public language-service provider/location register cols.ksu.edu.sa · checked 2026-09-15
  7. OpenFlights — routes.dat OpenFlights · raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-07-14
  8. OurAirports — airports.csv OurAirports · davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-07-14
  9. Population by Age Group, Region, Governorate, Nationality, and Gender - Annual api.datasaudi.sa · checked 2026-09-28
  10. Lebenshaltungskosten in Riad de.numbeo.com · checked 2026-07-26
Show 3 more sources
  1. Numbeo numbeo.com · checked 2026-08-03
  2. Riyadh Rental Market Report and Property Index — Asking rent Riyadh Rental Market Report and Property Index · darak.app · checked 2026-10-07
  3. WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-26

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