Jeddah is Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city, home to UNESCO-listed Al-Balad, a growing bus network, a Haramain rail station and a humid climate. Here is what to know before you move.
Reviewed by Saudi Expats Team, October 22, 2026
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Jeddah is Saudi Arabia's main Red Sea port and, at about 3.7 million residents in the 2022 census, its second most populous city. It is hotter and more humid than Riyadh, more relaxed in feel, and it has a UNESCO-listed old town. A single person can live here on roughly SAR 6,500 a month before a car or school fees, and a family on roughly SAR 10,650 (see the cost section).
As of 22 October 2026, the UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to most of Saudi Arabia. Check your own government's advice and talk to your employer before you travel.
Jeddah is on the coast, so humidity matters as much as heat. Climate normals show a July average daytime high of 39.4 degrees C, a January average night low of 18.8 degrees C, and relative humidity of 53 percent in July and 60 percent in January. September is the most humid month, with dew points often above 27 degrees C. Winters are mild, which is the main reason many people prefer Jeddah to Riyadh.
Rents and daily life vary a great deal between north and south Jeddah, and traffic is a bigger factor than distance. Compare these areas on the site's own pages:
Pick the school and workplace first, then use the schools finder, the rent affordability tool and the neighborhood quiz.
Asking rents in the site's September 2026 dataset (Bayut.sa, unfurnished apartments, mostly North Jeddah districts such as Al Rawdah, Al Salamah, Al Zahraa, Al Nahdah and Al Hamraa) had medians of SAR 4,000 a month for two bedrooms and SAR 5,000 for three. The one-bedroom figure of SAR 3,750 is a low-confidence adjustment, because new-build Al Rawdah listings pushed the raw one-bedroom median above the two-bedroom median. Sign only Ejar-registered leases.
Buses. Jeddah has a city bus network run by Jeddah Transport Co. A new phase launched on 7 May 2025 with 14 routes, 80 stops and 91 buses. Routes 15 (Prince Sultan Road) and 16 (from the Corniche to Prince Faisal bin Fahd Road) were added in March 2026. Fares in May 2025 were SAR 3.45 per ride, SAR 10 for a five-ride day package, SAR 60 for 35 rides a week and SAR 240 for 175 rides a month. Use the Jeddah Buses app for current routes and times.
Metro. We found no evidence of an operating Jeddah metro; the articles available to us are old planning reports. Check before you assume it exists.
Train. The Haramain high-speed railway links Jeddah with Makkah, Madinah and King Abdullah Economic City. Jeddah has two stations: Al Sulaymaniyah in the city and a station at King Abdulaziz International Airport (opened December 2019). Make sure you book the right one. Tickets are sold on the SAR HHR portal (sar.hhr.sa) and in the HHR Train app, and foreign passengers enter a passport or iqama number.
Driving and ride-hailing. Many residents drive, and traffic is heavy at rush hour. See the driving licence guide for licence rules.
Al-Balad, the old town, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014 as "Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah" (site 1361). The listed area covers 17.92 hectares with a larger buffer zone, and Saudipedia reports more than 600 heritage buildings there. The Jeddah Corniche and Waterfront are the usual places for an evening walk, and King Fahd's Fountain, built in the 1980s, reaches 312 meters. Mall of Arabia is the largest shopping mall in Jeddah, according to its Wikipedia entry.
Two hospitals are well documented. King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre runs one of its three main hospitals in Jeddah, and International Medical Center is a private hospital that opened in 2006. Which hospital you can use depends on your insurance network; read the health insurance guide. Emergency numbers are 997 for an ambulance, 999 for police and 998 for civil defense.
Using the September 2026 dataset and its own formula, a single person (one-bedroom, cooking at home, 15 meals out, bus pass, gym) needs about SAR 6,470 a month. A family of three in a three-bedroom without a car needs roughly SAR 10,650, before school fees and health insurance. Jeddah's dataset rents are lower than Riyadh's for larger apartments, and bus passes cost about SAR 180 a month in the dataset. Run your own numbers in the cost calculator and see cost of living in Saudi Arabia.
If you are job hunting, read jobs for expats in Jeddah. In 2019 the tourism authority said foreign women are not required to wear an abaya, and advised everyone to dress modestly. Restaurants adjust their hours in Ramadan; see the Ramadan guide. For national rules on housing, banks and insurance, start with living in Saudi Arabia.
Facts in this guide were checked on 22 October 2026 against these pages. Fees and rules change, so confirm on the official page before you pay or apply.
Check and pay traffic fines through Absher, the Efaa platform or SADAD. You have 30 days to object, and the 50 percent fine discount ended in April 2025.
Residents register a SIM against their Iqama with a fingerprint at an operator outlet, or self-activate through the operator app with Nafath. You can check which numbers are under your ID on CST's Mutasil portal.
Eight hours a day, six in Ramadan for Muslims, 21 days of annual leave, overtime at the hourly wage plus 50% of basic pay. The main private-sector rules, checked against HRSD.
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