Cost of living comparison

Mexico

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ajijic Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 25.0% cheaper than Ajijic.

Restaurants: pay 67.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 16.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 27.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 34.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 43.0% more in Ho Chi Minh City

The cost of childcare and clothing in Ho Chi Minh City are more expensive than in Ajijic. Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, and groceries are lower in Ho Chi Minh City. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Ho Chi Minh City.

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Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ajijic Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ho Chi Minh City instead of Ajijic, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 67.7% less for restaurants

	Ajijic	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.74 MX$182.89	$1.92 ₫49,658	-80.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.23 MX$135.86	$4.62 ₫119K	-36.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 MX$31.35	$0.54 ₫13,857	-67.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.22 MX$22.99	$0.33 ₫8,560	-72.9%
Average			-67.7%

Ajijic vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.3% less for groceries

	Ajijic	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.24 MX$42.12	$1.08 ₫27,746	-52.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.06 MX$76.29	$6.05 ₫156K	+49.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.62 MX$105.50	$6.13 ₫158K	+9.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.29 MX$43.06	$1.62 ₫41,862	-29.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.85 MX$72.29	$1.64 ₫42,421	-57.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MX$19.32	$1.36 ₫35,138	+32.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 MX$11.26	$0.58 ₫14,901	-3.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 MX$13.10	$0.72 ₫18,650	+3.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.79 MX$14.93	$0.58 ₫14,866	-27.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 MX$13.63	$0.54 ₫14,055	-24.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.63 MX$11.85	$0.53 ₫13,615	-16.4%
Average			-16.3%

Ajijic vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.3% less for transportation

	Ajijic	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 MX$105.62	$3.55 ₫91,630	-36.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$11.55 ₫298K
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,528.95 MX$404K	$30,715.02 ₫793M	+42.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$36.86 MX$692.38	$5.80 ₫150K	-84.3%
Average			-27.3%

Ajijic vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.0% less for housing

	Ajijic	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.93 MX$468.38	$10.46 ₫270K	-58.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$861.90 MX$16,191.86	$585.86 ₫15M	-32.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.47 MX$12,163.46	$297.81 ₫8M	-54.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.83 MX$804.53	$79.24 ₫2M	+85.0%
Average			-34.0%

Ajijic vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Ajijic	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.96 MX$4,075.92	$438.36 ₫11M	+102.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,948.48 MX$55,390.68	$23,561.82 ₫608M	+699.1%
Average			+301.8%

Ajijic vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Ajijic	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.23 MX$41.80	$1.03 ₫26,669	-53.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 MX$67.71	$1.81 ₫46,814	-49.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.45 MX$83.61	$1.23 ₫31,781	-72.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.03 MX$470.30	$25.91 ₫668K	+3.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.90 MX$91.97	$3.46 ₫89,385	-29.2%
Average			-39.2%

Ajijic vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.0% more for clothing

	Ajijic	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.51 MX$836.09	$51.59 ₫1M	+15.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.69 MX$313.53	$34.61 ₫893K	+107.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.54 MX$1,306.38	$91.59 ₫2M	+31.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$71.63 MX$1,345.58	$94.62 ₫2M	+32.1%
Average			+43.0%

Ajijic vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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