Cost of living comparison

Saint Lucia

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Castries Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 32.1% cheaper than Castries.

Restaurants: pay 68.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 58.4% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 17.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 6.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 26.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City

Expenses including restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, and housing 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. Castries Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 68.3% less for restaurants

	Castries	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.25 EC$25.00	$1.92 ₫49,832	-79.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.33 EC$22.50	$4.62 ₫120K	-44.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.94 EC$5.25	$0.54 ₫13,905	-72.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 EC$2.62	$0.33 ₫8,590	-65.8%
Average			-68.3%

Castries vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.4% less for groceries

	Castries	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 EC$5.02	$1.08 ₫27,843	-42.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.61 EC$15.17	$6.05 ₫157K	+7.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.75 EC$20.95	$6.13 ₫159K	-20.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.61 EC$12.47	$1.62 ₫42,008	-64.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.10 EC$11.09	$1.64 ₫42,570	-59.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.89 EC$10.50	$1.36 ₫35,261	-64.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 EC$2.02	$0.58 ₫14,953	-22.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.70 EC$10.00	$0.72 ₫18,715	-80.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$6.66 EC$18.00	$0.58 ₫14,918	-91.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.54 EC$4.17	$0.54 ₫14,104	-64.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 EC$2.50	$0.53 ₫13,662	-43.0%
Average			-58.4%

Castries vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.1% less for transportation

	Castries	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.83 EC$15.75	$3.55 ₫91,950	-39.1%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$11.55 ₫299K
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,901.46 EC$70,000.00	$30,715.02 ₫795M	+18.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$5.80 ₫150K
Average			-17.1%

Castries vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.0% less for housing

	Castries	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.60 EC$131.33	$10.46 ₫271K	-78.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$456.36 EC$1,233.33	$585.86 ₫15M	+28.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$345.35 EC$933.33	$297.81 ₫8M	-13.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.32 EC$254.90	$79.24 ₫2M	-16.0%
Average			-6.0%

Castries vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Castries	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$212.76 EC$575.00	$438.36 ₫11M	+106.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$23,561.82 ₫610M
Average			+106.0%

Castries vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Castries	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.78 EC$7.50	$1.03 ₫26,762	-62.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.70 EC$10.00	$1.81 ₫46,978	-51.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.25 EC$25.00	$1.23 ₫31,892	-86.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.63 EC$112.50	$25.91 ₫671K	-37.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.55 EC$15.00	$3.46 ₫89,697	-37.6%
Average			-54.1%

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

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pay 26.2% less for clothing

	Castries	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.25 EC$225.00	$51.59 ₫1M	-38.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.88 EC$137.50	$34.61 ₫896K	-32.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.01 EC$300.00	$91.59 ₫2M	-17.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.01 EC$300.00	$94.62 ₫2M	-14.8%
Average			-26.2%

Castries 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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