Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ho Chi Minh City vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 1.1% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 11.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 7.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 16.8% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 45.3% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 21.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 8.1% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

Ho Chi Minh City vs. China Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.5% less for restaurants

	China	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.90 CN¥20.40	$1.89 ₫49,842	-34.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.02 CN¥35.32	$3.79 ₫99,684	-24.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 CN¥3.34	$0.49 ₫12,819	+2.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 CN¥1.95	$0.31 ₫8,048	+10.6%
Average			-11.5%

China vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.6% more for groceries

	China	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.63 CN¥11.46	$0.97 ₫25,586	-40.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.32 CN¥44.49	$5.67 ₫149,215	-10.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 CN¥47.21	$5.38 ₫141,676	-19.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.56 CN¥11.00	$1.42 ₫37,291	-9.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.73	$1.63 ₫42,847	+6.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.23	$1.23 ₫32,383	+65.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.55 CN¥3.84	$0.52 ₫13,657	-4.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 CN¥4.39	$0.54 ₫14,325	-12.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 CN¥3.55	$0.52 ₫13,688	+3.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 CN¥2.12	$0.50 ₫13,252	+67.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.39 CN¥2.78	$0.54 ₫14,222	+37.0%
Average			+7.6%

China vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.8% more for transportation

	China	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 CN¥30.53	$3.17 ₫83,423	-26.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.32 CN¥143.09	$11.36 ₫299,053	-44.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,143.98 CN¥134,794.71	$37,122.40 ₫976,905,263	+93.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.94 CN¥27.76	$5.68 ₫149,526	+44.1%
Average			+16.8%

China vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.3% more for housing

	China	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.18 CN¥78.70	$9.41 ₫247,579	-15.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$304.90 CN¥2,146.80	$543.38 ₫14,299,439	+78.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.65 CN¥1,377.56	$306.83 ₫8,074,421	+56.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.04 CN¥288.99	$66.43 ₫1,748,277	+61.9%
Average			+45.3%

China vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 21.5% less for childcare

	China	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$390.25 CN¥2,747.78	$263.06 ₫6,922,515	-32.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,493.57 CN¥109,091.78	$13,892.02 ₫365,579,382	-10.3%
Average			-21.5%

China vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.3% less for entertainment and sports

	China	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.04 CN¥7.33	$1.06 ₫27,912	+1.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥19.97	$1.81 ₫47,745	-36.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 CN¥23.65	$1.25 ₫32,896	-62.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.13 CN¥289.59	$19.47 ₫512,420	-52.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.98 CN¥42.13	$3.79 ₫99,684	-36.7%
Average			-37.3%

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

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pay 8.1% more for clothing

	China	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.93 CN¥323.38	$44.83 ₫1,179,792	-2.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.93 CN¥217.79	$29.40 ₫773,742	-4.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.26 CN¥501.74	$93.29 ₫2,455,006	+30.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.88 CN¥513.16	$79.23 ₫2,085,067	+8.7%
Average			+8.1%

China vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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