Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary
Ho Chi Minh City is 55.6% cheaper than Des Moines.
- Restaurants
-
pay 82.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Groceries
-
pay 43.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Transportation
-
pay 41.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Housing
-
pay 58.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Childcare
-
pay 14.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 73.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Clothing
-
pay 20.9% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ho Chi Minh City instead of Des Moines, you would:
pay 82.8% less for restaurants
|
Des Moines
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$1.92
₫49,832
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.00
|
$0.54
₫13,905
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.49
|
$0.33
₫8,590
|
|
Des Moines vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.7% less for groceries
|
Des Moines
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.95
|
$1.08
₫27,843
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.77
|
$6.05
₫157K
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.38
|
$6.13
₫159K
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.93
|
$1.62
₫42,008
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.39
|
$1.64
₫42,570
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.01
|
$1.36
₫35,261
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.58
₫14,953
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.01
|
$0.72
₫18,715
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.70
|
$0.58
₫14,918
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
|
$0.54
₫14,104
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.53
₫13,662
|
|
Des Moines vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries
pay 41.2% less for transportation
|
Des Moines
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.71
|
$3.55
₫91,950
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.00
|
$11.55
₫299K
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,052.00
|
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
|
$5.80
₫150K
|
|
Des Moines vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation
pay 58.7% less for housing
|
Des Moines
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.15
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,161.80
|
$585.86
₫15M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$864.75
|
$297.81
₫8M
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$143.28
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
|
Des Moines vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing
pay 14.0% less for childcare
|
Des Moines
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,183.50
|
$438.36
₫11M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,812.00
|
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
|
Des Moines vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare
pay 73.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Des Moines
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$1.03
₫26,762
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.00
|
$1.81
₫46,978
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.03
|
$1.23
₫31,892
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.75
|
$25.91
₫671K
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$3.46
₫89,697
|
|
Des Moines vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.9% less for clothing
|
Des Moines
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.68
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.33
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.00
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$145.78
|
$94.62
₫2M
|
|
Des Moines vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing
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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