Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

United States

Helena vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Helena is 2.9 times more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 6.5 times more in Helena
Groceries: pay 85.2% more in Helena
Transportation: pay 94.6% more in Helena
Housing: pay 4.1 times more in Helena
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Helena
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.4 times more in Helena
Clothing: pay 49.8% more in Helena

The cost of restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, and groceries in Helena are more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City. Notably, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Helena.

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Helena vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.5 times more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Helena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,832	$21.50	+1017.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫120K	$18.00	+289.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,905	$2.22	+313.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,590	$1.75	+426.0%
Average			+548.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Helena - Cost of restaurants

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pay 85.2% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Helena
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,843	$3.78	+251.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫157K	$9.00	+48.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫159K	$3.96	-35.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫42,008	$3.67	+126.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,570	$4.08	+148.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,261	$2.14	+57.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,953	$0.81	+40.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,715	$2.04	+182.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,918	$1.84	+219.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,104	$0.99	+80.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,662	$0.68	+28.9%
Average			+85.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Helena - Cost of groceries

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pay 94.6% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Helena
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,950	$3.77	+6.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫299K	$60.00	+419.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$35,850.00	+16.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$37.34	+543.5%
Average			+94.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Helena - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.1 times more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Helena
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫271K	$91.74	+776.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$1,786.67	+205.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$1,533.33	+414.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$287.72	+263.1%
Average			+306.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Helena - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Helena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$1,937.00	+341.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫610M	$27,700.00	+17.6%
Average			+127.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Helena - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.4 times more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Helena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,762	$5.00	+383.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,978	$5.12	+182.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,892	$10.38	+742.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫671K	$52.50	+102.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,697	$12.00	+246.4%
Average			+239.8%

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

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pay 49.8% more for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Helena
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$64.75	+25.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫896K	$118.33	+241.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$82.25	-10.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$123.50	+30.5%
Average			+49.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Helena - 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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