Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

China

Nanjing vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Nanjing is 4.8% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 33.1% more in Nanjing
Groceries: pay 4.8% less in Nanjing
Transportation: pay 22.8% more in Nanjing
Housing: pay 14.9% less in Nanjing
Childcare: pay 79.2% more in Nanjing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.9% more in Nanjing
Clothing: pay 14.6% less in Nanjing

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

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Nanjing vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.1% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Nanjing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,735	$3.73 CN¥24.89	+93.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫119K	$4.85 CN¥32.35	+4.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,878	$0.51 CN¥3.43	-4.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,573	$0.26 CN¥1.74	-21.3%
Average			+33.1%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nanjing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.8% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Nanjing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,789	$2.11 CN¥14.10	+96.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫156K	$5.29 CN¥35.34	-12.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫158K	$8.05 CN¥53.70	+31.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫41,927	$1.33 CN¥8.90	-17.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,487	$1.35 CN¥9.03	-17.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,193	$0.95 CN¥6.36	-30.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,924	$0.58 CN¥3.84	-0.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,679	$0.79 CN¥5.31	+10.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,889	$0.49 CN¥3.30	-14.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,077	$0.40 CN¥2.64	-27.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,636	$0.42 CN¥2.82	-19.9%
Average			-4.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nanjing - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.8% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Nanjing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,772	$5.04 CN¥33.65	+42.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫298K	$29.83 CN¥199.09	+158.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫794M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-36.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$4.94 CN¥32.95	-14.9%
Average			+22.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nanjing - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.9% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Nanjing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫270K	$7.16 CN¥47.78	-31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$523.69 CN¥3,495.09	-10.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$296.48 CN¥1,978.71	-0.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$41.74 CN¥278.60	-47.3%
Average			-14.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nanjing - Cost of housing

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pay 79.2% more for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Nanjing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$1,482.08 CN¥9,891.40	+238.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫609M	$22,372.70 CN¥149K	-5.0%
Average			+79.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nanjing - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Nanjing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,710	$1.49 CN¥9.95	+44.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,887	$3.08 CN¥20.57	+69.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,830	$3.73 CN¥24.89	+202.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫670K	$28.59 CN¥190.79	+10.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,523	$5.97 CN¥39.82	+72.2%
Average			+56.9%

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

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pay 14.6% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Nanjing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$42.71 CN¥285.03	-17.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫894K	$33.91 CN¥226.34	-2.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$65.18 CN¥435.01	-28.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$87.34 CN¥582.90	-7.7%
Average			-14.6%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Nanjing - 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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