Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

China

Ningbo vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Ningbo is 15.2% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 14.7% more in Ningbo
Groceries: pay 14.7% less in Ningbo
Transportation: pay 3.8% more in Ningbo
Housing: pay 40.2% less in Ningbo
Childcare: pay 20.4% more in Ningbo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.1% more in Ningbo
Clothing: pay 22.9% less in Ningbo

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

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Ningbo vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 14.7% more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Ningbo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,658	$2.83 CN¥18.87	+47.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫119K	$4.47 CN¥29.79	-3.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,857	$0.46 CN¥3.06	-14.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,560	$0.30 CN¥1.99	-10.1%
Average			+14.7%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.7% less for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Ningbo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,746	$1.15 CN¥7.67	+7.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫156K	$7.46 CN¥49.65	+23.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫158K	$6.76 CN¥45.01	+10.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫41,862	$1.59 CN¥10.60	-1.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,421	$1.69 CN¥11.26	+2.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫35,138	$0.47 CN¥3.15	-65.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,901	$0.70 CN¥4.65	+21.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,650	$0.69 CN¥4.62	-4.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,866	$0.54 CN¥3.60	-6.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫14,055	$0.27 CN¥1.80	-50.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,615	$0.33 CN¥2.20	-37.5%
Average			-14.7%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.8% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Ningbo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,630	$4.89 CN¥32.54	+37.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫298K	$16.41 CN¥109.23	+42.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫793M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-36.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫150K	$4.58 CN¥30.48	-21.1%
Average			+3.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.2% less for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Ningbo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫270K	$7.95 CN¥52.96	-24.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$357.96 CN¥2,383.10	-38.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$181.96 CN¥1,211.41	-38.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$39.13 CN¥260.49	-50.6%
Average			-40.2%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo - Cost of housing

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pay 20.4% more for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Ningbo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$941.52 CN¥6,268.06	+114.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫608M	$15,909.48 CN¥106K	-32.5%
Average			+20.4%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Ningbo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,669	$1.04 CN¥6.95	+1.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,814	$3.48 CN¥23.17	+91.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,781	$4.47 CN¥29.79	+263.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫668K	$25.21 CN¥167.81	-2.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫89,385	$7.83 CN¥52.13	+126.0%
Average			+58.1%

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

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pay 22.9% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Ningbo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$63.35 CN¥421.76	+22.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫893K	$26.81 CN¥178.48	-22.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$61.86 CN¥411.83	-32.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$52.17 CN¥347.29	-44.9%
Average			-22.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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