Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

United States

Waterloo vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary

Waterloo is 83.1% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.

Restaurants: pay 4.6 times more in Waterloo
Groceries: pay 69.7% more in Waterloo
Transportation: pay 28.8% more in Waterloo
Housing: pay 93.5% more in Waterloo
Childcare: pay 97.7% more in Waterloo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.9 times more in Waterloo
Clothing: pay 44.9% less in Waterloo

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

Planning a move to United States? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Waterloo vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.6 times more for restaurants

	Ho Chi Minh City	Waterloo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.92 ₫49,427	$16.00	+731.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 ₫119K	$9.00	+94.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 ₫13,793	$2.65	+392.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ₫8,520	$2.00	+502.9%
Average			+359.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Waterloo - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 69.7% more for groceries

	Ho Chi Minh City	Waterloo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫27,617	$2.37	+120.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.05 ₫155K	$6.61	+9.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.13 ₫157K	$3.64	-40.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 ₫41,667	$3.69	+127.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 ₫42,224	$5.98	+263.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 ₫34,975	$2.13	+56.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,832	$0.71	+23.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ₫18,564	$1.75	+141.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫14,797	$1.99	+245.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 ₫13,990	$0.51	-6.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ₫13,552	$0.99	+87.6%
Average			+69.7%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Waterloo - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.8% more for transportation

	Ho Chi Minh City	Waterloo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.55 ₫91,204	$3.74	+5.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.55 ₫297K	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫789M	$35,957.00	+17.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.80 ₫149K	$20.00	+244.7%
Average			+28.8%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Waterloo - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 93.5% more for housing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Waterloo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.46 ₫269K	$60.00	+473.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$585.86 ₫15M	$851.67	+45.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$297.81 ₫8M	$746.50	+150.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.24 ₫2M	$114.71	+44.8%
Average			+93.5%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Waterloo - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 97.7% more for childcare

	Ho Chi Minh City	Waterloo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$438.36 ₫11M	$1,722.92	+293.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,561.82 ₫605M	$23,429.75	-0.6%
Average			+97.7%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Waterloo - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports

	Ho Chi Minh City	Waterloo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 ₫26,545	$4.00	+287.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ₫46,596	$5.73	+215.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.23 ₫31,633	$8.11	+558.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.91 ₫665K	$27.00	+4.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.46 ₫88,969	$15.00	+333.0%
Average			+190.3%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.9% less for clothing

	Ho Chi Minh City	Waterloo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.59 ₫1M	$20.00	-61.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.61 ₫889K	$15.00	-56.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.59 ₫2M	$59.50	-35.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.62 ₫2M	$80.00	-15.5%
Average			-44.9%

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Waterloo - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Ho Chi Minh City vs. Waterloo

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Waterloo?

More cost comparisons

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Toronto

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Dublin

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Shanghai

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Cairo

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Sydney

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Paris

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Reykjavik

Ho Chi Minh City vs.

Moscow

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Vietnam vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Vietnam and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Ho Chi Minh City

Add prices for Waterloo

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Waterloo or Ho Chi Minh City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.