Cost of living comparison

compared to
Vietnam vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
Vietnam vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vietnam instead of Iowa, you would:

pay 74.8% less for restaurants

 
Iowa
Vietnam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $15.50
 
$1.92
₫50,025
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.86
 
$4.34
₫113,084
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.25
 
$0.54
₫14,031

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pay 43.4% less for groceries

 
Iowa
Vietnam
Bread
1 loaf
$2.75
 
$0.90
₫23,511
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.26
 
$6.05
₫157,729
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
 
$5.46
₫142,288

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pay 28.6% less for transportation

 
Iowa
Vietnam
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.26
 
$3.47
₫90,341
Monthly public transit pass $41.60
 
$7.11
₫185,188
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,209.92
 
$35,423.92
₫922,934,698

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pay 76.8% less for housing

 
Iowa
Vietnam
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.83
 
$8.68
₫226,233
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,149.79
 
$297.09
₫7,740,360
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $848.38
 
$207.27
₫5,400,196

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pay 57.3% less for childcare

 
Iowa
Vietnam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,043.98
 
$205.27
₫5,348,006
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,039.50
 
$12,496.31
₫325,578,792

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pay 74.9% less for entertainment and sports

 
Iowa
Vietnam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.95
 
$0.88
₫22,833
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.14
 
$1.58
₫41,173
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.68
 
$1.27
₫32,978

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pay 29.2% less for clothing

 
Iowa
Vietnam
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.44
 
$28.00
₫729,436
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.50
 
$22.19
₫578,235
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.35
 
$79.50
₫2,071,169

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2025
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See the cost of living in United States vs. Vietnam. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Vietnam.

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