Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Montego Bay Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 24.2% cheaper than Montego Bay.

Restaurants: pay 67.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 50.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 40.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 24.7% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 86.4% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.4% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 31.5% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

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Ho Chi Minh City vs. Montego Bay Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 67.1% less for restaurants

	Montego Bay	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.02 JMD1,751.75	$1.92 ₫49,427	-82.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,301.30	$4.62 ₫119K	-43.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.90 JMD143.10	$0.54 ₫13,793	-40.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.07	$0.33 ₫8,520	-53.3%
Average			-67.1%

Montego Bay vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.3% less for groceries

	Montego Bay	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.70 JMD428.76	$1.08 ₫27,617	-60.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD906.60	$6.05 ₫155K	+6.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$12.51 JMD1,989.33	$6.13 ₫157K	-51.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD562.56	$1.62 ₫41,667	-54.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.05	$1.64 ₫42,224	-42.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.89 JMD300.30	$1.36 ₫34,975	-27.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.14 JMD181.62	$0.58 ₫14,832	-49.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.17	$0.72 ₫18,564	-78.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 JMD181.62	$0.58 ₫14,797	-49.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 JMD181.62	$0.54 ₫13,990	-52.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD190.91	$0.53 ₫13,552	-56.0%
Average			-50.3%

Montego Bay vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.8% less for transportation

	Montego Bay	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.22 JMD830.63	$3.55 ₫91,204	-32.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$11.55 ₫297K
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$30,715.02 ₫789M	-30.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.12 JMD4,154.16	$5.80 ₫149K	-77.8%
Average			-40.8%

Montego Bay vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.7% more for housing

	Montego Bay	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$47.79 JMD7,599.69	$10.46 ₫269K	-78.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$314.73 JMD50,050.12	$585.86 ₫15M	+86.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$220.31 JMD35,035.08	$297.81 ₫8M	+35.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,438.11	$79.24 ₫2M	-38.3%
Average			+24.7%

Montego Bay vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 86.4% more for childcare

	Montego Bay	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,407.35	$438.36 ₫11M	+21.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$23,561.82 ₫605M	+186.0%
Average			+86.4%

Montego Bay vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Montego Bay	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.35	$1.03 ₫26,545	-53.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD844.60	$1.81 ₫46,596	-65.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,501.50	$1.23 ₫31,633	-87.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.06 JMD7,007.02	$25.91 ₫665K	-41.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 JMD1,351.35	$3.46 ₫88,969	-59.2%
Average			-60.4%

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

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pay 31.5% more for clothing

	Montego Bay	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,753.76	$51.59 ₫1M	+118.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,005.01	$34.61 ₫889K	+10.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.24 JMD11,011.03	$91.59 ₫2M	+32.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.71 JMD16,016.04	$94.62 ₫2M	-6.0%
Average			+31.5%

Montego Bay vs. Ho Chi Minh City - 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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