Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ho Chi Minh City vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
Ho Chi Minh City is 77.1% cheaper than New York City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 86.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Groceries
-
pay 65.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Transportation
-
pay 57.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Housing
-
pay 86.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Childcare
-
pay 77.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 83.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Clothing
-
pay 30.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ho Chi Minh City instead of New York City, you would:
pay 86.5% less for restaurants
|
New York City
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.50
|
$1.92
₫49,838
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.95
|
$0.54
₫13,907
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.97
|
$0.33
₫8,591
|
|
New York City vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants
pay 65.1% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.78
|
$1.08
₫27,847
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.47
|
$6.05
₫157K
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.13
|
$6.13
₫159K
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.03
|
$1.62
₫42,014
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.93
|
$1.64
₫42,575
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.11
|
$1.36
₫35,266
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.96
|
$0.58
₫14,955
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$0.72
₫18,718
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.08
|
$0.58
₫14,920
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.83
|
$0.54
₫14,106
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$0.53
₫13,664
|
|
New York City vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries
pay 57.7% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.31
|
$3.55
₫91,962
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$140.00
|
$11.55
₫299K
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,458.00
|
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.44
|
$5.80
₫150K
|
|
New York City vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation
pay 86.0% less for housing
|
New York City
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.57
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,447.32
|
$585.86
₫15M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$3,217.65
|
$297.81
₫8M
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.80
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
|
New York City vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing
pay 77.6% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,379.10
|
$438.36
₫11M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$60,882.67
|
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
|
New York City vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare
pay 83.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.50
|
$1.03
₫26,765
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.50
|
$1.81
₫46,984
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$1.23
₫31,896
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$121.41
|
$25.91
₫671K
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$22.50
|
$3.46
₫89,709
|
|
New York City vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.3% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$75.86
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.45
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$120.38
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$132.00
|
$94.62
₫2M
|
|
New York City vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing
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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