Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 17.9% more expensive than Ningbo.

Restaurants: pay 12.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 17.3% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 3.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 67.1% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 17.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.8% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 29.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

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Ho Chi Minh City vs. Ningbo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.8% less for restaurants

	Ningbo	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.83 CN¥18.87	$1.92 ₫49,658	-32.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.47 CN¥29.79	$4.62 ₫119K	+3.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 CN¥3.06	$0.54 ₫13,857	+16.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 CN¥1.99	$0.33 ₫8,560	+11.2%
Average			-12.8%

Ningbo vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.3% more for groceries

	Ningbo	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.15 CN¥7.67	$1.08 ₫27,746	-6.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.46 CN¥49.65	$6.05 ₫156K	-18.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 CN¥45.01	$6.13 ₫158K	-9.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.59 CN¥10.60	$1.62 ₫41,862	+1.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.69 CN¥11.26	$1.64 ₫42,421	-2.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.15	$1.36 ₫35,138	+187.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CN¥4.65	$0.58 ₫14,901	-17.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 CN¥4.62	$0.72 ₫18,650	+4.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 CN¥3.60	$0.58 ₫14,866	+6.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.27 CN¥1.80	$0.54 ₫14,055	+101.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.33 CN¥2.20	$0.53 ₫13,615	+60.0%
Average			+17.3%

Ningbo vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.7% less for transportation

	Ningbo	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.89 CN¥32.54	$3.55 ₫91,630	-27.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.41 CN¥109.23	$11.55 ₫298K	-29.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$30,715.02 ₫793M	+58.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.58 CN¥30.48	$5.80 ₫150K	+26.7%
Average			-3.7%

Ningbo vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.1% more for housing

	Ningbo	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$7.95 CN¥52.96	$10.46 ₫270K	+31.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$357.96 CN¥2,383.10	$585.86 ₫15M	+63.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$181.96 CN¥1,211.41	$297.81 ₫8M	+63.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.13 CN¥260.49	$79.24 ₫2M	+102.5%
Average			+67.1%

Ningbo vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 17.0% less for childcare

	Ningbo	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$941.52 CN¥6,268.06	$438.36 ₫11M	-53.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,909.48 CN¥106K	$23,561.82 ₫608M	+48.1%
Average			-17.0%

Ningbo vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Ningbo	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.04 CN¥6.95	$1.03 ₫26,669	-1.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 CN¥23.17	$1.81 ₫46,814	-47.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.47 CN¥29.79	$1.23 ₫31,781	-72.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.21 CN¥167.81	$25.91 ₫668K	+2.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.83 CN¥52.13	$3.46 ₫89,385	-55.8%
Average			-36.8%

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

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pay 29.6% more for clothing

	Ningbo	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$63.35 CN¥421.76	$51.59 ₫1M	-18.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.81 CN¥178.48	$34.61 ₫893K	+29.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.86 CN¥411.83	$91.59 ₫2M	+48.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.17 CN¥347.29	$94.62 ₫2M	+81.4%
Average			+29.6%

Ningbo 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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