Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ho Chi Minh City vs. San Marcos Cost of Living Summary
Ho Chi Minh City is 54.3% cheaper than San Marcos.
- Restaurants
-
pay 79.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Groceries
-
pay 48.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Transportation
-
pay 13.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Housing
-
pay 64.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Childcare
-
pay 7.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 71.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Clothing
-
pay 9.7% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City vs. San Marcos Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ho Chi Minh City instead of San Marcos, you would:
pay 79.7% less for restaurants
|
San Marcos
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$1.92
₫49,427
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$4.62
₫119K
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.88
|
$0.54
₫13,793
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.75
|
$0.33
₫8,520
|
|
San Marcos vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants
pay 48.0% less for groceries
|
San Marcos
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.24
|
$1.08
₫27,617
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.91
|
$6.05
₫155K
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.94
|
$6.13
₫157K
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.85
|
$1.62
₫41,667
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.34
|
$1.64
₫42,224
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.88
|
$1.36
₫34,975
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.52
|
$0.58
₫14,832
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.92
|
$0.72
₫18,564
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$0.58
₫14,797
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$0.54
₫13,990
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$0.53
₫13,552
|
|
San Marcos vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries
pay 13.5% less for transportation
|
San Marcos
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.98
|
$3.55
₫91,204
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$11.55
₫297K
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,232.00
|
$30,715.02
₫789M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.41
|
$5.80
₫149K
|
|
San Marcos vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation
pay 64.3% less for housing
|
San Marcos
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$54.87
|
$10.46
₫269K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,340.00
|
$585.86
₫15M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,257.50
|
$297.81
₫8M
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$103.92
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
|
San Marcos vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing
pay 7.5% less for childcare
|
San Marcos
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$670.00
|
$438.36
₫11M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,000.00
|
$23,561.82
₫605M
|
|
San Marcos vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare
pay 71.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Marcos
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$1.03
₫26,545
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.65
|
$1.81
₫46,596
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.73
|
$1.23
₫31,633
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.00
|
$25.91
₫665K
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.50
|
$3.46
₫88,969
|
|
San Marcos vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.7% less for clothing
|
San Marcos
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.65
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.33
|
$34.61
₫889K
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$83.75
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$121.67
|
$94.62
₫2M
|
|
San Marcos 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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