Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shenyang Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 13.7% more expensive than Shenyang.

Restaurants: pay 21.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 1.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 5.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 52.5% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 6.6% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.3% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 37.3% more in Ho Chi Minh City

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

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Ho Chi Minh City vs. Shenyang Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.5% less for restaurants

	Shenyang	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.98 CN¥19.91	$1.92 ₫49,735	-35.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$4.62 ₫119K	-11.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.24	$0.54 ₫13,878	+10.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.49	$0.33 ₫8,573	-11.0%
Average			-21.5%

Shenyang vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.5% less for groceries

	Shenyang	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.41 CN¥16.09	$1.08 ₫27,789	-55.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$6.05 ₫156K
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.34 CN¥48.99	$6.13 ₫158K	-16.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.04 CN¥6.93	$1.62 ₫41,927	+56.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$1.64 ₫42,487
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.27	$1.36 ₫35,193	+72.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.54 CN¥3.61	$0.58 ₫14,924	+6.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$0.72 ₫18,679
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 CN¥4.52	$0.58 ₫14,889	-14.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.54 ₫14,077
Onions (1 lb)	??	$0.53 ₫13,636
Average			-1.5%

Shenyang vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.6% more for transportation

	Shenyang	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.79 CN¥31.94	$3.55 ₫91,772	-25.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.68 CN¥84.61	$11.55 ₫298K	-8.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$30,715.02 ₫794M	+58.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$5.80 ₫150K	+55.6%
Average			+5.6%

Shenyang vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.5% more for housing

	Shenyang	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.92 CN¥99.54	$10.46 ₫270K	-29.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$272.57 CN¥1,819.16	$585.86 ₫15M	+114.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$240.43 CN¥1,604.64	$297.81 ₫8M	+23.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$57.56 CN¥384.18	$79.24 ₫2M	+37.7%
Average			+52.5%

Shenyang vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 6.6% less for childcare

	Shenyang	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$546.89 CN¥3,649.93	$438.36 ₫11M	-19.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$21,626.94 CN¥144K	$23,561.82 ₫609M	+8.9%
Average			-6.6%

Shenyang vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Shenyang	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.89 CN¥5.97	$1.03 ₫26,710	+15.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 CN¥16.26	$1.81 ₫46,887	-25.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$1.23 ₫31,830	-67.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.37 CN¥149.32	$25.91 ₫670K	+15.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.97 CN¥39.82	$3.46 ₫89,523	-41.9%
Average			-21.3%

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

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pay 37.3% more for clothing

	Shenyang	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.61 CN¥277.73	$51.59 ₫1M	+24.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$34.61 ₫894K
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.66 CN¥398.17	$91.59 ₫2M	+53.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.60 CN¥464.54	$94.62 ₫2M	+35.9%
Average			+37.3%

Shenyang 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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