Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam Cost of Living Summary

Ho Chi Minh City is 17.9% more expensive than Vietnam overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Groceries: pay 5.9% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Transportation: pay 19.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Housing: pay 43.5% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Childcare: pay 22.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.9% more in Ho Chi Minh City
Clothing: pay 27.6% more in Ho Chi Minh City

The cost of housing, clothing, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Ho Chi Minh City are more expensive than in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City vs. Vietnam Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1% less for restaurants

	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.88 ₫49,644	$1.89 ₫49,888	+0.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.13 ₫109K	$3.79 ₫99,776	-8.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 ₫13,947	$0.49 ₫12,830	-8.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 ₫7,510	$0.31 ₫8,055	+7.3%
Average			-2.1%

Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.9% more for groceries

	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.86 ₫22,641	$0.97 ₫25,609	+13.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 ₫140K	$5.67 ₫149K	+6.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.20 ₫137K	$5.38 ₫142K	+3.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.45 ₫38,127	$1.42 ₫37,326	-2.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.56 ₫41,005	$1.63 ₫42,886	+4.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.18 ₫31,191	$1.23 ₫32,413	+3.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,407	$0.52 ₫13,670	+10.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫15,154	$0.54 ₫14,338	-5.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 ₫12,929	$0.52 ₫13,701	+6.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 ₫12,233	$0.50 ₫13,264	+8.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,288	$0.54 ₫14,236	+15.9%
Average			+5.9%

Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.6% more for transportation

	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.19 ₫84,067	$3.17 ₫83,500	-0.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.64 ₫175K	$11.36 ₫299K	+71.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,225.24 ₫875M	$37,122.40 ₫978M	+11.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.90 ₫155K	$5.68 ₫150K	-3.7%
Average			+19.6%

Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.5% more for housing

	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.68 ₫229K	$9.41 ₫248K	+8.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$310.38 ₫8M	$543.38 ₫14M	+75.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$223.57 ₫6M	$306.83 ₫8M	+37.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.27 ₫1M	$66.43 ₫2M	+53.5%
Average			+43.5%

Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing

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pay 22.6% more for childcare

	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.23 ₫5M	$263.06 ₫7M	+32.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,262.04 ₫323M	$13,892.02 ₫366M	+13.3%
Average			+22.6%

Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.93 ₫24,522	$1.06 ₫27,937	+13.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.60 ₫42,096	$1.81 ₫47,789	+13.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.28 ₫33,671	$1.25 ₫32,926	-2.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$20.38 ₫537K	$19.47 ₫513K	-4.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.19 ₫84,129	$3.79 ₫99,776	+18.6%
Average			+7.9%

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

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pay 27.6% more for clothing

	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.66 ₫834K	$44.83 ₫1M	+41.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.29 ₫561K	$29.40 ₫774K	+38.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.72 ₫2M	$93.29 ₫2M	+28.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.26 ₫2M	$79.23 ₫2M	+2.5%
Average			+27.6%

Vietnam vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2026

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