Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ho Chi Minh City vs. West Lafayette Cost of Living Summary
Ho Chi Minh City is 55.4% cheaper than West Lafayette.
- Restaurants
-
pay 70.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Groceries
-
pay 45.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Transportation
-
pay 29.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Housing
-
pay 66.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Childcare
-
pay 56.2% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 67.0% less in Ho Chi Minh City
- Clothing
-
pay 5.5% less in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City vs. West Lafayette Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ho Chi Minh City instead of West Lafayette, you would:
pay 70.5% less for restaurants
|
West Lafayette
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.00
|
$1.92
₫49,832
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.50
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
|
$0.54
₫13,905
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.54
|
$0.33
₫8,590
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 45.5% less for groceries
|
West Lafayette
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.28
|
$1.08
₫27,843
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.02
|
$6.05
₫157K
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.48
|
$6.13
₫159K
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.75
|
$1.62
₫42,008
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.64
₫42,570
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.36
₫35,261
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$0.58
₫14,953
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.72
₫18,715
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$0.58
₫14,918
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.54
₫14,104
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.53
₫13,662
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of groceries
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 29.0% less for transportation
|
West Lafayette
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$3.55
₫91,950
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.00
|
$11.55
₫299K
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,915.00
|
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.96
|
$5.80
₫150K
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of transportation
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 66.0% less for housing
|
West Lafayette
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.06
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,400.00
|
$585.86
₫15M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,250.00
|
$297.81
₫8M
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$123.09
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of housing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 56.2% less for childcare
|
West Lafayette
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,000.00
|
$438.36
₫11M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of childcare
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 67.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
West Lafayette
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.17
|
$1.03
₫26,762
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.50
|
$1.81
₫46,978
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$1.23
₫31,892
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.00
|
$25.91
₫671K
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$3.46
₫89,697
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 5.5% less for clothing
|
West Lafayette
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$75.00
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.50
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$67.50
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$90.00
|
$94.62
₫2M
|
|
West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City - Cost of clothing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
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
Change currency:
Compare further: West Lafayette vs. Ho Chi Minh City
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. Vietnam.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Vietnam.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Ho Chi Minh City or West Lafayette. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.