Cost of Living in Ho Chi Minh City
Summary of cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam:
- A family of four estimated monthly costs are 1,690.4$ (42,969,711.8₫) without rent (using our estimator).
- A single person estimated monthly costs are 484.0$ (12,302,335.0₫) without rent.
- Ho Chi Minh City is 56.6% less expensive than Columbus (without rent, see our cost of living index).
- Rent in Ho Chi Minh City is, on average, 67.5% lower than in Columbus.
Restaurants |  Edit |
Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 1.97 $ | |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 23.60 $ | |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 4.72 $ | |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 1.18 $ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 1.97 $ | |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 1.95 $ | |
| Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 0.50 $ | |
| Water (12 oz small bottle) | 0.29 $ | |
Markets | Edit |
|
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 5.65 $ | |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 0.97 $ | |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 0.44 $ | |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 1.46 $ | |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 5.29 $ | |
| Chicken Fillets (1 lb) | 1.71 $ | |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 4.83 $ | |
| Apples (1 lb) | 1.32 $ | |
| Banana (1 lb) | 0.48 $ | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 0.56 $ | |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 0.53 $ | |
| Potato (1 lb) | 0.57 $ | |
| Onion (1 lb) | 0.54 $ | |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 0.89 $ | |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 0.50 $ | |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 11.80 $ | |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 0.92 $ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 1.50 $ | |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 1.38 $ | |
Transportation | Edit |
|
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 0.28 $ | |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 11.80 $ | |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 0.67 $ | |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 1.03 $ | |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 3.15 $ | |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 3.52 $ | |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 38,553.20 $ | |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 34,943.00 $ | |
Utilities (Monthly) | Edit |
|
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 81.57 $ | |
| Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data | 6.10 $ | |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 9.55 $ | |
Sports And Leisure | Edit |
|
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 23.18 $ | |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 9.85 $ | |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 4.13 $ | |
Childcare | Edit |
|
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 275.38 $ | |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 13,895.07 $ | |
Clothing And Shoes | Edit |
|
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 32.01 $ | |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 26.41 $ | |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 97.81 $ | |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 81.92 $ | |
Rent Per Month | Edit |
|
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 489.41 $ | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 301.72 $ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 1,134.25 $ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 619.86 $ | |
Buy Apartment Price | Edit |
|
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 374.06 $ | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 187.12 $ | |
Salaries And Financing | Edit |
|
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 464.96 $ | |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 9.92 |
Prices in Ho Chi Minh City
This city had 2010 entries in the past 12 months by 183 different contributors.
Last update: November 2024
Last update: November 2024
Sources and References
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Nearby cities:| Cost of Living in Can Tho | 105.20 miles |
| Cost of Living in Phan Thiet | 117.98 miles |
| Cost of Living in Phan Rang | 209.12 miles |
| Cost of Living in Buon Ma Thuot | 216.41 miles |
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It was China that gave independence to Vietnam so China is certainly capable of taking it back if she wanted to. France would be forever grateful to China if China helped France in restoring Vietnam unlike the god-damned ungrateful Vietnam communist party.
Vietnam should know her place by giving up all of the China's historical territory in South China Sea immediately in order to restore permanent peace between China and Vietnam or else even terrorist US would not be able to help Vietnam because even the terrorist US is afraid of China's invincible hypersonic weapon unprecedentedly now.
You really cant find an adequate basic room with a kitchenette for less than 10m + utilities/ management fees. It takes me a week at least to find something good. Plus most of these buildings are in crappy locations and you're stepping around dog feces and old ladies cutting veggies in puddle water when you leave your apartment. Like I said in my post below, 12m is really the sweet spot. And you need it bc it's such a hectic place...you need a good home to return to.
Just a year ago you could get a brand new room in a commercial building from 6.5ish. I'm not seeing any good deals anymore. Most cities in SEA other than Singapore are waaaay cheaper and have better value than hcmc.
1. Cost of living has gone up 100X with the sharp influx of foreigners. Unless you like living in skinny communist style housing blocks and eating cheap gruel, you need $2500 a month minimum for a good quality life. Quality apartments in not crappy areas start at 500 + high utilities. Even local food now has seen quite the markup. An average snail place on the street for 2 will run you $30 to $40 bucks for tiny portions.
2. If you don't have money or look like you don't, Vietnamese treat you like dirt. They act as if every foreigner is an indigent layabout teacher or refugee.
3. Rampant scams from housing to visas to food and more will add a big deficit to your budget.
4. Vague visa laws. Laws change quite a bit here and if you arent working legally or are working online, expect to make a trek to Cambodia every 3 months to reset your visa. It's a time consuming embarrassing pain and can be costly if you mess it up.
In addition if you mistakenly use the wrong visa agents or spend too much time in the country you can easily be blacklisted for vague reasons which can cost $3000 to fix.
5. Boring materialistic culture.
This is just a small taste or primer of what you can expect in VN. If you go to Vietnam you better have money and better be self sufficient.
There are much better options for your discerning expat.
Minimum is basically 10m VND + EVN electric + management fees + cleaning etc if you want to live in a midrange highrise or condo building. Basically $600++ for a studio condotel or a 1 bedroom depending on the building.
If you decide to go the serviced apartment route it can be slightly cheaper but greedy Viets will artificially jack up your utilities with a submeter. I remember paying nearly $100 for electric and water for a 25-30sqm room with 1 barely working AC and a crappy water heater.
Lot of incidental costs in Vietnam that jack up the cost of living like the visa runs or paying agents or whatnot.