HCMC monthly cost of living for 4: over $1,700

Food costs VND28.7 million, or 65%, if the family only eats out 10% of the time, Serbian cost of living database Numbeo estimated based on data gathered from online surveys.

It would cost them another $1,157 if they rent a three-bedroom apartment in the city center, taking the total cost to $2,900.

This is on par with the monthly cost of living in Indonesia’s Jakarta ($2,992) and much lower than in Thailand’s Bangkok ($3,968) and Singapore ($9,333), rents included.

These figures are more geared towards expats as they assume western food will be cooked at home.

The cost of living in Hanoi, given the same assumptions, is VND43.2 million per month without rent.

HCMC is the most preferred place to live in Vietnam, according to the United Nations Development Program’s Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index.

According to real estate agency Avison Young Vietnam, it attracts people from across the country due to its ample job opportunities, better public services and fewer natural disasters.

The 2024 Expat Insider survey published earlier this month by InterNations, a leading global network for expats, named Vietnam the most affordable destination in the world for foreign workers, a title it has held for four consecutive years.

Some 86% of participants rated the cost of living in Vietnam favorably, more than double the global average of 40%.