Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Columbia, SC and Da Nang

For one person, living is cheaper in Da Nang: $889 a month against $2,193 in Columbia, SC, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

105

Cost of Living Index in Columbia, SC
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Columbia, SC Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Da Nang
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Da Nang Living Index

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Columbia, SC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,193

/mo nomad

Da Nang

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Columbia, SC and in Da Nang

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Columbia, SC and in Da Nang actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,193 in Columbia, SC versus $889 in Da Nang.

Columbia, SC $2,193
Da Nang $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,366 in Columbia, SC versus $1,426 in Da Nang.

Columbia, SC $3,366
Da Nang $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,538 in Columbia, SC versus $1,963 in Da Nang.

Columbia, SC $4,538
Da Nang $1,963

Living in Columbia, SC is roughly 147% more expensive than in Da Nang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Columbia, SC is 61% above, Da Nang is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.80 $19.80

$2.17 ₫56.0K

812.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.1 $61.1

$19.53 ₫504.0K

212.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.97 $11.97

$4.53 ₫117.0K

164.24%

Cappuccino

$5.42 $5.42

$1.64 ₫42.4K

230.49%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 $2.80

$0.60 ₫15.6K

366.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 $2.18

$0.34 ₫8,901

541.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.43 $5.43

$1.33 ₫34.4K

308.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.39 $6.39

$2.36 ₫61.0K

170.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.84 $0.84

$1.60 ₫41.2K

-47.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.20 ₫31.0K

110.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.52 $4.52

$1.05 ₫27.1K

330.48%

Eggs

$4.03 $4.03

$1.52 ₫39.3K

165.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.49 $10.49

$12.82 ₫330.7K

-18.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.14 $11.14

$4.17 ₫107.5K

167.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.89 $15.89

$9.33 ₫240.6K

70.31%

Apples (1kg)

$5.26 $5.26

$2.60 ₫67.2K

102.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 $1.63

$1.21 ₫31.3K

34.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.45 $6.45

$1.28 ₫33.1K

403.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.17 $6.17

$1.57 ₫40.5K

292.99%

Potato (1kg)

$3.10 $3.10

$1.20 ₫31.0K

158.33%

Onion (1kg)

$4.36 $4.36

$1.31 ₫33.9K

232.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 $2.01

$1.04 ₫26.9K

93.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 $1.79

$0.49 ₫12.7K

265.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.40 $8.40

$1.51 ₫39.0K

456.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.62 $15.62

$7.97 ₫205.6K

95.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 $1.83

$0.93 ₫24.0K

96.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 $2.68

$2.18 ₫56.3K

22.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$0.30 ₫7,693

560.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.15 $40.15

$6.31 ₫162.7K

536.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.04 ₫26.8K

90.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 $1.59

$0.57 ₫14.6K

178.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.89 $17.89

$19.27 ₫497.1K

-7.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 $0.91

$0.91 ₫23.4K

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$26.8K $26.8K

$30.8K ₫795.4M

-13.02%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.2K $25.2K

$28.4K ₫732.2M

-11.19%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$277 $277

$78.5 ₫2.0M

253.02%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$60.2 $60.2

$6.35 ₫163.9K

848.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.8 $63.8

$8.33 ₫214.9K

665.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.47 $34.47

$27.08 ₫698.6K

27.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.22 $18.22

$5.32 ₫137.2K

242.48%

Cinema Ticket

$15.22 $15.22

$3.37 ₫86.8K

351.63%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,117 $1,117

$423 ₫10.9M

163.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K $22.9K

$15.1K ₫389.5M

51.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.3 $52.3

$45.19 ₫1.2M

15.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.57 $39.57

$27.75 ₫716.1K

42.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.2 $82.2

$101 ₫2.6M

-18.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 $114

$82.8 ₫2.1M

37.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,430 $1,430

$553 ₫14.3M

158.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$832 $832

$369 ₫9.5M

125.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,198 $3,198

$1,228 ₫31.7M

160.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,672 $1,672

$821 ₫21.2M

103.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,313 $2,313

$3,858 ₫99.5M

-40.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,668 $1,668

$1,877 ₫48.4M

-11.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,240 $3,240

$362 ₫9.4M

794.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.56

10.72

-38.81%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Columbia, SC: October 26, 2026

Last update for Da Nang: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Columbia, SC

$832 37.9%

Da Nang

$369 41.5% 55.6% $462

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Columbia, SC

$401 18.3%

Da Nang

$93 10.5% 76.8% $308

Groceries & Markets

Columbia, SC

$389 17.7%

Da Nang

$200 22.5% 48.5% $189

Eating Out

Columbia, SC

$319 14.6%

Da Nang

$66 7.4% 79.4% $253

Clothing & Footwear

Columbia, SC

$130 5.9%

Da Nang

$115 13% 11% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Columbia, SC

$65 3%

Da Nang

$34 3.8% 47.9% $31

Getting Around

Columbia, SC

$58 2.6%

Da Nang

$11 1.3% 80.4% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,430 in Columbia, SC and $553 in Da Nang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Columbia, SC pays about 8.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Columbia, SC vs $20 in Da Nang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $389 vs $200 per month, with Da Nang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Columbia, SC

🇻🇳 Da Nang

🕒 Local time

10:15 10:15 AM

22:15 10:15 PM

12 h ahead of Columbia, SC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

139,698

1,245,200

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.88 USD

100,000 VND = 3.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 25,802 VND (100,000 VND = 3.88 USD). 1 EUR = 28,794 VND (100,000 VND = 3.47 EUR).

VND to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Columbia, SC Da Nang 14,360 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Columbia, SC
Da Nang

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Columbia, SC vs Da Nang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Da Nang is about 59% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Columbia, SC is about 8.9 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,430 in Columbia, SC versus $553 in Da Nang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 94% higher in Columbia, SC. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Da Nang – a meal for two runs $20 versus $61 in Columbia, SC. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $889 in Da Nang versus $2,193 in Columbia, SC, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Da Nang but tight or insufficient in Columbia, SC. The gap between the two cities makes Da Nang the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Da Nang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Columbia, SC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.