Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Jiaxing

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiaxing: $637 a month against $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Jiaxing
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Jiaxing Living Index

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$853

/mo nomad

Jiaxing

🇨🇳 China

$637

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and in Jiaxing

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and in Jiaxing actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $637 in Jiaxing.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $853
Jiaxing $637

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,391 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,073 in Jiaxing.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,391
Jiaxing $1,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,930 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $1,509 in Jiaxing.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,930
Jiaxing $1,509

Living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is roughly 34% more expensive than in Jiaxing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 37% lower, Jiaxing 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.91 ₫49.3K

$3.02 ¥20.11

-36.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.93 ₫592.4K

$22.92 ¥153

0.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.69 ₫121.2K

$4.45 ¥29.67

5.39%

Cappuccino

$1.80 ₫46.5K

$3.13 ¥20.85

-42.49%

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

$0.55 ₫14.3K

$0.49 ¥3.25

12.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ₫8,812

$0.31 ¥2.10

9.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ₫26.7K

$0.72 ¥4.77

43.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.4K

$2.18 ¥14.55

-21.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$1.90 ¥12.69

-12.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 ₫28.2K

$2.01 ¥13.41

-45.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 ₫27.3K

$0.57 ¥3.83

85.96%

Eggs

$1.60 ₫41.3K

$1.91 ¥12.76

-16.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 ₫312.1K

$7.68 ¥51.2

57.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.66 ₫94.5K

$3.34 ¥22.25

9.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.35 ₫267.3K

$7.57 ¥50.5

36.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 ₫77.7K

$1.60 ¥10.69

88.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ₫32.6K

$1.15 ¥7.67

9.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 ₫41.9K

$1.01 ¥6.73

60.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 ₫32.7K

$0.64 ¥4.28

98.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 ₫30.5K

$0.57 ¥3.82

107.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ₫30.7K

$0.80 ¥5.33

48.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.78 ₫20.1K

$0.51 ¥3.42

52.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ₫14.3K

$0.59 ¥3.91

-6.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.26 ₫32.5K

$5.32 ¥35.45

-76.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.85 ₫331.9K

$11.91 ¥79.4

7.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₫23.1K

$0.73 ¥4.89

23.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 ₫37.6K

$1.37 ¥9.12

6.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₫7,260

$0.23 ¥1.53

21.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.42 ₫295.0K

$16.82 ¥112

-32.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.70 ₫18.2K

$1.17 ¥7.81

-40.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₫16.3K

$0.42 ¥2.82

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.09 ₫79.8K

$7.45 ¥49.65

-58.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 ₫24.6K

$1.26 ¥8.40

-24.60%

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

$30.5K ₫788.3M

$19.4K ¥129.6K

56.92%

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

$29.7K ₫767.8M

$19.0K ¥126.6K

56.52%

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

$102 ₫2.6M

$36.89 ¥246

177.09%

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

$5.65 ₫145.8K

$11.70 ¥78.0

-51.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.43 ₫269.5K

$5.10 ¥33.97

104.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.30 ₫498.7K

$37.89 ¥253

-49.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.81 ₫305.1K

$7.48 ¥49.83

57.89%

Cinema Ticket

$3.83 ₫98.9K

$5.28 ¥35.19

-27.46%

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

$484 ₫12.5M

$431 ¥2,871

12.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ₫602.3M

$13.0K ¥86.4K

79.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.3 ₫1.4M

$35.02 ¥233

49.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.35 ₫887.3K

$21.81 ¥145

57.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.3 ₫2.4M

$63.5 ¥423

45.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.2 ₫2.4M

$45.49 ¥303

107.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$647 ₫16.7M

$282 ¥1,877

129.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$297 ₫7.7M

$177 ¥1,180

67.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,291 ₫33.3M

$774 ¥5,157

66.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$719 ₫18.6M

$444 ¥2,957

62.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,327 ₫111.8M

$3,887 ¥25.9K

11.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,987 ₫51.3M

$2,072 ¥13.8K

-4.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$490 ₫12.7M

$736 ¥4,907

-33.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

3.13

176.04%

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

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 26, 2026

Last update for Jiaxing: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.9%

Jiaxing

$177 27.8% 40.4% $120

Groceries & Markets

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.4%

Jiaxing

$176 27.7% 15.2% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$123 14.4%

Jiaxing

$75 11.7% 39.3% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$118 13.9%

Jiaxing

$54 8.4% 54.6% $65

Eating Out

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$63 7.4%

Jiaxing

$86 13.5% 36.5% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$27 3.2%

Jiaxing

$48 7.6% 79.7% $21

Getting Around

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9%

Jiaxing

$21 3.3% 28.2% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $647 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and $282 in Jiaxing. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jiaxing pays 50% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) vs $23 in Jiaxing. Groceries flip the comparison at $208 vs $176, with Jiaxing cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇨🇳 Jiaxing

🕒 Local time

21:09 9:09 PM

22:09 10:09 PM

1 h ahead of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,456,700

3,563,700

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 25,832 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,750 VND (100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Jiaxing 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Jiaxing

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

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) vs Jiaxing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jiaxing wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Jiaxing the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 33% lower in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $647 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $282 in Jiaxing. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $853 per month in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) versus $637 in Jiaxing – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $637 in Jiaxing versus $853 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $800 budget is realistic in Jiaxing but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Jiaxing 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.