Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz, CA and Da Nang

For one person, living is cheaper in Da Nang: $889 a month against $4,374 in Santa Cruz, CA, rent and utilities included – about $41,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

210

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz, CA
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Santa Cruz, CA Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Da Nang
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Da Nang Living Index

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Santa Cruz, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,374

/mo nomad

Da Nang

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Cruz, CA 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 Santa Cruz, CA and in Da Nang actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $4,374 per month in Santa Cruz, CA vs $889 in Da Nang, rent included.

Santa Cruz, CA $4,374
Da Nang $889

A couple spends around $6,182 per month in Santa Cruz, CA vs $1,426 in Da Nang, rent included.

Santa Cruz, CA $6,182
Da Nang $1,426

A family of three spends $7,990 per month in Santa Cruz, CA vs $1,963 in Da Nang, rent included.

Santa Cruz, CA $7,990
Da Nang $1,963

Santa Cruz, CA costs about 392% more than Da Nang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Santa Cruz, CA sits 221% above the global median, while Da Nang is 35% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.37 $25.37

$2.17 ₫56.0K

1069.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$100 $100

$19.53 ₫504.0K

412.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.72 $14.72

$4.53 ₫117.0K

224.94%

Cappuccino

$6.37 $6.37

$1.64 ₫42.4K

288.41%

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

$4.25 $4.25

$0.60 ₫15.6K

608.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 $3.25

$0.34 ₫8,901

855.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.09 $8.09

$1.33 ₫34.4K

508.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.22 $8.22

$2.36 ₫61.0K

248.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 $1.58

$1.60 ₫41.2K

-1.25%

White Bread (500g)

$7.50 $7.50

$1.20 ₫31.0K

525.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.51 $7.51

$1.05 ₫27.1K

615.24%

Eggs

$6.48 $6.48

$1.52 ₫39.3K

326.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$31.90 $31.90

$12.82 ₫330.7K

148.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.79 $16.79

$4.17 ₫107.5K

302.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.24 $18.24

$9.33 ₫240.6K

95.50%

Apples (1kg)

$13.02 $13.02

$2.60 ₫67.2K

400.77%

Banana (1kg)

$3.22 $3.22

$1.21 ₫31.3K

166.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$10.10 $10.10

$1.28 ₫33.1K

689.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$9.00 $9.00

$1.57 ₫40.5K

473.25%

Potato (1kg)

$4.35 $4.35

$1.20 ₫31.0K

262.50%

Onion (1kg)

$4.46 $4.46

$1.31 ₫33.9K

240.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$5.11 $5.11

$1.04 ₫26.9K

391.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$4.88 $4.88

$0.49 ₫12.7K

895.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.82 $11.82

$1.51 ₫39.0K

682.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.88 $24.88

$7.97 ₫205.6K

212.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 $2.10

$0.93 ₫24.0K

125.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 $3.33

$2.18 ₫56.3K

52.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.03 $2.03

$0.30 ₫7,693

576.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.6 $65.6

$6.31 ₫162.7K

939.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.04 ₫26.8K

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ₫14.6K

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.27 ₫497.1K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.59 $1.59

$0.91 ₫23.4K

74.73%

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

$31.5K $31.5K

$30.8K ₫795.4M

2.02%

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

$26.1K $26.1K

$28.4K ₫732.2M

-7.86%

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

$385 $385

$78.5 ₫2.0M

389.67%

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

$57.9 $57.9

$6.35 ₫163.9K

811.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$86.8 $86.8

$8.33 ₫214.9K

942.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$96.2 $96.2

$27.08 ₫698.6K

255.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.79 $12.79

$5.32 ₫137.2K

140.41%

Cinema Ticket

$16.82 $16.82

$3.37 ₫86.8K

399.11%

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

$2,458 $2,458

$423 ₫10.9M

480.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.3K $30.3K

$15.1K ₫389.5M

100.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.7 $67.7

$45.19 ₫1.2M

49.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.5 $61.5

$27.75 ₫716.1K

121.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.5 $90.5

$101 ₫2.6M

-10.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$155 $155

$82.8 ₫2.1M

86.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,222 $3,222

$553 ₫14.3M

482.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,343 $2,343

$369 ₫9.5M

534.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,461 $4,461

$1,228 ₫31.7M

263.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,638 $3,638

$821 ₫21.2M

343.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,763 $8,763

$3,858 ₫99.5M

127.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,924 $9,924

$1,877 ₫48.4M

428.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,571 $5,571

$362 ₫9.4M

1437.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.47

10.72

-39.65%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz, CA: October 27, 2026

Last update for Da Nang: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz, CA

$2.3K 53.6%

Da Nang

$369 41.5% 84.2% $2K

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz, CA

$719 16.4%

Da Nang

$200 22.5% 72.2% $519

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz, CA

$529 12.1%

Da Nang

$93 10.5% 82.4% $436

Eating Out

Santa Cruz, CA

$410 9.4%

Da Nang

$66 7.4% 84% $345

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz, CA

$168 3.9%

Da Nang

$115 13% 31.5% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz, CA

$130 3%

Da Nang

$34 3.8% 74% $96

Getting Around

Santa Cruz, CA

$74 * 1.7%

Da Nang

$11 1.3% 84.6% $62

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $3,222 in Santa Cruz, CA versus $553 in Da Nang. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Santa Cruz, CA are about 15 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $100 in Santa Cruz, CA versus $20 in Da Nang. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $719 vs $200 – making Da Nang the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Santa Cruz, CA

🇻🇳 Da Nang

🕒 Local time

14:47 2:47 PM

04:47 4:47 AM

14 h ahead of Santa Cruz, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

64,220

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 October 31, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 25,802 VND (100,000 VND = 3.88 USD). 1 EUR = 28,810 VND (100,000 VND = 3.47 EUR).

VND to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Cruz, CA Da Nang 12,110 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz, CA
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

Santa Cruz, CA vs Da Nang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,374 in Santa Cruz, CA, $889 in Da Nang – Da Nang comes out roughly 80% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,561 per month in Santa Cruz, CA and $1,333 in Da Nang. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Da Nang, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $553 there versus $3,222 in Santa Cruz, CA.

Groceries cost about 259% more in Santa Cruz, CA, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $100 in Santa Cruz, CA and $20 in Da Nang. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Da Nang, where all-in costs run around $889, than in Santa Cruz, CA at $4,374. In Da Nang it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Cruz, CA it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Da Nang – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Da Nang. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Cruz, CA makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.