Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Tonghua: $632 a month against $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Tonghua
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Tonghua Living Index
42

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

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Tonghua

🇨🇳 China

$632

/mo nomad

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $632 in Tonghua versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tonghua $632
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,034 in Tonghua versus $1,410 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tonghua $1,034
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,436 in Tonghua versus $1,958 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tonghua $1,436
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) $1,958

Living in Tonghua costs roughly 27% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tonghua 53% lower, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.20 ¥14.74

$1.98 ₫51.3K

11.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.19 ¥148

$23.14 ₫599.0K

-4.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 ¥34.01

$4.76 ₫123.2K

6.93%

Cappuccino

$2.25 ¥15.07

$1.86 ₫48.1K

20.97%

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

$0.47 ¥3.15

$0.51 ₫13.3K

-7.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$0.32 ₫8,191

9.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.79 ¥5.25

$1.03 ₫26.7K

-23.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ¥12.38

$1.71 ₫44.4K

8.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 ¥11.23

$1.58 ₫40.8K

6.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 ¥14.32

$1.09 ₫28.3K

96.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 ¥7.16

$1.05 ₫27.2K

1.90%

Eggs

$1.06 ¥7.09

$1.64 ₫42.6K

-35.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.11 ¥87.6

$12.33 ₫319.2K

6.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.94 ¥19.66

$3.58 ₫92.6K

-17.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.54 ¥43.73

$10.56 ₫273.3K

-38.07%

Apples (1kg)

$0.99 ¥6.60

$2.97 ₫76.9K

-66.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 ¥7.21

$1.26 ₫32.7K

-14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.41

$1.62 ₫42.0K

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 ¥7.23

$1.31 ₫33.8K

-17.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$1.19 ₫30.8K

-22.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.85

$1.14 ₫29.6K

-10.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 ¥3.94

$0.73 ₫18.8K

-19.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ¥4.60

$0.56 ₫14.6K

23.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.64 ¥24.33

$1.28 ₫33.0K

184.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.75 ¥78.5

$12.46 ₫322.5K

-5.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ¥4.33

$0.96 ₫24.9K

-32.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 ¥7.38

$1.48 ₫38.3K

-25.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.07

$0.26 ₫6,704

19.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.92 ¥120

$11.43 ₫296.0K

56.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 ¥6.14

$0.68 ₫17.7K

35.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ¥2.56

$0.62 ₫16.1K

-38.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 ¥20.51

$3.00 ₫77.7K

2.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.74

$0.91 ₫23.5K

43.96%

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

$19.3K ¥129.1K

$30.6K ₫791.4M

-36.85%

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

$17.0K ¥114.0K

$29.4K ₫760.1M

-41.94%

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

$23.25 ¥155

$104 ₫2.7M

-77.59%

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

$5.85 ¥39.12

$5.79 ₫149.9K

1.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.98 ¥60.1

$10.48 ₫271.3K

-14.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.90 ¥280

$26.08 ₫675.1K

60.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.09 ¥101

$11.90 ₫308.1K

26.81%

Cinema Ticket

$5.89 ¥39.36

$3.89 ₫100.7K

51.41%

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

$294 ¥1,969

$440 ₫11.4M

-33.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.0K ¥100.6K

$24.1K ₫622.7M

-37.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.05 ¥147

$50.9 ₫1.3M

-56.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.01 ¥227

$35.18 ₫910.8K

-3.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.8 ¥393

$92.1 ₫2.4M

-36.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.4 ¥464

$96.5 ₫2.5M

-28.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,965

$582 ₫15.1M

-49.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$179 ¥1,199

$297 ₫7.7M

-39.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$639 ¥4,273

$1,298 ₫33.6M

-50.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 ¥2,509

$727 ₫18.8M

-48.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,528 ¥23.6K

$4,782 ₫123.8M

-26.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,980 ¥13.2K

$1,853 ₫48.0M

6.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ¥3,350

$490 ₫12.7M

2.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

-53.70%

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

Last update for Tonghua: October 19, 2026

Last update for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tonghua

$185 29.3%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$208 24.1% 12.4% $23

Accommodation & Living

Tonghua

$179 28.4%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$297 34.4% 65.4% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Tonghua

$83 13.1%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$124 14.3% 49.1% $41

Eating Out

Tonghua

$71 11.2%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$64 7.5% 9.2% $6.5

Sport & Entertainment

Tonghua

$54 8.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$34 3.9% 36.9% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tonghua

$38 6%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$120 13.9% 215% $82

Getting Around

Tonghua

$22 3.5%

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

$16 1.9% 26.1% $5.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $294 in Tonghua and $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tonghua pays 2% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $22.00 in Tonghua vs $23.00 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $185 vs $208 per month, with Tonghua cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Tonghua

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🕒 Local time

23:22 11:22 PM

22:22 10:22 PM

1 h behind Tonghua

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

446,917

9,456,700

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tonghua Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 3,920 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Tonghua
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

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

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

Tonghua wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Tonghua the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 2% higher in Tonghua, 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: $294 in Tonghua versus $582 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $632 per month in Tonghua versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – a 37% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Tonghua runs roughly 57% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $632 in Tonghua versus $862 in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tonghua but tight or insufficient in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The gap between the two cities makes Tonghua the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Tonghua delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $632 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Tonghua hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Tonghua and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Tonghua gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.