Fee not published
Confirmed on its own website
Cost of Living inVientiane, Laos
Vientiane Prefecture, Laos841KCapitalLower middle incomeRemote-work friendly
Image credit: Robin Selima
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Your money goes 4.9x further
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Laos: $8,873/capita.
Income Category
Lower Middle
World Bank GNI
GDP per Capita
$8,873
PPP, International $
City Population
841K
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
This describes Laos as a whole. Enrollment rules and school quality can vary within the country, so check with schools in Vientiane.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible, rarely the expat choice
hardInstruction
Lao
Local-language fluency usually matters.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Laos has a small, uneven public-school system that is not the route most expat families choose in Vientiane or Luang Prabang when private alternatives exist.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families may be able to enroll, but Lao-medium instruction and uneven school quality make the public route impractical for most international families.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically addressedMinimal requirements
Laos does not have specific homeschooling legislation. School attendance is compulsory for citizens, but expat families (common in Vientiane) typically homeschool without interference. No formal registration process exists for homeschoolers.
Homeschool legality in Laos — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
2 confirmed schools
1 more suggested by AI, not verified
- IB1
- French1
Fee not published
Confirmed on its own website
Schools' websites are found with Wikidata and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), and each is checked on the school's own site.
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Vientiane, Laos.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$250-$400
monthly · confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$475-$675
monthly · confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Vientiane: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Walkability score: 22/100 (limited). This is derived from the verified mobility profile and is used by the walkability gate.
Walkability
22/100
mobility profile minimal transit
Airport
Regional airport
Wattay is useful for regional travel, but most longer-haul itineraries still connect onward through larger hubs.
Urban transit
Bus-first with limited coverage
bus
Vientiane is manageable at a small-city scale, but urban mobility is still lightly structured and not built around high-capacity transit.
Rideshare
Limited app-hailed rides
LOCA-style app coverage exists, but families should expect thinner availability than in Grab- or Uber-heavy markets.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Laos.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
121 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 7 months ago
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and households still pay a large share themselves weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and public funding looks lighter.
Private care
LimitedThe private footprint is not very visible yet and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
64/100
2023
Physicians
0.33/1k
2022
Hospital beds
1.71/1k
2023
Out of pocket
45%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
69.2 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
112/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
13.1/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedThere is visible specialty depth help, but the private footprint is still thin and price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Pharmacy: 69Hospital: 21Doctor: 14Dentist: 11Clinic: 5Physiotherapy: 1
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Laos yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
Kasēmrāt
Hospital · Emergency
ໂຮງໝໍ 5 ເມສາ (ປກສ)
Hospital · Emergency
ໂຮງໝໍເມືອງ ສີສັດຕະນາກ
Hospital · Emergency
ໂຮງໝໍເມືອງ ໄຊເສດຖາ (ນະຄອນຫຼວງວຽງຈັນ)
Hospital · Emergency
ສູນຜິວໜັງ
Hospital · Emergency
Lao-Viet Hospital
Hospital · Emergency
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-11-01
Safety & Governance
City-level perceived-crime data is not sourced for Vientiane yet. Showing Laos national safety and governance signals until a matched city row lands.
Street Safety
Safety Index46/100
Crime Index54/100
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
Political Stability+0.41
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2022 annual wages in Vientiane, Laos · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
budget hotel
$67.13Survey-verified85% more
luxury hotel
$67.13Survey-verified86% cheaper
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
visa on arrival
US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Vientiane compared with the US?
Your money goes about 4.9x further in Vientiane than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate.
About Vientiane
Vientiane is the capital of Laos, a city of about 841,000 sitting on the Mekong River opposite the Thai border crossing to Nong Khai. It is one of Southeast Asia's calmest national capitals, low-rise, lightly trafficked, and dramatically smaller in economic weight than Bangkok or Hanoi. The economy mixes government, the Lao banking sector, hydropower administration for the country's substantial Mekong-tributary dam exports to Thailand, and modest tourism. Climate is hot tropical with a defined May-October wet season. Lao is universal with strong Thai mutual intelligibility, French retains older-generation institutional presence, English is workable in tourism contexts. Relocators get costs well below Bangkok, a small but established Western retiree and NGO community, and Thai border access for visa runs.
Tropical monsoon climate: hot, humid, with May-October rainy seasonInternet unreliable: frequent outages, slow speeds commonSmall expat community: tight-knit but limited resourcesLow walkability: sprawling city, motorbike-dependentAuthentic Lao cuisine: excellent local food at minimal costMinimal nightlife: few bars and clubs compared to other SE Asian citiesLimited coworking: few dedicated spaces, often work from cafesGenerally safe: low crime, but petty theft and scams occur
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