Cost of Living inBiên Hòa, Vietnam
Image credit: Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Vietnam: $14,415/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 74% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.0 / 10
#53 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Vietnam; Biên Hòa-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible, rarely the expat path
hardInstruction
Vietnamese
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Vietnam's public system is built for local families and is not the route most expat households choose when they have other options.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident access can exist, but Vietnamese-medium instruction and a strongly local school culture make the public route a hard fit for most foreign families.
❓ Homeschooling
Not explicitly addressedVietnamese law requires school attendance for citizens, but there is no explicit prohibition or framework for homeschooling. Expat families often homeschool without interference. Vietnamese citizens face more scrutiny. No legal framework exists.
Homeschool legality in Vietnam — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Vietnam.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$280-$680
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$490-$1,150
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Biên Hòa is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Vietnam.
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.
Healthcare system
LimitedThis is a broad country-level read based on coverage, staffing, beds, and spending.
Public care
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public funding looks lighter and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs.
Private care
MixedA clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
71/100
2023
Physicians
1.11/1k
2021
Hospital beds
2.52/1k
2017
Out of pocket
39%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
74.7 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
48/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
8.8/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and there is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Vietnam yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
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 | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Biên Hòa, Vietnam · Source: GSO (region-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
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 Biên Hòa compared with the US?
Your money goes about 3.6x further in Biên Hòa than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Vietnam here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Biên Hòa cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Biên Hòa is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 74% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Biên Hòa. We are using the country-level cost index for Vietnam here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Biên Hòa compare with New York City?
Rent in Biên Hòa is about 90% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Vietnam here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Biên Hòa?
Groceries in Biên Hòa are about 68% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 84% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Vietnam here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Biên Hòa
Bien Hoa is the capital of Dong Nai province in southern Vietnam, a city of roughly 1.27 million that sits about 30 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City along the Dong Nai River. It is one of the country's oldest and largest industrial zones, with multinational electronics, footwear, and auto-parts plants concentrated in the Bien Hoa industrial parks. The climate is tropical with a distinct wet season from May to November. For relocators this is almost always a job-tied posting rather than a lifestyle choice: it functions as an HCMC commuter and industrial satellite, Vietnamese is essential outside factory management ranks, and the new Long Thanh airport will reshape the area's logistics profile.
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