Cost of Living inThủ Đức, Vietnam
Image credit: Phương Huy
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Vietnam: $14,415/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 73% 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
This describes Vietnam as a whole. Enrollment rules and school quality can vary within the country, so check with schools in Thủ Đức.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible, rarely the expat path
hardInstruction
Vietnamese
Local-language fluency usually matters.
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)
International & private schools
No schools in Thủ Đức are confirmed yet by their own websites. The nearest city with confirmed schools is Ho Chi Minh City, 16 km away (15 schools).
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.Thủ Đức 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
LimitedPublic funding looks lighter, patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs, and the tracked facility mix leans away from public providers weigh on this rating.
Private care
LimitedA clearly private facility base help, but the tracked private-style network still looks thin and 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 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 2026-10-01
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 Thủ Đức, 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 Thủ Đức compared with the US?
Your money goes about 3.6x further in Thủ Đức 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 Thủ Đức cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Thủ Đức is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 73% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Thủ Đức. 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 Thủ Đức compare with New York City?
Rent in Thủ Đức 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 Thủ Đức?
Groceries in Thủ Đức are about 67% 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 Thủ Đức
Thủ Đức is the easternmost city-level district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, formally elevated to a city-within-the-city in 2021 by merging three former districts. It is the centerpiece of HCMC's planned eastern expansion, hosting Vietnam National University-HCMC, the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, Samsung's Vietnam R&D activities, and the under-construction Metro Line 1 to central HCMC. New mid-to-high-rise residential development is intense, particularly in An Phú and Thảo Điền, the latter being the metro's main expatriate enclave. Vietnamese is essential and English common in international neighborhoods and corporate contexts. Climate is hot tropical year-round. Practical for tech and corporate workers, families, and remote workers prioritizing newer infrastructure over central District 1.
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