The General Statistics Office released a report on Wednesday revealing that Hanoi had the highest cost of living in Vietnam in 2022, with Quang Ninh Province and Ho Chi Minh City following in second and third place.
This marks the second consecutive year that Hanoi has taken the top position in the country’s Spatial Cost of Living Index. Fourth and fifth place went to Da Nang in central Vietnam and Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province in the southern region, respectively.
According to the Spatial Cost of Living Index 2022, Quang Tri Province in north-central Vietnam reported the lowest cost of living, followed by the Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, and Soc Trang, and the northern province of Nam Dinh. These provinces had low prices for food and catering services, apparel, hats, and footwear, housing, household appliances, transport services, postal and telecom services, education services, and entertainment services.
The Spatial Cost of Living Index reflects the gap in prices for consumer goods and services among localities nationwide. For example, when buying the same product, residents in Hanoi pay VND100 each, while those in Quang Tri pay VND86.8 each.
Moreover, the report indicated that the prices of some consumer goods and services in Ho Chi Minh were lower than those in Hanoi. For instance, the prices of apparel, hats, and footwear in the southern metropolis were equal to 78.07 percent of those in Hanoi; cultural, education, and tourism services, 91.72 percent; and household appliances, 94.43 percent. The General Statistics Office explained that the lower prices of some essential commodities in Ho Chi Minh City were due to abundant supplies and better demand and supply connections.
Vietnam’s Saigon by night
The office calculated the Spatial Cost of Living Index of localities based on the prices of 11 key consumer goods and service groups, including food and catering services, medicines and healthcare services, apparel, hats, and footwear, housing, electricity, utilities, building materials, household appliances, education services, transport services, culture, entertainment, and tourism services, and other goods and services.
In terms of regions, the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam had the highest cost of living in 2022, followed by the northern midland and mountainous, southeastern, north-central and central coastal, Central Highlands, and Mekong Delta regions.