Hanoi most expensive place to live in Vietnam: study

With a Spatial Cost of Living Index of 100 points, the capital was followed by Quang Ninh, 99.89 points, HCMC, 96.20 points, Da Nang, 95.89 points and Ba Ria – Vung Tau, 95.86 points, according to an annual study by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The average prices in Hanoi exceeded those of the northern province of Quang Ninh by 0.11%, including in the categories of telecommunications; culture, entertainment and tourism; equipment and household items; transport; and clothes and footwear.

Hanoi was more expensive than HCMC by 3.8% on average, including in the categories of clothes and footwear; culture, entertainment and tourism; and equipment and household items.

But the biggest city in Vietnam was costlier than the capital in terms of other goods and services; beverages and cigarettes; telecommunications; and housing, utilities, fuel and construction materials.

The cheapest place to live in Vietnam last year was Quang Tri Province in the central region, where prices were lower than those in Hanoi by 13.17%.

Right above it in the ranking were the three southern provinces of Tra Vinh, Ben Tre and Soc Trang.

The Spatial Cost of Living Index, an annual study of the GSO with data going back to 2010, uses average prices in Hanoi in 11 main consumption categories as a baseline of 100 points and ranks other localities according to them.

HCMC was the costliest locality to live in 2018 with 101.47 points, but since 2019 the title has been given to Hanoi every year.