Search "cost of living Da Nang" and you'll get a wall of confident numbers: $800 a month, $1,500 a month, "cheaper than Bali." Most are one person's lifestyle with a dollar sign on it. They tell you where the writer ate, not what you'll spend.

There's a better place to start. Some of the city's most important prices aren't set by the market at all. Electricity and water tariffs and the minimum wage are fixed by regulation, and the city's statistics office tracks rents. Those numbers won't tell you your budget, but they tell you how the city works.

Last verified: October 11, 2026. Tariffs and wages are revised periodically. Amounts below exclude VAT where the source says so.

Electricity: tiered, and it adds up

Vietnam's state utility, EVN, sells household power on a rising-block tariff: the more you use in a month, the higher the price for the extra units. On May 10, 2025, EVN raised the average retail price by 4.8 percent, to 2,204.06 dong per kWh before VAT, Tuổi Trẻ reported. The household schedule published with that increase had six blocks, from 1,984 dong per kWh for the first 50 kWh up to 3,460 dong above 400 kWh, according to Pháp Luật TP.HCM.

A government decision signed on May 29, 2025, replaces that with five wider blocks, topping out at about 3,967 dong for use above 700 kWh. But it takes effect only at the next average-price adjustment, VnEconomy reported. We didn't find an adjustment announced as of this check, so look at which table your bill uses.

The blocks matter more than the average. An apartment running air conditioners through the hot months climbs into the expensive blocks quickly. Before you sign a lease, ask how electricity will be billed: through your own EVN meter, or by the landlord. Our renting guide covers what to check.

Water: cheap in the old city, dearer in the old province

Da Nang's household water tariff for urban residents, in force from January 1, 2025, is 5,119 dong per cubic meter for under 10 cubic meters a month, 6,135 dong for 11 to 30, and 7,644 dong above 31, Nhà Đầu Tư reported.

Former Quang Nam areas, including Hoi An and Tam Ky, were on a different and higher scale. From the May 2025 billing period, their first 10 cubic meters cost 8,954 dong each, rising to 15,624 dong above 30 cubic meters, Tuổi Trẻ reported. We couldn't confirm whether the two scales have been unified since the July 2025 merger, so check your bill.

Wages: the floor, by ward

The regional minimum wage is the legal floor for employees, and it's the clearest official signal of what the government considers a baseline. Under Decree 293/2025, in force from January 1, 2026, Da Nang has no top-tier Region I areas, according to LuatVietnam's ward-by-ward table:

  • Region II, 4.73 million dong a month (22,700 dong an hour): the central wards, including Hải Châu, Sơn Trà, Ngũ Hành Sơn and Cẩm Lệ, plus Tam Kỳ and the three Hội An wards.
  • Region III, 4.14 million dong a month: areas such as Điện Bàn and several former Quang Nam districts.
  • Region IV, 3.7 million dong a month: all remaining communes.

If you're comparing your rent with those numbers, that's the point: 4.73 million dong a month is the legal floor for employees in the central wards, the people who keep the city running.

Rent: rising, and nobody publishes a clean average

There's no official average rent for foreigners, and anyone who quotes one is guessing. What the official data does show is direction. The city statistics office reported rental prices up 2.03 percent in a single month in early 2026, citing sustained demand, Tuoi Tre News reported in April. Small apartments of about 16 square meters were renting for around 4 million dong a month before utilities, and rooms under 1.5 million dong were hard to find. Vietnam's statistics office ranked Da Nang fifth in the country for cost of living in 2025, according to the same report.

That squares poorly with the "cheapest city on earth" headlines. One widely shared 2025 ranking that named Da Nang the cheapest city for expats didn't explain its methodology.

How to build a real budget

  • Start with fixed costs you can verify: rent in writing, the electricity arrangement, water, internet, and visa fees.
  • Add health insurance. Our healthcare guide explains why.
  • Then add lifestyle. That's the part only you can estimate.
  • Shop where residents shop. Neighborhood markets price differently from tourist streets. See our markets guide.

Sources

This story was compiled by the Da Nang Voice news desk from the published sources listed above. Facts, figures and quotes are attributed to those sources; Da Nang Voice did not conduct interviews for it unless the text says so. Corrections are dated and noted at the top of the story. Read our corrections policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.