Cost of living in Pleiku: bills, taxis and school fees

A month in Pleiku comes down to a few bills you can work out in advance: electricity, water, taxis if you have no motorbike, and school fees if you bring children. Rent is the one cost you agree directly with the landlord.

Electricity: the 6-tier tariff and how to work out your bill

Household electricity is billed in six tiers, and every kWh costs more than the one before it, with tier 1 covering only the first 50 kWh a month. These rates have applied since 10 May 2025 and are before value-added tax.

Price each slice and add them up. A flat that uses 150 kWh pays 50 × 1,984 + 50 × 2,050 + 50 × 2,380 = 320,700 VND, while a home using 250 kWh pays 50 × 1,984 + 50 × 2,050 + 100 × 2,380 + 50 × 2,998 = 589,600 VND. If your meter is a prepaid card meter, you skip the tiers and pay a flat 2,909 VND per kWh.

Renting can make electricity expensive. If you rent for under 12 months and your landlord has not registered everyone living there, every kWh is billed at the tier 3 rate of 2,380 VND, and four people count as one household for the allowance. We recommend asking your landlord whether the occupants are registered before you pay a deposit.

A new house with no power gets its connection settled within seven working days, in person or online: a request, a site survey, meter installation and testing, then a supply contract. Details are in our guide to electricity prices in Pleiku.

Water: the price depends on the plant and how much you use

Water is the smaller bill. Two plants supply the city, Biển Hồ and Ia Rbol, and the rate climbs with each band of monthly use. These prices took effect on 31 May 2026 and replaced the 2023 city rates.

To find out which plant feeds your address, ask the water company at 388 Lý Thái Tổ, Diên Hồng ward, or call 02693824094. You can pay by letting your bank debit your account each month, or in person at the collection points, and a new account can be opened with the online form on the company’s website.

The rates do not include value-added tax, and wastewater adds about 10% on the same bill: at 8,120 VND per m3 that is 812 VND more. The full steps are in our guide to water prices in Pleiku.

Getting around: taxi and ride-hailing prices

Without a motorbike, taxis and ride-hailing cars do the daily work. Each operator quotes an opening fare and a per-kilometre rate, so you add up the distance yourself for a full trip. Fares are from the provincial list published on 7 September 2026.

Book through an operator’s app or call centre and check the fare before the ride; 39 operators in the province publish their pricing. How to book, where pick-ups happen and the other options are in taxis and ride-hailing in Pleiku.

School fees if you bring children

Fees depend on whether the school is public or private and on your ward. In the urban wards of Pleiku, Hội Phú, Thống Nhất, Diên Hồng and An Phú, the province supports private kindergarten and primary tuition with 300,000 VND per child per month, from the 2025–2026 school year.

Public schools in those same wards charge 300,000 VND per child per month at every level, from kindergarten to upper secondary. In the mountain communes of Biển Hồ and Gào, the first three levels cost 50,000 VND and upper secondary costs 100,000 VND. A child studying online pays 75% of the fee, and nothing is charged for periods when no teaching takes place.

Independent private kindergartens set their own fee with parents, so compare them one by one. Admission to kindergarten, grade 1, grade 6 and grade 10 for the 2026–2027 school year is by online registration. Our guide to kindergarten and primary admission in Pleiku walks through it.

Prices and pay

For scale, the legal minimum wage in Pleiku’s wards is 4,140,000 VND a month from 1 January 2026. That is a floor, not an average salary. Prices are rising too: Gia Lai is about 5% dearer than a year ago, with housing and utilities rising fastest.

Rent

Look at a few listings and compare before you commit. Our guide to renting a home in Pleiku explains how to read listings, the new ward names and temporary residence registration for tenants. More everyday guides sit in Living in Pleiku.