How to make money in GTA Vice City
Legit ways to get rich in GTA Vice City: every asset with price and daily income, safehouse prices, which buys unlock missions and early cash tips.
Key facts
- Assets open after
- Shakedown
- Biggest earner
- Malibu Club, up to $10,000 a day
- Most expensive asset
- Malibu Club, $120,000
- Collect income
- Walk over the $ outside each asset
- Money cheat
- Not used here
Money in GTA Vice City comes from three places: mission payouts, side jobs and, above all, the businesses Tommy buys once the story lets him. Each business, called an asset, pays a daily income after you finish its own missions. This guide covers prices, income and which assets unlock what, using IGN’s wiki and GameSpot’s walkthrough. Everything here is normal play: no cheats, glitches or exploits.
How assets work
- When they open. IGN says the assets go on sale right after the story mission Shakedown, which itself pays $2,000.
- Buying. Stand in the house icon outside the business to see the price and buy it.
- Making them pay. A newly bought asset earns nothing until you finish its asset missions. After that, cash builds up every in game day.
- Collecting. IGN says to walk over the $ pickup outside the property. GameSpot gives each asset a maximum daily revenue, listed below.
- They also save the game. GameSpot notes you can save at any property you own, assets included.
Assets: price and income
| Asset | Price | Max daily income | What unlocks the income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boatyard | $10,000 | $2,000 | Checkpoint Charlie |
| Cherry Popper Ice Cream | $20,000 | $3,000 (one IGN page says $2,000) | Distribution |
| Pole Position Club | $30,000 | $4,000 | Spending money on dances |
| Kaufman Cabs | $40,000 | $5,000 | Three missions, ending with Cabmageddon |
| Sunshine Autos | $50,000 | $9,000 | Four import car lists |
| InterGlobal Films | $60,000 | $8,000 (GameSpot) or $7,000 (IGN) | Four missions, ending with G-Spotlight |
| Print Works | $70,000 | $8,000 | Spilling the Beans and Hit the Courier |
| Malibu Club | $120,000 | $10,000 | Four missions, ending with The Job |
| Phil’s Place | Not for sale | None | Gun Runner and Boomshine Saigon |
Prices and income are GameSpot’s figures, which IGN’s asset pages match except where noted. Two more details:
- Pole Position. IGN’s asset page says spending $300 on dances completes it. IGN’s older business page says $500 to $600. Either way, it is cheap and quick.
- Sunshine Autos. IGN says the income rises with each list: $1,500 a day after the first, then $4,000, $6,500 and finally $9,000. Each list also leaves a car in the showroom: a Deluxo, a Sabre Turbo, a Sandking and a Hotring Racer.
The Vercetti Estate
You never buy the Vercetti Estate. The story hands it to you, and IGN says it starts paying $5,000 a day after Cop Land.
Which assets unlock missions
- The ending. IGN says you need the Print Works plus at least six other assets to open the last story missions, starting with Cap the Collector. GameSpot also calls the Print Works essential.
- The Malibu Club. IGN says you must own it to finish the story. Its last mission, The Job, pays $50,000 and leads to Phil Cassidy’s missions.
- InterGlobal Films. Its missions with Steve Scott are part of the main story arc, according to IGN.
- Street races. IGN says the six Vice Street Racer races open through Sunshine Autos, and that the Ice Cream Factory is one of the steps toward them.
Safehouses
Safehouses earn nothing, but they give you more save points and, in some, a garage. You need all of them for 100% completion. Prices from IGN and GameSpot:
| Safehouse | Area | Price | Garage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skumole Shack | Downtown | $1,000 | No |
| 3321 Vice Point | Vice Point | $2,000 (IGN) or $2,500 (GameSpot) | No |
| 1102 Washington Street | Washington Beach | $3,000 (IGN) or $300 (GameSpot) | No |
| Links View Apartments | Washington Beach, by Leaf Links | $6,000 | Yes |
| Ocean Heights | Ocean Beach | $7,000 | Yes |
| El Swanko Casa | Vice Point | $8,000 | Yes |
| Hyman Condo | Downtown | $14,000 | Several, plus a rooftop helicopter |
The Ocean View Hotel is free from the start. IGN calls El Swanko Casa a good first buy and the Hyman Condo the best safehouse in the game.
Early money
Before the assets open, cash is tight. These come from IGN unless noted:
- Story missions. The steady payouts cover guns and armor. Big ones arrive mid game: IGN says Rub Out pays $50,000.
- Store robberies. Aim a gun at a shop clerk. IGN says the cash comes in four drops of $50, $100, $250 and $600, up to $1,000 a store, but holding out for all of it brings three stars. There are 15 stores.
- Vehicle missions. Paramedic, Firefighter and Vigilante each pay more per level, up to $7,200 for level 12.
- Cone Crazy. IGN says the first win pays $200 and every new record doubles the previous reward, so a good driver can earn a lot from repeat runs.
- Checkpoint Charlie. After the first clear, IGN says the harder levels of this boat race keep paying: $6,000 for level 2 and $7,000 for level 3.
- Street races. IGN lists entry fees from $100 to $10,000 and first prizes from $400 for the cheapest race to $20,000 for the fifth.
- Parking meters. IGN notes that knocking over parking meters drops small amounts of cash.
- The coach. IGN says that with a coach’s mission active, each passenger who boards at a bus stop pays $5.
- Hidden packages. GamesRadar says each one pays $100. See our hidden packages guide.
Suggested order
- Play the story to Shakedown, doing vehicle missions and robberies on the way.
- Buy the cheap assets you can finish quickly: Boatyard, Pole Position and the Ice Cream Factory.
- Save toward the Malibu Club. IGN calls it the first major purchase worth making, and GameSpot names Sunshine Autos and Pole Position as good first or second buys.
- Finish the Print Works and enough other assets to open the ending.
- Make a round of the $ pickups whenever you pass through an area.
Spend the profits at Phil’s Place once it opens. IGN lists a minigun for $10,000 and a rocket launcher for $8,000 there. For more ways to stretch your cash, see our tips guide.
Updated