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Purchasing Power Parity · China

Cost of living in 🇨🇳 China vs the United States

China has a US-relative price level of 0.491 (US = 1.0) — about 51% cheaper than the United States. Reference year 2025.

What US salaries are worth in China

US income Feels like (US-equivalent) Cost of a US lifestyle
$50,000 $101,833 $24,550
$80,000 $162,933 $39,280
$120,000 $244,399 $58,920
$180,000 $366,599 $88,380
$250,000 $509,165 $122,750

“Feels like” = income ÷ price level; “cost of a US lifestyle” = income × price level. Try your own number in the interactive calculator.

How the sources compare

Each provider measures China's price level slightly differently; a tight spread means high confidence.

Consensus (median) 0.491 2025
World Bank — GDP 0.491 2024
IMF (WEO) 0.491 2024
OECD 0.473 2025
Penn World Table 0.519 2023
World Bank — Consumption 0.493 2024
Big Mac Index 0.598 2026

Cost of living around the world

Every country shaded by its price level relative to the US (darker = more expensive). China is outlined.

Canada: price level 0.846 (US = 1.0) United States: price level 1 (US = 1.0) Indonesia: price level 0.299 (US = 1.0) Argentina: price level 0.459 (US = 1.0) Chile: price level 0.481 (US = 1.0) Norway: price level 0.841 (US = 1.0) South Africa: price level 0.41 (US = 1.0) Mexico: price level 0.548 (US = 1.0) Brazil: price level 0.462 (US = 1.0) Colombia: price level 0.362 (US = 1.0) France: price level 0.749 (US = 1.0) Nigeria: price level 0.119 (US = 1.0) United Arab Emirates: price level 0.634 (US = 1.0) Thailand: price level 0.296 (US = 1.0) Vietnam: price level 0.288 (US = 1.0) South Korea: price level 0.573 (US = 1.0) India: price level 0.244 (US = 1.0) Sweden: price level 0.821 (US = 1.0) Poland: price level 0.486 (US = 1.0) Hungary: price level 0.508 (US = 1.0) Germany: price level 0.789 (US = 1.0) Greece: price level 0.584 (US = 1.0) Türkiye: price level 0.367 (US = 1.0) Switzerland: price level 1.101 (US = 1.0) Netherlands: price level 0.829 (US = 1.0) Portugal: price level 0.603 (US = 1.0) Spain: price level 0.642 (US = 1.0) Ireland: price level 0.821 (US = 1.0) New Zealand: price level 0.891 (US = 1.0) Australia: price level 0.923 (US = 1.0) China: price level 0.491 (US = 1.0) Italy: price level 0.672 (US = 1.0) Denmark: price level 0.899 (US = 1.0) United Kingdom: price level 0.863 (US = 1.0) Philippines: price level 0.338 (US = 1.0) Malaysia: price level 0.306 (US = 1.0) Czechia: price level 0.574 (US = 1.0) Japan: price level 0.63 (US = 1.0) Saudi Arabia: price level 0.493 (US = 1.0) Egypt: price level 0.138 (US = 1.0)
Cheaper → pricier · click a country to open its page

Countries with a similar cost of living

Relocating for work? See the fair salary from the US to China or use the Fair Pay Localizer.

Frequently asked questions

How expensive is China compared to the United States?
China has a price level of 0.491 relative to the US baseline of 1.0 (about 51% cheaper than the United States), based on the median of World Bank, IMF, OECD and Penn World Table figures with reference year 2025.
What is a $100,000 salary worth in China?
In purchasing-power terms, $100,000 stretches to about $203,666 of US-equivalent lifestyle in China; conversely, sustaining a $100,000 US lifestyle there costs about $49,100.
Where does the China cost-of-living data come from?
Real price-level figures from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD and Penn World Table, blended as a per-country median and refreshed at build time.