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.
Cheaper → pricier · click a country to open its page
Countries with a similar cost of living
- 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia — price level 0.493
- 🇵🇱 Poland — price level 0.486
- 🇨🇱 Chile — price level 0.481
- 🇭🇺 Hungary — price level 0.508
- 🇧🇷 Brazil — price level 0.462
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.