Category Archives: Cost Of Living In China

One of the first things I noticed about China was how much cheaper things inside stores were. For expats, it is important to know the purchasing power parity between the United States and China for the things we buy on a daily basis. In the chart below, I have selected the most common things I buy while living in China. You will notice that many of them are American brands, and hence this analysis doesn’t give the most accurate picture in terms of price differences. This is because most products have a generic Chinese equivalent that I could buy for much cheaper, but I usually opt for brand names to ensure some quality control. The prices in RMB have been converted to US dollars and both lists were averaged to compute a price ratio. The final ratio for US to China’s prices is 1.69, meaning that I get almost 70% more ‘bang for my buck’ here in China. In other words, if I make 50 USD, it’s like I am able to spend $84.5 (if I were at home) because I can buy products cheaper in China.