The three numbers
Annual cost
$22,375
average across our cities
FIRE target
$559,375
25× annual spending
Effective tax
6%
on employment income
Living in China costs roughly $22,375 a year across the 16 cities we track, which puts a full FIRE target near $559,375 at a 4% withdrawal rate. Income is taxed at roughly 6% effective, which is what actually decides how fast you get there.
China is the 12th cheapest of the 36 countries we hold cost data for — about 59% less than the average US city. A portfolio that funds an ordinary American life funds a longer one here, which is the whole arithmetic behind moving.
The spread inside the country is $16,000 a year — Shanghai against Kunming — which is large enough to move your FIRE date by years on its own.
| City | Per year | FIRE number |
|---|---|---|
| Shanghai | $32,000 | $800,000 |
| Beijing | $30,000 | $750,000 |
| Shenzhen | $28,000 | $700,000 |
| Guangzhou | $26,000 | $650,000 |
| Hangzhou | $24,000 | $600,000 |
| Nanjing | $22,000 | $550,000 |
| Suzhou | $22,000 | $550,000 |
| Xiamen | $22,000 | $550,000 |
| Chengdu | $20,000 | $500,000 |
| Wuhan | $20,000 | $500,000 |
| Tianjin | $20,000 | $500,000 |
| Qingdao | $20,000 | $500,000 |
| Sanya | $20,000 | $500,000 |
| Xi'an | $18,000 | $450,000 |
| Chongqing | $18,000 | $450,000 |
| Kunming | $16,000 | $400,000 |
Every FIRE number here is 25× the annual cost, the standard 4% rule. Change the withdrawal rate and the whole column moves — a 3.5% rule multiplies by 28.6 instead.
Retiring in the average US city takes about $1,364,775. Retiring in China takes $559,375 — a saving of $805,400. That difference is not a discount on your lifestyle, it is years off the front of your working life, because it is the portfolio you no longer have to build.
Put differently: a $1,000,000 portfolio funds about 45 years of life in China at a 4% withdrawal rate, against 18 years in the average US city.
On cost, China sits just above Thailand and just below Greece — worth checking both if the country matters less to you than the number does.
The cost figure is annual spending for one person living an ordinary middle-class life — housing, food, transport, healthcare, the rest — not a backpacker budget and not a luxury one. The tax figure is an effective rate on employment income, not a marginal bracket, so it already accounts for the allowances most people get.
Both are estimates, and they are the right kind of estimate for a decision this size: close enough to tell you whether China shortens your timeline, not precise enough to budget a month on. Put your own income and savings in and the answer becomes yours rather than the average's — find your freedom date or model the move directly with the Expat FIRE calculator.