As you already know, the cost of living, average salaries, and the extra necessary expenses change depending on where you’re living and what kind of lifestyle you lead.
That being said, we’ve done our best to put together a resource for you to refer to when you’re trying to budget and figure out how much disposable income you’ll end up with after moving to China.
We included a low end and a high end for each expense category which corresponds to people that are more frugal as well as people that are willing to spend more money on different products and services.
There are a few things that we left out of this article, including insurance and non-recurring expenses like buying clothing, household items, and furniture, so don’t forget to budget for those too!
The numbers listed below are one month’s worth of expenses, and the saving potential was calculated using a low beginner teacher’s salary. If you’re a professional teacher, you’re going to make quite a bit more money, and you’ll save a lot more!
View or download our Cost of Living in China infographic:
We separated the cost of living in China by tiers – you can learn about the tier system here.
Housing
Tier 1 Cities: 3,400-6,500 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 1,700-3,500 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 1,000-2,000 ¥
Utilities
Tier 1 Cities: 250-450 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 190-400 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 100-300 ¥
Transportation (taxi/metro)
Tier 1 Cities: 150-400 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 110-300 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 100-200 ¥
Gym Membership
Tier 1 Cities: 200-300 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 200-300 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: No information
Entertainment
Tier 1 Cities: 400-1,000 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 300-800 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 200-650 ¥
Cellphone Bill & Internet
Tier 1 Cities: 170-320 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 135-285 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 100-250 ¥
Dinner for 2
Tier 1 Cities: 2,000-3,000 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 1,800-2,500 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 750-1,500 ¥
Estimated Monthly Expense Totals
Tier 1 Cities: 6,570-11,970 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 4,435-8,085 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 2,250-4,900 ¥
Savings Potential
Tier 1 Cities: 1,030-6,430 ¥
Tier 2 Cities: 2,915-6,565 ¥
Tier 3 Cities: 5,100-7,750 ¥
These numbers are all estimates, and your actual expenses will vary. The purpose of this article is to give you an idea of what to expect when moving to China from another country. More often than not, you’ll save a lot more money teaching in China than you would in your home country.
