Nanjing International School
IBInternational
Confirmed on its own website
Cost of Living inNanjing, Jiangsu, China
Jiangsu, China9.3MUpper middle incomeRemote-work friendly
Image credit: Yinan Chen
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Your money goes 2.1x further
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). China: $25,067/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 70% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Overall
3.3x further
Prices are 70% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
9.4x further
Prices are 89% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
3.0x further
Prices are 67% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
4.6x further
Prices are 78% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Income Category
Upper Middle
World Bank GNI
GDP per Capita
$25,067
PPP, International $
City Population
9.3M
Monthly Costs
Rent
1BR City Center$483/mo
1BR Outside Center$300/mo
3BR City Center$1,017/mo
3BR Outside Center$532/mo
Food
Cheap Meal$2.90
Mid-Range (2 people)$24
Milk (1L)$2.16
Eggs (12)$1.26
Transport
Gasoline (1L)$1.13
Utilities
Basic (85mΒ² apt)$50/mo
Internet (60+ Mbps)$6.96/mo
Education
Preschool$1,440/mo
Intl Primary School$21,738/yr
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost β the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
This describes China as a whole. Enrollment rules and school quality can vary within the country, so check with schools in Nanjing, Jiangsu.
Quality
Good public schools
Expat access
Legally possible, hard in practice
hardInstruction
Mandarin
Local-language fluency usually matters.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
China's public system is academically strong, but the standard local-school path is not designed around short-horizon expat families.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident enrollment is sometimes possible, but hukou or local assignment practices and Mandarin-medium instruction make the public route hard in practice.
π« Homeschooling
Homeschooling not legalChina's Compulsory Education Law requires all children to attend school. Homeschooling is illegal and the law is enforced. Some underground homeschooling communities exist but face legal risk.
Homeschool legality in China β check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
2 confirmed schools
1 more suggested by AI, not verified
Typical fee
$18,004/yr
one school's published fee
- IB1
- British1
British School of Nanjing
BritishInternational
Fee not published
- A level grades A*βA: 54% (2025) Β· source
Confirmed on its own website
Schools' websites are found with Wikidata and OpenStreetMap (Β© OpenStreetMap contributors), and each is checked on the school's own site.
How schools rank by exam results βChildcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$725-$1,000
monthly Β· confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$1,300-$1,750
monthly Β· confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Nanjing: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Walkability score: 79/100 (transit supported). This is derived from the verified mobility profile and is used by the walkability gate.
Walkability
79/100
mobility profile transit backbone
Airport
International airport
Nanjing Lukou gives the city strong domestic coverage plus practical regional and long-haul access across the lower Yangtze corridor.
Urban transit
Metro, suburban rail, and bus
metrocommuter railbus
Nanjing Metro and suburban rail make many practical districts workable without a car, with buses filling first/last-mile gaps beyond the strongest lines.
Rideshare
Taxi and app-hailed rides
Taxi-hailing and app-booked rides are a routine complement for airport trips and lower-frequency journeys outside the metro network.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in China.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
133 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 7 months ago
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, strong doctor availability, and solid hospital-bed capacity support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong support this rating.
Private care
MixedA meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
85/100
2023
Physicians
3.11/1k
2022
Hospital beds
5.63/1k
2023
Out of pocket
32%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
78.0 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
16/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
2.6/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedThere is visible specialty depth and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Hospital: 92Pharmacy: 22Clinic: 16Dentist: 2Doctor: 1
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in China yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
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System metrics: World Bank WDI Β· Updated 2026-11-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Safety Index88/100
Crime Index13/100
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
Political Stability-0.30
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | β |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | β |
| Construction | β |
| Education | β |
| Finance & Insurance | β |
| Healthcare & Social Work | β |
| Hospitality & Food Service | β |
| Information & Technology | β |
| Manufacturing | β |
| Mining & Quarrying | β |
| Other Services | β |
| Professional & Scientific Services | β |
| Real Estate | β |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | β |
| Transport & Logistics | β |
| Utilities | β |
2022 annual wages in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China Β· Source: NBS (province-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
big mac
$3.97Estimated36% cheaper
bread 500g
$1.62Estimated52% cheaper
budget hotel
$186.85Survey-verified415% more
childcare preschool
$1440.01Estimated7% cheaper
eggs dozen
$1.26Estimated74% cheaper
gasoline liter
$17.35Survey-verified1585% more
inexpensive meal
$11.38Survey-verified46% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$6.96Estimated90% cheaper
iphone
$1099.00Estimated10% more
luxury hotel
$186.85Survey-verified61% cheaper
milk liter
$2.16Estimated77% more
monthly pass
$17.35Survey-verified75% cheaper
rent 1br
$604.96Survey-verified67% cheaper
rent 3br
$1017.02Estimated68% cheaper
taxi km
$0.32Estimated83% cheaper
utilities basic
$50.31Estimated76% cheaper
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
evisa
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page β no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Nanjing compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.1x further in Nanjing than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate.
Is Nanjing cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Nanjing is cheaper overall than New York City β overall living costs are about 70% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Nanjing.
How does rent in Nanjing compare with New York City?
Rent in Nanjing is about 89% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City).
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Nanjing?
Groceries in Nanjing are about 67% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 78% cheaper than the same benchmark.
About Nanjing, Jiangsu
Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province in eastern China and a historic former imperial capital, with about 9.3 million residents on the lower Yangtze roughly 300 kilometers up-river from Shanghai. The city anchors a dense cluster of national universities, electronics and petrochemical industries, and serves as a key transport hub on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail corridor. Relocators benefit from rents materially below Shanghai, walkable historic districts around the Ming-era city wall, and a humid subtropical climate that brings hot summers and cold damp winters known regionally for raw humidity. English use is concentrated in university zones, international schooling clusters in Jianye and along the river, and the city offers a quieter pace than the Yangtze Delta's coastal megacities.
Subtropical climate: hot, humid summers (28-32Β°C); cold, damp winters with occasional snowExcellent fiber internet speeds (100+ Mbps commonly available) with stable connectivityGrowing but still small expat community; easier integration than mega-cities but fewer servicesHighly walkable city center with extensive metro system and affordable taxis/bikesWorld-class Nanjing cuisine reputation; street food culture and modern restaurants thriveEmerging nightlife with craft bars, clubs in Xinjiekou district; quieter than Shanghai/BeijingCoworking spaces available (We Work alternatives, tech hubs) though less developed than tier-1 citiesSafe city with low violent crime; petty theft rare; strong police presence
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