Cost of Living in Macao SAR, China
Image credit: Melvin Loi from Macau, Macau
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Macao SAR, China: $117,098/capita.
Income Category
GDP per Capita
Population
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 36% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Child Education
International and private school tuition + curriculum mix for relocating families.
International & private schools
Cities with schools their own websites confirm. Each city page lists its schools with the fees and results they publish. How schools rank by exam results →
- Macau2 schools · typical fee $17,647/yr · IB
Childcare & Domestic Help
Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Macao SAR, China. We publish this section only when we can tie it to verified local samples or a clearly marked country fallback.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Macao SAR, 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.
Healthcare system
GoodSolid hospital-bed capacity and low out-of-pocket burden help, but coverage looks thinner.
Public care
MixedRelatively low patient cost-sharing and a visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and public funding looks lighter.
Private care
LimitedThe private footprint is not very visible yet and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
0/100
2025
Physicians
1.56/1k
1987
Hospital beds
5.30/1k
1970
Out of pocket
0%
2025
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
83.3 yrs
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedThere is visible specialty depth help, but the private footprint is still thin and price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Macao SAR, China yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-11-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Macao SAR, China · Source: Territory estimate (parent: CN)
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 30 days without a visa.
About Macao SAR, China
Macao SAR, China is a compact, high-income Special Administrative Region in East Asia and the Pacific, with about 687,000 residents and living costs that sit well above the regional average. For relocators, the comparison point is less mainland China than Singapore or Hong Kong: housing and daily expenses can be very high, while public safety, healthcare, broadband, and urban services are strong enough to support a high-convenience lifestyle. Macao itself is walkable, but its job market and immigration rules are not especially casual; work visas are moderately restrictive and usually tied to employer sponsorship, while tourist entry is easier for many nationalities. Cantonese is the main everyday language, with Portuguese and English also present. The climate is another real tradeoff: hot, humid summers, mild dry winters, and typhoon risk from June through September.
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Common questions about Macao SAR, China
Sourced from SortaRich's public-data ranking engine — every figure links to its institutional source.
How much does it cost to live in Macao SAR, China?
The cost of living in Macao SAR, China is about 36% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), with an overall cost-of-living index of 64. SortaRich personalizes these numbers to your home city's purchasing power so the comparison is real, not nominal.
Sources: SortaRich Cost of Living, World Bank ICP 2021
How far does $1 go in Macao SAR, China?
$1 goes about 1.8x further in Macao SAR, China than in the baseline market — your home-country income stretches that much more (current PPP ratio: 1.82). The figure adjusts every year as exchange rates and local prices shift. SortaRich uses World Bank ICP 2021 as the anchor and Penn World Tables 11.0 for cross-validation.
Sources: World Bank ICP 2021, Penn World Tables 11.0
What visa do I need to move to Macao SAR, China?
To move to Macao SAR, China you have these visa options: Tourist entry: visa_free (30 days). Visa rules change frequently — confirm the current terms with the official immigration authority before booking flights.
Source: SortaRich Visa Database
What are the best cities to live in Macao SAR, China?
The best cities to live in Macao SAR, China are Macau — those are the most-searched options among the 1 cities profiled in the SortaRich database. Each city page includes a personalized PPP comparison versus your home city plus subnational price data where available.
Source: SortaRich City Index