Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in China instead of Mississippi, you would:

Health

be 77.8% less likely to be obese

In Mississippi, 41.9% of adults are obese as of 2022. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 49.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Mississippi, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.

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make 66.8% less money

Mississippi has a GDP per capita of $41,778 as of 2024, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.

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Basic Needs

be 11.7% more likely to have internet access

In Mississippi, approximately 82.0% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In China, about 91.6% do as of 2025.

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Sources: World Bank (2025), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023). How we calculate this

Compare further: Mississippi vs. China

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
China is 57.9% cheaper than Mississippi
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Mississippi is about 79 times smaller than China.
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Moving from Mississippi to China · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Jackson vs Shanghai
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China: At a glance

China (sometimes abbreviated PRC) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 9,326,410 sq km. For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.
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How big is China compared to Mississippi? See an in-depth size comparison.

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