Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in China instead of North Carolina, you would:

Economy

make 62.7% less money

North Carolina has a GDP per capita of $59,308 as of 2024, while in China, the GDP per capita is $22,100 as of 2023.

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be 37.4% more likely to be unemployed

In North Carolina, 3.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.7% as of 2023.

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Basic Needs

be 17.7% less likely to have internet access

In North Carolina, approximately 88.7% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In China, about 73.0% do as of 2021.

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The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey), Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Compare further: North Carolina vs. China
Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
China is 51.3% cheaper than North Carolina
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Size Comparison · See true size
North Carolina is about 76 times smaller than China.
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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 North Carolina? See an in-depth size comparison.

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