Macau
ChinaMacau makes sense if
- You want the easier housing and budget equation in this comparison.
- A calmer day-to-day safety profile matters most to you.
- Access to stronger healthcare matters most to you.
Macau vs Xiamen
Macau's compact, walkable streets serve a dense urban routine centred on gaming and tourism. Xiamen is a calmer coastal island city with sea-air promenades and an easy pace, though language barriers can make integration harder.
The grey shape is all 283 cities; each row says whether lower or higher is better. Ratings out of 10 are our reviewed estimates; the rest is published data. How we measure
The choice in one minute
Xiamen makes sense if
- You want the broader career options in this comparison.
- You value stronger public spaces and everyday city life.
What matters to you
Set how much each area counts. The ranking updates as you go. Climate and values are left out because there is no better or worse there, only your taste.
Money
Nature & outdoors
City life
Safety & health
Work & family
Moving & settling in
- 1Xiamen63
Leads on nature & outdoors and work & family; stands out for train connections and city parks.
- 2Macau61
Leads on money, safety & health and moving & settling in; stands out for broadband speed and simpler taxes.
Scores out of 100, averaged from the areas you weighted. For a ranking built around your own situation, take the quiz.
Side by side
Money
Rent on a new lease, everyday prices and tax.
Section score out of 100
Macau74Xiamen68
One-bedroom rent
Per month, new lease, citywide
$135/mo$2,444/mo
- $665/mo
- $442/mo, leads
Rent as share of local pay
One-bedroom rent vs. typical net local pay
21%120%
- ~33%, leads
- ~92%
Everyday prices
Excluding rent · United States = 100
25131
- 80
- 57, leads
Income tax + social contributions
Range: average-wage rate to top marginal rate; the dot marks its midpoint
0%46%
- 2–12%, leads
- 16–45%
Climate
The year month by month. Whether it suits you is yours to judge.
Solid line: average daytime high. Dashed: night-time low. Point at the chart for any month; point at a city name to shade its range.
Bright days
Under 80% cloud and under 1 mm rain
30 days347 days
- 154 days
- 183 days, leads
Muggy days
Days that feel sticky (dew point)
0 days365 days
- 265 days
- 216 days, leads
Air pollution
Annual mean fine particles (PM2.5)
4.6 µg/m³84 µg/m³
- 19.9 µg/m³, leads
- 26 µg/m³
Nature & outdoors
How easily you get to water, mountains and green space.
Section score out of 100
Xiamen65Macau42
Beach & sea
110
- 7/10
- 9/10, leads
Mountains
110
- 6/10
- 6/10
City parks
110
- 4/10
- 7/10, leads
Weekend escapes
110
- 6/10
- 8/10, leads
City life
Getting around on foot, food, culture and the feel of the streets.
Section score out of 100
Xiamen72Macau69
Walkability
110
- 9/10, leads
- 7/10
Public transport
110
- 6/10
- 7/10, leads
Restaurants
110
- 9/10, leads
- 8/10
Public spaces
110
- 7/10
- 9/10, leads
Safety & health
Crime, how safe people feel, and the care you would get.
Section score out of 100
Macau76Xiamen69
Homicide rate
Per 100,000 residents per year
0.247
- 0.3
- 0.5
Feels safe day to day
110
- 9/10
- 9/10
Healthcare quality
110
- 7/10
- 8/10, leads
English-speaking care
110
- 8/10, leads
- 6/10
Work & family
Jobs, working culture, schools and raising kids.
Section score out of 100
Xiamen56Macau48
Job market
110
- 5/10
- 6/10, leads
Jobs in English
110
- 7/10, leads
- 4/10
Work–life balance
110
- 3/10
- 3/10
Schools
110
- 7/10
- 7/10
Moving & settling in
Visas, language, paperwork and staying connected.
Section score out of 100
Macau55Xiamen45
Visa & residence difficulty
Typical case; your passport changes this
110
- 6/10, leads
- 8/10
Language barrier
For an English speaker
110
- 6/10, leads
- 8/10
Openness to newcomers
110
- 6/10, leads
- 5/10
Flight connections
110
- 7/10
- 7/10
Society & values
Where each city sits. There is no right end of these scales.
Social attitudes
ConservativeLiberal
- 4/10
- 4/10
LGBTQ+ acceptance
LowHigh
- 5/10
- 3/10
Diversity
HomogeneousDiverse
- 7/10
- 4/10
Religion in public life
ReligiousSecular
- 6/10
- 8/10
Life in each city
Daily life
Macau
Mixed-use streets and strong walkability make car-free routines easy. Homes are the trade-off, with limited space.
Xiamen
Its urban form is walkable and mixed-use, with relatively low car dependence. Housing is generally tight.
Safety
Macau
Violent crime is rare, walking home late feels fine, and the streets stay orderly. Traffic is calm and the territory is politically stable.
Xiamen
Extremely safe in daily terms. Violent crime is rare, petty theft is low, and walking around after dark feels secure for most people.
Work and healthcare
Macau
Macau's job market is concentrated rather than broad, with especially little room for startup or tech careers. Solid core hospital care and dependable emergency services, broadly on par with what the region offers.
Xiamen
Xiamen offers a workable local market, but its depth is limited and professional networks are modest. Care is functional and broadly accessible, with reliable hospitals and emergency services in line with other large mainland cities.
Culture and public life
Macau
Four centuries of Portuguese and Chinese mingling produced a food culture and a built heritage found nowhere else, from egg tarts to the old colonial quarter. Macau is wealthy and well-maintained, its Portuguese historic core around Senado Square genuinely charming.
Xiamen
Food is the highlight, with a strong local Minnan cuisine, abundant seafood and a lively cafe and restaurant culture. Xiamen is a pleasant, fairly clean coastal city with a well-kept seafront.
Summary
Macau is better for someone comfortable with tourism-centred work and a very compact city. Xiamen offers more career options and a gentler coastal setting, but daily life can feel closed to outsiders without Mandarin.
Read on
Which of these fits you?
These numbers treat everyone the same. The quiz weighs them by your budget, climate taste, family and work, and ranks all 283 cities for you.