NavoyNostos

Chengdu vs Xi'an

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Chengdu edges it, 52 to 50, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Chengdu is stronger on air quality; Xi'an on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 3.9 of 52 points (scores 35/100)Safety: 8.4 of 52 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 9.0 of 52 points (scores 81/100)Internet: 5.7 of 52 points (scores 51/100)Visa ease: 1.7 of 52 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 8.1 of 52 points (scores 73/100)Climate: 4.6 of 52 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 4.4 of 52 points (scores 40/100)Quality of life: 6.1 of 52 points (scores 55/100)52
Chengdu
out of 100

Sichuan's laid-back megacity of tea houses and hotpot

Full Chengdu profile →Where to stay in Chengdu →
Cost of living: 4.0 of 50 points (scores 36/100)Safety: 8.4 of 50 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 9.0 of 50 points (scores 81/100)Internet: 5.0 of 50 points (scores 45/100)Visa ease: 1.7 of 50 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 9.1 of 50 points (scores 82/100)Climate: 5.6 of 50 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 1.5 of 50 points (scores 13/100)Quality of life: 6.1 of 50 points (scores 55/100)50
Xi'an
out of 100

Terracotta Army, city walls and the start of the Silk Road

Full Xi'an profile →Where to stay in Xi'an →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricChengduXi'an
Cost of living3536 ✓
Safety7676
Healthcare8181
Internet51 ✓45
Visa ease1515
Getting there & around7382 ✓
Climate4250 ✓
Air quality40 ✓13
Quality of life5555

Cost

MetricChengduXi'an
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,896$1,850 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricChengduXi'an
Homicides per 100k0.50.5
Political stability (0–100)6666
UHC service coverage (0–100)8585
Life expectancy77.6 yrs77.6 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricChengduXi'an
Download12.9 Mbps ✓8.8 Mbps
Upload8.4 Mbps ✓6.9 Mbps

Visa

MetricChengduXi'an
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa requiredvisa required
Entry, EU passport30 days30 days
Entry, UK passportvisa requiredvisa required

Getting there and around

MetricChengduXi'an
Non-stop airport destinations78190 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)34 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)5 ✓4

Climate and air

MetricChengduXi'an
Comfortable months per year56 ✓
Annual mean PM2.532 µg/m³ ✓44 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Chengdu or Xi'an?
Xi'an is cheaper: about $1,850 per month versus $1,896 for one person.
Is Chengdu or Xi'an safer?
Chengdu scores higher on safety (76 vs 76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Chengdu or Xi'an?
Chengdu: a measured median of 12.9 Mbps versus 8.8 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); Official entry rules that changed after the Passport Index snapshot; WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.