🇺🇸 US vs 🇨🇳 China
The two AI superpowers, compared — pay, companies, jobs, hiring and take-home. Salaries converted at ~7.2 CNY/USD for comparison.
Median total comp
🇺🇸 $426k
🇨🇳 ¥690k (≈$96k)
AI companies tracked
🇺🇸 44
🇨🇳 35
Structured jobs
🇺🇸 50
🇨🇳 30
Median total comp by role (converted to USD)
ML Engineer🇺🇸 $426k · 🇨🇳 ¥830k (≈$115k)
US
$426k
CN
≈$115k
Research Scientist🇺🇸 $426k · 🇨🇳 ¥770k (≈$107k)
US
$426k
CN
≈$107k
MLOps Engineer🇺🇸 $426k · 🇨🇳 ¥860k (≈$119k)
US
$426k
CN
≈$119k
AI Product Manager🇺🇸 $426k · 🇨🇳 ¥630k (≈$88k)
US
$426k
CN
≈$88k
Nominal USD gap is large; on purchasing-power terms the gap narrows considerably.
🇺🇸 US market
- Top hubs: SF Bay Area, Seattle, NYC
- Highest pay: SF Bay Area
- Best value: Seattle (no state income tax)
- Entry barrier: H-1B visa lottery
🇨🇳 China market
- Top hubs: 北京, 深圳, 上海, 杭州
- Avg salary: ¥250000-600000
- For foreigners: 深圳(落户容易) or 上海(国际化)
- Unique: 户口政策 · 五险一金 · 996工作制
🎤 Hiring process
🇨🇳 中国有笔试, 更重算法, 流程更快(3-5周 vs 6-10周)
🇺🇸 6-10 weeks, no coding test, heavy system-design & behavioral.
💸 Take-home
🇺🇸 70-75% (高收入, 加州)
🇨🇳 68-72% (高收入)
中国五险一金强制, 美国401k可选